Want your chocolate to take a walk on the wild side? Try these delicious cookies from Brownie Mix Magic. Like the Spicy Aztec Brownies, these cookies give chocolate a spicy kick. This recipe starts with a box of brownie mix and adds black pepper, chocolate chips, and crystallized ginger for a fragrant, spicy, and decadent treat. Crystallized ginger, or candied ginger, is available in most grocery store baking aisles, but at a steep price. Try specialty or gourmet markets, or shops that specialize in Asian cuisine, for a better deal. Chop the ginger into pieces about the same size as chocolate chips for the best distribution in this recipe. The cookies are great when still warm from the oven. Caution: these cookies are not for the faint of heart!

1 box (19.5 to 19.8 oz) brownie mix
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and coat cookie sheets with nonstick spray (skip this if your cookie sheets are high quality nonstick).

In a large mixing bowl, combine brown mix, ground ginger, black pepper, melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs. Mix with a wooden spoon until just blended and all dry ingredients are moist. Stir in chopped crystallized ginger and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until cracked in appearance and just barely set at the center. Cool 1-2 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack with a spatula. Cool completely on wire rack.

Here is a new twist on pumpkin pie from Camilla V. Saulsbury’s Cake Mix Magic. Try replacing your Thanksgiving favorite with this new, super easy recipe using a box of yellow cake mix, pecans, some pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. This is great for casual gatherings or pre-Turkey Day events. Look for holiday sales on spice mix or make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice.

1 box (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Position oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Divide cake mix in half, setting half of the mix aside and combining the other half with the oil and 1 egg in a large bowl. Blend 1-2 minutes on low speed with an electric mixer until well combined and crumbly. Stir in pecans. Press mixture into the bottom of prepared baking pan.

Place remaining half of cake mix, remaining 3 eggs, condensed milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice in the same large bowl (no cleaning necessary). Blend 1-2 minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended. Pour over crust.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until filling is just set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into bars.

Shown below, served with whipped topping:

This medium sweet wine from Germany is a crisp wine with fruity notes. The wine, in a playful blue bottle with a pink and white label, is clean, bright, and quite sweet. The best part? Polka Dot Riesling is available for less than $10 a bottle. Don’t let the screwtop fool you, this does not taste like an “economy” wine.

Serve this wine chilled, in a small wine glass if possible (the smaller the glass, the slower the wine will warm to room temperature). Riesling, in general, pairs well with chicken, light fish, pork or ham, though drier varieties go well with spicy Asian and Mexican dishes. This Riesling, which is quite sweet, could also be served with a dessert, particularly fruit.

Rieslings also pair well with turkey and Thanksgiving festivities. Try serving it with the pumpkin pie!

It’s that time of year again, when it is so cold outside that you want to turn on your oven just to feel a little warmth. Well, why not make some of these deliciously rich and decadent cookies while you’re at it? This recipe comes from Everyday Food magazine’s special Holiday Baking 2007 issue and combines sweet hazelnuts with the complimentary flavor of rich espresso. Many brands of baking products sell pre-chopped hazelnuts, but you can also buy whole hazelnuts and chop them yourself. To remove the skins, preheat oven to 275F and spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake until the skins crack (about 25 minutes). Transfer hazelnuts to clean kitchen towel, roll up, and let steam 5 minutes, then rub between your hands in the towel until the skins come off, then chop coarsely.

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 tbsp instant espresso powder
2 cups (10 oz) hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each eggs. Add espresso powder and beat until just combined.

With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture in batches until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in hazelnuts.

Drop by tablespoon-ful onto baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

This is an easy cheesecake recipe I borrowed from James’ mom. It is super simple (only 5 ingredients) and really delicious. To prevent the cheesecake from cracking, place a shallow pan of boiling water in the oven. Also, turn off the oven 5 minutes prior to the end of the cooking time and let cheesecake sit for 10-15 minutes in the oven, cracking the door slightly.

If the cheesecake does crack, just dress it up with whipped cream, caramel sauce, or fresh fruit to hid the imperfections. Bring cream cheese and eggs to room temperature before using (do not use fat-free or reduced-fat cream cheese). Be sure not to over mix once you add the eggs, it will whip air into the cheesecake and cause it to puff up.

3 bars (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 9-inch prepared graham cracker or chocolate pie crust

Preheat oven to 450F

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until just combined and smooth. Stir in eggs, careful not to over mix. Press into prepared pie crust.

Bake 10 minutes at 450F then reduce heat to 350F. Bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until edges are firm and center is still slightly wobbly.

Once removed from the oven, let the cheesecake cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes or more. 

If you have an electric oven, like me, you might need to adjust cooking times and temperatures. I preheated the oven to 450F and then reduced heat to 350F as soon as the cheesecake was inside, because the oven takes a while to adjust temperatures. I also only baked mine for 30 minutes, then turned off the heat and let sit in the oven for another 5 minutes.

If your cheesecake puffs, let sit on a wire rack covered by a bowl or cake cover. The cheesecake will settle slightly after a couple of hours.

Once cheesecake is cooled to room temperature, refrigerate until ready to serve.