Are there specific ingredient restrictions like flour?
Let us know.
Oh, and I'll wait til after the birth to offer my congratulations.
Jo

It will be a dairy event (we don't mix milk and meat foods at the same meal) so there isn't much that affects dessert. The father is a vegetarian but eggs and dairy are fine so that doesn't add any additional restriction.

So no meat products (and no lard or other pig products even for meat meals). No gelatin (one can get vegetable-based stuff but I'm not confident that it acts as well) and therefore mashmellows would also be a problem. Marshmellow fluff is okay as that doesn't have gelatin.

No gluten issues and I don't think any nut issues though I usually try to have some nut free things just in case.

Shortbread is simple and is always well liked.

How about small Baked Alaska's. Easy to do !!!!!

{{gwi:1492383}}
Lou

Just don't overdo it, Cloud Swift, take it a little easy.

I like the shortbread idea and it lends itself to many variations, you can make the basic dough and add lemon or orange zest, chocolate chips, maraschino cherries, pecans, many things.

Other than the 7 layer bars, how about brownies? There's nothing chocolate mentioned yet, and you could make a large pan of them.

Quick bread or pound cake is easy and good, you could choose from pumpkin, banana, strawberry, chocolate, and one of my favorites, Ann T's lemon.

Here is my recipe for 7 layer bars, I've had it for a long time but only Amanda and I like coconut so I seldom make them.

7 Layer Bars

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.
Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Good luck, and congratulations on that baby!

Annie

The following are for bar types of cookies because I think they're easier and faster.

CHOCOLATE MARBLE SQUARES
1 C + 2 T. flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ C. (1 stick) soft butter
6 T. white sugar
6 T. firmly packed brown sugar
½ t. vanilla
¼ t. water
1 egg
½ C. chopped nuts
1 6 oz pkg chocolate chips

Combine the dry ingredients. Set aside. Combine butter, both sugars, vanilla, and water. Beat until creamy. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture and beat well. Stir in
nuts. Spread in a greased 9 x 13 in. pan. Sprinkle with the chips and bake at 375 for 1 minute. Remove from oven and run a knife through the mixture to marbelize the dough. Some chips will melt; some wonÂt. Return to oven and bake for 12-15 minutes longer. (ItÂll get tannish and look a teensy bit darker along the edges. Cool in the pan and cut into squares.
Makes 24 decent sized ones.

TOFFEE BARS
This recipe needs to be made several days
before eating.)
1 C. butter, softened
1 C. sugar (white)
2 C. sifted flour
1 egg, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
½ C. finely chopped walnuts (or other decorations if nuts
are a problem).

Preheat oven to 275. Cream butter and sugar. Beat
in the flour, egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat well. Spread (youÂll need to use your hands) in the bottom of a well greased 15 ½ x 101/2 jelly roll pan. (I think theyÂre called half sheets.) Brush the top with the egg white. Sprinkle and then pat in thefinely chopped nuts. (You can use any kind of sprinkle instead of nuts.)
Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Immediately
cut into about 50 bars and remove from the baking sheet.
Cool on a rack and store tightly covered for 3 days before
eating.

RASPBERRY BARS
This recipe is one I found on this forum (I'm so sorry--I can't find whose it was and used the Search function but it didn't help to find the original poster and recipe.) I changed the recipe by using a larger pan and also sprinkled it with nuts instead of pieces of dough. Below is what I did.

RASPBERRY BARS
2 ½ C. flour
1 C. sugar
1 C. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 C. butter, softened
1 egg
1 10 oz. jar raspberry preserves

Grease a jelly roll pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all of the ingredients except the preserves.
Beat until itÂs combined well and press the mixture into the
jelly roll pan. Spread the raspberry preserves to about 1/3 inch from the edges. Bake for 30-50 minutes or till the edges are light tan color. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Mazel Tov!

Trifle is good for a crowd, looks pretty and can be done ahead. There are a million variations from the traditional custard, sherry, pound cake to brownie, chocolate pudding, nuts, etc. A Black Forest variation is nice too; chocolate cake, cherries, whip cream, kirsch if you like. The possibilities are endless!
Jane

I'll try not to overdo. Chemo pretty much makes sure I don't overextend myself because I get really tired and have to go lie down or sit down if I do. I just realized my vacation is getting near the use it or stop accruing it point so I'll take a few days off from work and spread the preparation over that.

I want to be able to do something that doesn't take any last minute preparation during the event so things like baked Alaska would be out.

I'm liking the idea of a cookie spread. Yummy and easy to serve. Also Purim, a Jewish holiday on which it is traditional to deliver goodies to friends, is in 2 and a half weeks. If I make some cookies that can freeze, I can make extra for Purim.

I'm sure I'll make the raspberry bars. I've got a recipe for bars with jam but mine is too fussy to prepare and a pain to cut neatly. This one looks simpler.

The 7-layer bars have chocolate, but I might also do the chocolate marble squares if I don't do the chocolate malt tart.