Chocolate Turtle Cookies

These are delicious!! My kids (and my husband and I) all loved them.
Adapted from Cook's Country


Chocolate Turtle Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, chopped fine
14 soft caramel candies
3 tablespoons heavy cream

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 1 hour.

Whisk egg white(s) in another bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. One at a time, roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, 10 to12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.

Meanwhile, microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently press existing indentations with teaspoon measure. Fill each with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Southwestern Black Bean Soup

Recipe adapted from 'Healthy Cooking'

1 tbsp Canola Oil
1 Medium Red Bell Pepper- chopped
1 Onion- chopped
2 Ribs of Celery- chopped
2 cans Black Beans
1 can Chicken Stock
1 can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can Green Chiles (4 oz)
1 1/2 cups cooked minute rice
Sour cream

Saute the red bell pepper, onion and celery in the canola oil. Once the veggies are soft, add the chicken stock, beans, tomatoes and chiles. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve soup on top of a spoonful of rice. Add a dollop of sour cream.

*** I added a can of corn as well. And we topped our soup with shredded cheddar cheese and crunched tortilla chips, as well as the sour cream. I also added the rice into the soup instead of serving the soup on top of it. I didn't have a can of green chiles- so I used 1/2 can of diced tomatoes and a can of ro-tel.