Ghirardelli Mississippi Mud Bars

Here's a sweet snack from the kitchen of Cheryl Hoefler, my co-worker. She found the recipe on the packaging of a Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bar.

½ C. butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
1 C. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 bar (4 oz.) Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar, chopped and divided
1 bar (4 oz.) Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bar, chopped and divided
1 C. walnuts, chopped and divided

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy at medium speed.
Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.
Stir in half of the semi-sweet and white chocolate and ½ C. of the walnuts.
Spread in greased foil-lined 9" square baking pan.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean.
Sprinkle with remaining semi-sweet and white chocolates.
Cover with foil. Let stand 5 minutes or until chocolates are melted.
Swirl chocolates with small knife to marbleize.
Sprinkle with remaining ½ C. walnuts.
Cool in pan until firm, then cut into bars.
Makes 1-12 servings.

Easy Pear Crisp

This is from the kitchen of my co-worker Cheryl Hoefler of Prairie City. She canned some pears last year and used those in this recipe - delicious comfort food! So glad she shared this at the potluck we had at work!

Easy Pear Crisp

1/2 C. uncooked regular oats
1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. cold butter
1 14-15 oz. can sliced pears, drained
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Combine first five ingredients in a bowl, and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Combine pear and juice; toss well. Spoon pear mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, already coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle oat mixture over pear mixture. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Makes four servings.

Tip: I you prefer fresh pears, try three red anjou pears, peeled and sliced.

Alissa's Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies from the kitchen of Alissa Allen turn out great every time. I like this method of whisking the eggs then adding the other ingredients - perhaps it’s what makes a difference. These turn out slightly crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle - perfect!
Alissa and her husband Dave recently moved back to Idaho after living in John Day part time. I know many people will miss them - and Alissa’s cookies!

2 eggs
3/4 C. salted butter (1 ½ sticks), melted
1 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 C. flour
1 bag chocolate chips

Whisk eggs. Add butter, sugars and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir flour, baking soda and salt with fork - or sift. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 375 F for 10-12 minutes.

Tips: Let butter cool slightly before adding to eggs, and stir up your flour before measuring it out. If you prefer, use fewer chocolate chips.