Coffee Cake

Megan had to bring treats for early morning seminary and this was fast and easy. I made two and Matt's friends came over after school and ate the other one. Thanks to Rachel L.

1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding, I used sugar free
2 eggs or 4 egg whites
3 Tblspn. vegetable oil
1 1/3 c. water or milk
Mix all ingredients and pour ½ of batter into greased & floured 9-inch square cake pan.

Crumble:
½ c. flour
½ c. brown sugar
2 Tblspn. cinnamon
3 Tblspn. butter
Mix above ingredients and cut in butter to make a “crumble.”
Sprinkle first layer of batter with ½ crumble mixture.
Pour remaining cake batter on top of crumble and then top off with remaining crumble.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Since we moved to Colorado, I started making plates of cookies for neighbors, this one is really pretty but they went flat so I have to adjust the recipe for the altitude next year.

1/2 c oil
4 1oz sq unsweetened chocolated, melted( I used powdered)
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 teas vanilla
2 cup flour
2 teas b powder
1/2 t salt
2 cups powdered sugar

Mix oil, choco and sugar. Blend in on egg at a time until well mixed. add vanilla
Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Chill several hours
Shape into 1 " balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake on greased sheet.
Bake 350 10-12 minutes- do not overbake

For rolo cookies
Press an unwrapped rolo in each ball and cover with dough, roll in sugar( reg) bake 8-10 minutes will slightly craked

ingredients:
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup hershey's cocoa powder
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
powdered sugar

directions:
in a large mixing bowl, combine sugar & oil. add cocoa; blend well. beat in eggs and vanilla. combine flour, baking powder & salt; add to cocoa mixture blending well. cover; chill at least 6 hours. heat oven to 350. shape dough into 1 inch balls. roll in powdered sugar. place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. bake 12 to 14 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched. remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack. makes 4 dozen.

Texas Sheet Cake

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This was my MOM’s Favorite Chocololate Cake…fast and easy  It is basically the same as a texas sheet cake but she made it in a 9x 13 pan and didn't cook the frosting- just made it like buttercream frosting.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Frosting, below
• chopped pecans

Preparation:

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 box (1 pound) confectioners' sugar, sifted (4 1/4 cups sifted)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cake: Combine butter, water, and cocoa in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Spread frosting over hot cake and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

For frosting, combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well with electric mixer. Spread over the hot sheet cake then sprinkle with chopped pecans.

White Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge frosting

1 cup butter, cubed  1 cup water

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (you can use vanilla extract if you prefer)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• FOR THE FROSTING:
• 1 cup Sugar
• ½ cups unsweetened Cocoa powder, Sifted
• ½ cups Milk
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into cubes
• 2 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
• 4 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla ExtracT

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees

1. In a large saucepan, bring butter and water just to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat; stir in the flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, salt, baking powder, extract and baking soda until smooth.
2. Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes. The cake will still be somewhat warm.
3. NOTE: I used a 9.5X13 inch rectangle glass dish and baked my cake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. But if you have a traditional jelly roll pan, use the 15X10 pan that the original recipe recommends. If you use the recommended jelly roll pan, your cake will come out a bit thin. I didn't want a thin cake. But its up to you.
4. For the frosting: In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa. Whisk in the milk. Then stir in the butter and corn syrup. Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. When the butter has melted and the sauce is slightly smooth, take the pan off the heat, stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.
5. Pour the frosting on top of the slightly cooled cake. It may be a lot of frosting if you are using a 9X13 square rectangle pan( just a precaution). Allow the cake to cool and the frosting to completely set before serving.

White Texas Sheet Cake
I had this at Laurie Oswalds this summer

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• .
• Frosting
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

In large saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, almond extract, salt and baking soda until smooth. Pour into a greased 15x10x1-inch jelly roll baking pan. Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare frosting. Sift confectioners' sugar into a separate bowl. Combine butter and milk in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add sugar and extract and mix well. Stir in chopped pecans. Pour and spread over warm cake.

 

 

Carrot Cake

We had carrot cake as our wedding cake and for some reason I haven't found a recipe that taste quite as good but this comes close....Bruce always wants this for his birthday cake- this year he got his wish.

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda (half this in high altitude)
3 t. cinnamon
3 c. grated carrots

Cream together sugar, eggs and oil. in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. combine two mixtures. stir in carrots. pour into greased 9x13 pan. bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. let cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, about halfway melted
1 t. vanilla
2 c. (16 oz.) powdered sugar

cream the softened cream cheese. blend with butter. add powdered sugar and vanilla. beat well. spread over room temp. cake

another recipe to compare-much more moist!

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4c. vegetable oil
2 c. white flour (can use 1/2 wheat)
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda (half this in high altitude)
3 t. cinnamon
3 c. grated carrots
1/2 c chopped pecans

Coconut Sandwich Cookies

I love coconut and these were awesome, thanks to Rachel L's recipe blog, her recipes are the best.

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

3/4 c. butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Creamy Vanilla Filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, bakind powder, and salt; set aside. Place 1/2 cup coconut into small bowl; set aside. Place remaining coconut in a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and ground coconut; mix just until combined.

Drop dough by level tablespoon onto two baking sheets, 1-2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dividing evenly, spread filling on flat side of half the cookies; sandwich with remaining cookies. Roll edges in reserved coconut and chill until ready to serve.

Berta's Ranger Cookies

I grew up making these cookies with my mom in many variations. I make double batches and freeze them in ziploc bags for lunches. Recently I came across a recipe for Laura Bush's cowboy cookies-it is basically the same one except she uses cinnamon which I have added before.

1 cup butter or marg
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
cream together & add:
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
Add:
2 cup flour (can do 1/2 WW)
1 teas baking powder
1/2 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
2 cups oatmeal ( I grind it up in blender first if I am making plain chocolate chip-Matt's Fav)
Add all or none-any variation:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts ( sometimes, I will grind these up too so kids will eat them)
1 cup raisins
1 cup coconut
My Mom always added 1 cups of corn flakes or wheaties

Scoop into balls on cookie sheet
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes( depends on size )

Here's Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies recipe for your delight.

• 3 cups flour
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups butter (at room temperature)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups sweetened flake coconut
• 2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

Mix dry ingredients together in bowl, then set aside. Mix butter and sugars together, add eggs and vanilla until creamy. Add the flour mixture, then the chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans. Drop onto cookie sheet using medium scoop. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes approximately. They are so chewie and delicious. After they cool, a drizzled with red and green candy melts to jazz them up. Makes about 7 dozen cookies.

Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creams

These are a dietitian's nightmare but here is a homemade version...very tasty

1 1/2 c. shortening
2 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
4 c. old-fashioned oats

Filling:
3/4 c. shortening
3 c. powdered sugar
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1-3 Tblspn. milk

1. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats.

2. Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. (make sure you really keep them small because they really spread out) Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

3. For filling, in a mixing bowl, cream the first three ingredients. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread filling on the bottom half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.