Oatmeal Coffee Cake

From:The Duffy House Bed & Breakfast Inn, outside Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington.

1 cup quick oatmeal

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1 stick margarine, melted

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp soda

Pour boiling water over oats and let cool. Cream together next 5 ingredients. Add cooled oatmeal and mix well. Add flour, salt and soda. Beat well. Bake in greased 9 x 13″ pan at 350°, 35 minutes.  Remove from oven.

TOPPING

1/2 cube butter, melted

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup coconut

Melt butter saucepan. Mix in remaining topping ingredients and spread over cake. Put back into oven under broiler to brown (watch carefully). Remove from oven and cool.

Nancy’s Notes: This a moist coffee cake that disappears fast. Especially good if served slightly warm, Stephanie’s favorite.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

From: Worth Tasting – Junior League of the Palm Beaches, p 158

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 (1-pound) package light brown sugar

5 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts

To prepare the cake, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Combine the butter and oil in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the butter mixture gradually, beating constantly until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla and stir in the nuts. Spoon the batter into a greased 10-inch tube pan and bake at 350° for 1¼ hour. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and remove to a heatproof platter.

Brown Sugar Glaze

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chopped nuts to taste

To prepare the glaze, bring the brown sugar, oil, butter, milk and salt to a boil in a saucepan, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and nuts. Pour the hot glaze over the warm cake and broil until bubbly and light brown. Let stand until cool. Serves 16.

This tried-and-true favorite has appeared in Heart of the Palms and Slice of Paradise.

Nancy’s Note: I made for Christmas Eve 2009 at the Hunter’s. I decorated with red candied cherries for a festive look. The cake rose above the cake pan. For the last 30 minutes I had to cover loosely with foil to keep the edges from browning too much. We all liked, this is a keeper.

Enstrom’s Oatmeal Chocolate Toffee Cake

From: Colorado Classique – Junior League of Denver, page 264

¾ cup boiling water

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¾ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 cups finely chopped Enstrom’s World Famous Almond Toffee

¾ cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Pour boiling water over oatmeal and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Add both sugars and butter and stir until melted. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa; add to oatmeal mixture and beat well. Add half of the toffee crumbs. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13x9x2-inch pan. Sprinkle with the remaining toffee and nuts. Bake for 45 minutes.

Nancy’s Notes: Made Nov. 1, 2009 – A disappointment, I think this is a waste of 2 cups of Enstrom’s toffee. Wouldn’t do again.

Enstrom’s is a Grand Junction, Colorado home-grown company producing exceptional toffee. Watch batches of the confection being made from the sales room at the Grand Junction facility. Retail stores are also found in the Denver Metro area.

Triple-Ginger Cookies

From: Bon Appetit, December 2009, page 155

Makes about 40 – A combination of ground, crystallized, and fresh ginger gives these soft, chewy cookies their intense flavor.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar

½ cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

¼ cup light (mild-flavored) molasses

1 ½ teaspoons finely grated fresh peeled ginger

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup (about) sugar

Whisk flour, crystallized ginger, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy and light, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in both brown sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, molasses, fresh ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Beat to blend. Add flour mixture in 2 additions, beating on low speed just to blend between additions.

Place ½ cup sugar in small bowl. Measure 1 tablespoon dough. Roll into ball between palms of hands, then roll in sugar in bowl to coat; place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, spacing cookies 1 ½ to 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until surfaces crack and cookies are firm around edges but still slightly soft in center, about 15 minutes.

Nancy’s Notes: Made Nov. 16, 2009. When I saw this recipe I thought of the Triple Ginger Cookies from Trader Joe’s that Bob likes so much. Easy to make except for mincing the crystallized ginger and grating the fresh ginger. I used my smallest scoop – made about 5 ½ dozen. Mine were pretty firm, I sure wouldn’t describe them as soft and chew. I thought they were pretty strong in flavor, Bob liked.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake

From: Art of Cooking – The Junior League of Ogden (Utah)

1 package yellow cake mix

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

4 eggs

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

¼ cup water

Whipped cream

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. Beat on slow speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 12-inch bundt pan. Bake at 350° for about 50 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pan and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Nancy’s Notes: This couldn’t be simpler – dumb, mix and pour. I used the entire can of pumpkin, I couldn’t waste and I didn’t want a dab hanging around my frig. I had a small amount of brown sugar icing lurking in the back of the frig from a previous project so thinned it and drizzle over the top of the cake. While the cake is great the brown sugar icing added the crowning glory.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake

 

From: Art of Cooking – The Junior League of Ogden (Utah)

1 package yellow cake mix

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

4 eggs

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

¼ cup water

Whipped cream

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. Beat on slow speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 12-inch bundt pan. Bake at 350° for about 50 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pan and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Nancy’s Notes: This couldn’t be simpler – dumb, mix and pour. I used the entire can of pumpkin, I couldn’t waste and I didn’t want a dab hanging around my frig. I had a small amount of brown sugar icing lurking in the back of the frig from a previous project so thinned it and drizzled over the top of the cake. While the cake is great the brown sugar icing added the crowning glory. Made November 9, 2009 for Michael, we all liked this moist, light cake.

Upside-Down German Chocolate Cake

 

From: Beyond the Rim – A Taste of Amarillo, Junior League of Amarillo

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup shredded coconut

1 (2-layer) package German chocolate cake mix

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine.

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 (1-pound) package confectioners’ sugar

Sprinkle the pecans and coconut in the bottom of a greased and floured 9×13-inch cake pan. Set aside. Prepare the German chocolate cake mix according to the package directions and set aside. Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large saucepan. Heat over low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix well. Turn off the heat, but leave the saucepan on the burner. Carefully spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cake batter, carefully covering the entire surface. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Yield: 18-20 servings.

Nancy’s Note: I made 9/28/09. Yummy, yummy, yummy! When I first read this recipe I made a note that I thought this was probably an, “Oh, my God” cake. I was right, one bite and you utter, “Oh, my God, that’s good.” Super keeper.

Apple Cake

 

From: Grandma Mary Yackel

½ cup raisins – cook first in ¼ cup water

2 cups chopped apples

½ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour + 2 tablespoons

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Bring raisins and water to a boil, remove from heat, let cool and absorb the water while preparing apples and cake. If any liquid remains, drain before adding to batter.

Cream shortening and sugar; add flour, eggs, soda, cinnamon and vanilla. When blended stir in apples and raisins. Spread in greased baking dish (8×10). Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

Nancy Notes: Makes a moist cake that keeps well. Good just dusted with powdered sugar. Excellent with brown sugar icing.