Chocolate Cherry Bars

Chocolate Cherry Bars
By: Easy Baking Hershey’s Cocoa

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, divided
1 ½ cups plus 1/3 cup flour, divided
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup “mini” semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries, drained

Heat oven to 350

Generously grease 9x13 glass baking dish.

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat; stir in cocoa powder until smooth. Remove from heat. Add sugar, 3 eggs, 1 ½ cups flour and almonds; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 1 egg, 1/3 cup flour, sweetened condensed milk and almond extract. Pour over baked layer; sprinkle with mini kissed and cherries. Return to oven.

Bake an additional 20 minutes or until set and edges are golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until cold, at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Cut into bars. Cover; refrigerate leftover bars.

Makes about 30 bars

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup
By: Richard Puls (Cleveland, OH)

4 cups chicken broth
1 (10 ¾ oz) can of cream of celery soup
1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped broccoli
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix broth and soup in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add broccoli; return to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium heat; add onion, sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add flour. Cook for 1 minute longer. Gradually stir milk into skillet. Cook, stirring continually, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper; mix well. Stir milk mixture into broccoli mixture. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Ladle soup into a serving bowl. Top with cheddar.