I stumbled upon this recipe in the local newspaper over ten years ago. We sometimes refer to it as a cardiologist’s nightmare.

Pecan Pound Cake

2 cups shortening
¼ cup evaporated milk
3 cups sugar
10 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla butternut flavoring
2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon almond flavoring

Mix shortening and sugar – let stand overnight. Cream mixture and add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Reserve ¼ cup of flour to dredge pecans. Then add flour, flavorings and milk to other mixing blend. Add pecans last. Pour into a large greased tube pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until done at 325º.

Notes: I use Baker’s Joy to “grease” the tube pan. It will take something longer than a toothpick to test the cake’s doneness.

I found this recipe in a magazine years ago. I think the may have been called Chocolate Bon Bons but I’ve always called them Kiss Cookies because of the Hershey’s Kiss in the middle of them.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Crisco
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 Tsp Almond Extract
• 1 3/4 Cup Flour (plain)
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped Pecans
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3-4 dozen Hershey’s Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using electric mixer, cream Crisco and sugars until fluffy. Add egg, extracts; beat well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and nuts. Mix until blended. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Press each ball around a kiss so the kiss is completely enclosed like a chocolate covered cherry. Bake 10-12 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. (Do not overbake). Cool on wire racks. Frost/decorate as desired.

For the decorating, I’ve used tubes of green and red frosting. Then dip the frosted cookie into little bowl with Nonpareils.