Toll house recipes

Wonderful five stars

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A treasured memory of Christmas at Great-Aunt Elizabeth's house was a cookie that I never learned to eat in moderation. Although my mother warned me not to say anything, one of the first things I would say upon arrival was, "I'm hungry" hoping that these cookies would appear. Much to my delight they usually did, and in fact, began also to appear at Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and any other time we got together to celebrate.

Make Almond Legend Cake every New Year's Eve for a fun tradition at your house. Somewhere hidden in the baked cake will be a single whole almond. Whoever gets the almond in their slice of cake, according to legend, will enjoy good fortune during the year

This bread pudding is moist and incredibly flavorful with a crunchy top. I make it every Christmas, or whenever a baguette is left out for too long, not that that ever happens in our house.

This recipe comes from Lynne Kaplan, a chef who owns the Victoria House Bed & Breakfast in Spring Lake, NJ. For a gourmet B&B check them out at victoriahouse.net.