Graham Cracker Cake

 

(Cold)

(Warm)

I made this when I had to have a chair to stand on in order the reach the counter top.   I had to walk to a neighbors house to beat the egg whites, we only had a hand egg beater at time and it just wouldn’t get them stiff enough.  And it took so long! 

It’s good warm, but I prefer it cold. I seldom put frosting on it, but I did today. (That recipe is here also.)

Ingredients:

Two sleeves of graham crackers crushed

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup sugar

4 eggs, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 can of coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

Milk

Cream the butter and sugar with vanilla and egg yolks

Add baking powder, coconut, chocolate chips, pecans, and crushed graham crackers 

Add milk a little at a time until mixture makes a medium thick batter. Stir and give the milk enough time to fully absorb into the cracker crumbs. 

Fold in 4 stiffly beaten egg whites.

Bake in a greased and floured 9x13 pan at 370 degrees until it springs back to the touch. 

If you want frosting, you could certainly use any you like. Today I made this easy fudge frosting.

In a saucepan, melt one stick butter with 1/2 cup evaporated milk.  Add 1/2 cup cocoa and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. 

Put one box of powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Pour the hot mixture over it and beat at high speed until smooth.  Frost hot cake. 

Peanut Butter Cake

 Kay Smith and her sister Pam cook for half of their hometown DeKalb, Texas. I asked for a plate of cookies for my grand opening at A Total Change and they brought EIGHT plates of cookies!  Some of those cookies just melt in your mouth!  

She recently came for her hair appointment bearing a plate of this peanut butter cake.  I asked her to send me the recipe and I made it that night.  (...almost put myself into a sugar coma, and my husband remarked that he didn’t really care for peanut butter cake,  but this one was really good.)

In a saucepan pan, bring to a boil:

1/2 cup peanut butter 

2 sticks butter

1 cup water

In a large mixing bowl:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

 Pour hot mixture over the dry ingredient mixture. 

Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and 2 eggs and mix well 

Pour into a greased and floured pan and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. This is a US made jelly roll pan that I use.  I purchased it here  https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/king-arthur-flour-jelly-roll-pan

 It is a great pan! I usually put things on a large cookie sheet to make it easier for me to handle. (My old hairdresser arms and hands are wore out!)

  Do NOT overbake. 

For the frosting, in a saucepan, bring to a boil:

1 stick butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

6 tablespoons milk

Pour hot mixture over 4 cups powdered sugar and beat until smooth, then add 1 teaspoon vanilla

                          Frost when cake is completely cooled, but while frosting is still hot. 

Popcorn Cake

 This is a fun thing to do with kids and can be adapted for different seasons.  I usually do it in the fall around Halloween when candy corn is available and fall colored M&Ms.  At Christmas, there are red and green M&Ms and other candies that could be used.  I usually use dry roasted peanuts, but other nuts would be good too!

Prepare a Bundt pan by greasing it well with butter or shortening.

Melt one stick of butter in a saucepan and add a 10 ounce bag of marshmallows.  The small ones melt faster, so I always go with them. Stir over heat until smooth, about one minute.

Use two gallons of popped popcorn.  I use microwave corn in whatever flavor happens to be in the pantry.  It takes between 3 and 4 bags to make two gallons of popped corn.

Pour the butter and marshmallow mixture slowly over the popcorn and toss it so it all gets some coating    Add M&Ms, nuts, candy corn and toss till blended.  

Press it down into the greased Bundt pan.  If it begins to stick to your hands, rub them with some butter and continue pressing down.  Hard! 

Immediately, turn it out into a plate big enough to hold it.  I decorated the top today with Reese’s peanut butter pumpkins.  I have used Branch’s candy pumpkins.   Sometimes I just leave it plain. 

This “cake” can’t really be cut well, but it’s quite fun to pull off a piece for munching.  Try making it with children, they love it! 

This one is a gift so I put toothpicks in to hold the Reese’s pumpkins in place and to keep the foil from squashing it. 

Pecan Pie Cake

 Doris Barling gave me this recipe in the early 80s.  It tastes like pecan pie,  cuts in squares like brownies.  It’s a really easy thing to make and carry with you somewhere.  And always a hit!

For the crust: 

one yellow cake mix 

1/3 cup oil 

one egg

Grease the baking pan and press the mixture into the bottom. Sometimes I use a 9x13 pan, today I used a jelly roll pan which is a bit bigger but more shallow.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

While it is baking mix together:

1 cup white Karo syrup

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups chopped pecans (I toast mine first)

Pour over the half baked crust and return to oven for 40-45 minutes 

Doris was a fabulous cook.  Every time I did her hair, we talked recipes.  I have several she gave me but this one is the most often used. 

Southern Oatmeal Cookies

 I don’t know where this recipe originated, I wrote it in a cookbook many years ago.  I rarely use it except in the fall when the specialty chips are on the grocery store shelves.  I have used caramel chips and cinnamon chips, but this year I found these pumpkin truffles chips! 

Ingredients:

1 cup Crisco (I use butter flavored)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar lightly packed 

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon soda

3 cups oats (I use old fashioned, but the recipe calls for minute oats.  I like the heavier texture of old fashioned oats)

You can add nuts, but I opt for flavored chips of some sort 

Cream the shortening and sugars, add the eggs and vanilla.  Fold in the flour, salt, and soda.  When well blended add oats and chips. 

Bake 350 degrees 10-12 minutes  (I use my convention oven at 325 degrees) 

Yummm!