I call these "grown-up cookies" because they're very rich. They look beautiful packaged as a gift,maybe place a cookie on cupcake papers in a pretty box. Poinsettia Cookies Ingredients * 2 cups butter softened, or margarine * 2 cups sifted powdered sugar * 2 large eggs * 1 teaspoon rum extract * 3 cups all-purpose flour * 1 cup flaked coconut * 1 cup butterscotch morsels. divided * sugar * 1 (4-ounce) container red candied cherries, cut into wedges Directions Beat butter at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar; beating well. Add eggs and rum flavor, beating well. Combine flour and salt; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in flaked coconut and 3/4 cup butterscotch morsels. cover and chill at least 8 hours. shape dough int 1-inch balls place on ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a flat-bottomed glass in sugar, and flatten each ball to a 2-inch circle. Place a butterscotch morsel in the center of each cookie. Arrange 5 cherry wedges in a circular pattern around each butterscotch morsel to resemble a poinsettia. Bake at 350 degree for 9 to 10 minutes. cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks and let cool completely. Yield 5 dozen

Cherries vary one kind to another on resistance. In our area research at Mt Vernon WA has listed recommended ones more well suited. I went for that which is why I had long ago went with Surefire and the sweet cherry Early Burlat. Over the years my Burlat had been as disease free as the Japanese types of flowering cherries (shirofugen, prunus osima zakura etc.) And superior to others in my neighborhood. One main problem is the flowers bloom to early on the hill heights area in Vancouver WA (above Portland) and even though the bloom is rain resistant the bees are not pollinating during poor conditions and thus little fruit. I must hand pollinate. Other than the above remedy of selecting the right ones and about later bee friendly blooming ones you could try the idea of hand pollinating. I always set fruit on Burlat from Van cherry from my little greenhouse. In your case a Burlat flower from one you could graft to CJ tree could be dried indoors, possibly store it in fridge for a few days, and applied to CJ flowers. Even though nothing that I know of can be found to spray on to prevent infections you can still "wait and see". By that I mean to get your tree to over about 5 years of age because age 2-4 is the most prone years according to tests done West of the Cascades in Oregon.

Annie Hi : And I thought you didn't love me anymore !!!!! I made one for my wifes friend's, that are coming to see her tommorrow ( Sat.) A friend of her's that bakes cakes, to sell ( weddings, etc.) will be there to test the Cheesecake. She will critque it and probably have to eat a couple pieces, to be sure. Kay : The Cake comes away from the sides of the pan, when it is done and cooled. I'm going to stay with the butter or oiled pan dusted with flour. I don't think the crust is really needed, because the Cake is good. The Chocolate Gramham Crust took away from the taste. I'll put more efforts in a fruit topping. They say to cut Cheescake with a wet knife ??? Think I'll go have a piece now, to try out the wet knife. Lou

These are a huge hit at work and with clients. I received orders for 13 dozen this week alone! They freeze beautifully. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (Annie's Eats) Yield: about 32 sandwich cookies Ingredients For the pumpkin cookies: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 2 tbsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ground ginger 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed 1 cup canola oil 3 cups chilled pumpkin puree 2 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract For the maple cream cheese filling: 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 8 oz. cream cheese, cold 2 tbsp. maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla extract Directions To make the pumpkin cookies, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk sugars and oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined. Transfer the cookie batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip (I use an Ateco #809). Pipe small rounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1.5-2 inches in diameter. (If your dough seems to thick to pipe, you can drop scoops of it onto the baking sheet. Or just add a bit more liquid. This recipe is pretty forgiving.) Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter. To make the filling, combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-heat speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the filling or it will lose structure. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. To assemble, pair the cookies up by size. Pipe filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich together with the remaining cookie. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm before serving. Here is a link that might be useful: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies