There's not much that I could say that this picture doesn't. Whoa. Fudgy crusts, sweet, cakey middles, and ooey-gooey chocolately tops??!!?? Yup. Purely amazing. And that's exactly what these were. Thanks to Laurie of simplyscratch.com for sharing her wonderful recipe!

1. 4 ounces, weight Semi-sweet Chocolate Baking Squares
2. 1 cup Shortening
3. 1-½ cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour
4. 2 cups White Sugar
5. 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
6. 1 teaspoon Salt
7. 4 whole Eggs
8. 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

How to Make It:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9×13 glass baking dish.
2. Chop the chocolate into chunks and add it along with the shortening to a small sauce pan heated over low heat. Stir often until all the chocolate is melted. Remove off of the heat and let it cool slightly.
3. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside. Whisk together the eggs and the vanilla, then pour in the cooled melted chocolate/shortening into the eggs. Stir until combined and then pour it into the dry ingredients. This is not a thin batter—it’s more like fudge. Pour it into the buttered 9×13 baking dish, spread out evenly and bake it in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.
4. Let cool and serve, or top with Homemade Chocolate Frosting and serve!

1. 1/4 cup butter (softened but not melted)
2. 1/4 cup canola oil
3. 1/2 cup sugar
4. 1/2 cup brown sugar
5. 2 eggs
6. 1.5 tsp baking powder
7. 1/2 tsp baking soda
8. 3/4 tsp nutmeg (you can use cinnamon instead if you want a little less spice)
9. 3/4 tsp salt
10. 2 tsp vanilla
11. 2 and 2/3 cups flour
12. 1 cup heavy whipping cream
13. 2 cups (or a little less) of your favorite cream cheese icing (store-bought or homemade)
14. Powdered sugar for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease the sides and bottom of a 13x9 pan.
2. Combine ingredients 1-12 in a large bowl and beat until well-mixed.
3. Pour batter into pan and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes (or until golden brown and set).
4. After the batter has baked, remove it from the pan and crumble into a large mixing bowl. Let cool.
5. Combine cake mixture with cream cheese icing and mix (with hands, preferably - it's just easier) until well-combined and smooth. Mixture will look like dough.
6. Separate dough and roll into balls with hands (approx. 1 inch in diameter).
7. Roll balls in powdered sugar until completely covered, and store in refrigerator.

Who doesn't like no-bake cookies, right?! The melty, gooey, sugary goodness... but many of us are not so excited about all the carbs and sugars they bring to the table. Sound like you? You're in for a treat! These no bakes are slightly re-done - getting rid of most of the carbs and virtually all of the sugars! These no-bakes are a bit more gooey and rich because we've replaced the traditional milk with heavy cream, and the xylitol tends to be a bit sweeter than sugar. Other than that, you'll never know the difference, and the coconut adds a wonderful variation. Just try not to eat the whole batch at once!

What You'll Need:
1 stick butter
1 and 1/3 cups xylitol
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (don't use reduced fat - it has more sugar)
4 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup whole-grain oats
1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes


Now, to make it:

1. Combine butter, xylitol, whipping cream, and cocoa powder in a saucepan and heat to a rolling boil.
2. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Refrigerate mixture for approximately 20 minutes or until a bit more firm.
4. Scoop into balls onto wax paper, and refrigerate until set and ready to serve. That's it!

Enjoy with less guilt!

This whipped pie can be served frozen or refrigerated as the perfect complement to a hot summer day.  Or night.  Or anytime you want to eat it.  Heck, this pie is great even at 3:00 in the morning! Not that I would do that.



What You Need:
8 oz. tub of cool whip (You may substitute 2.5 cups heavy whipping cream for a creamier pie)
2 boxes (4-serving size each) sugar-free strawberry jello
1 and 3/4 cups water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate
3 tbsp. xylitol (if you don't mind using sugar, you may substitute equal parts)
18-20 Oreo cookies (crushed)
3 tbsp. melted butter


Now, to make it...

1. Mix melted butter and crushed cookies together until crumbly mixture forms. Press onto bottom of pie pan and set aside.
2. Heat heavy whipping cream to a simmer, and pour over the top of chocolate. Whisk together until melted, adding xylitol.
3. Refrigerate chocolate mixture for 15-20 minutes or until relatively firm (but still able to pour).
4. Boil 1 and 3/4 cups water, and pour over the top of jello mix. Stir rapidly (fork or whisk works best) until completely dissolved.
5. Add jello to Cool Whip, and mix until smooth. Set aside - do not refrigerate.
6. Pour chocolate mixture over crust and freeze for approximately 20 minutes until firm.
7. Pour Cool Whip mixture over chocolate layer.
8. Refrigerate (or freeze, if preferred) until set.
9. Optional: garnish with chopped strawberries and drizzled chocolate.