Cinnamon Vanilla Depression Cake

This is a recipe that folks made during the Great Depression (hence the name).  But - it works great for folks with allergies because it is free of milk, eggs, and butter.  This version is cinnamon vanilla, but you can adapt it to make chocolate, spice, orange, or lemon by adding or omitting ingredients.

3/4 + 1/8 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vinegar
1 t vanilla
1/6 c oil
1/2 c water
1 t cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and pour into cupcake tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.   Makes 6 cupcakes.

I used Pillsbury Creamy Vanilla Frosting to top them off.  It is also dairy free!  

Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

I thought I'd posted this recipe before, but I can't find it, and Sarah wanted a copy, so here goes:

Cake
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist butter recipe chocolate cake mix
Water, butter, and eggs called for on cake mix box

Filling
6 cups green mint-flavored ice cream with chocolate chips or chocolate swirl, slightly softened

Frosting
1 1/2 c whipping cream
2 T powdered sugar
4 drops green food color

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only on 2 9-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with waxed paper. Make cake mix as directed on box. Spoon evenly into pans.

Bake as directed on box. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Remove waxed paper. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Line 9-inch round cake pan with foil. Spoon and spread ice cream evenly in pan. Cover with foil; freeze until completely frozen, about 2 hours.

On serving plate, place 1 cake layer with rounded side down. Remove ice cream from pan; peel off foil. Place on top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer, rounded side up.

In medium bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and food color on high speed until stiff peaks form. Frost side and top of cake with whipped cream. Freeze about 2 hours or until firm. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever

On this rainy, hurricane day, I figured cookies were in order. I tried this spicy variety. They are awesome.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (don't try to make large cookies - they are better small) onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely.

Original source: http://www.allrecipes.com/

Personal Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

Today, I made mini pineapple upside down cakes for Papa's birthday. I've posted the regular recipe for pineapple upside down cake here before. I made the following adjustments:

Replace
1/4 c butter for 1/2 c butter
1 can pineapple rings with 1 can pineapple chunks
9 x 13 pan with 12-cup muffin tin

Instead of simply melting the butter and then sprinkling the brown sugar in the pan, I melted and sprinkled in a small pot on the stove. Once everything was mixed well, I put about a tablespoon of the mixture into each liberally greased muffin cup. Then, I added two chunks of pineapple and two cherries to each muffin cup and covered with cake batter.

When the cakes were cooked, I immediately turned them upside down on a cookie sheet. Everything worked out well and tasted delicious.

Grasshopper Brownies

It was a well-known fact that you could prowl the halls of Argon ST around 1:00 pm and usually find a free lunch. We had lunch catered almost daily for different meetings and lunchtime learning sessions. One of my favorite desserts from the local caterer was a brownie that was covered in mint cream and topped with a thin layer of chocolate. This recipe is a pretty spot-on recreation.

1 box of brownie mix (plus ingredients listed on the box)
2 c confectioner's sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 t peppermint extract
green food dye
6 T butter
1 c chocolate chips

Prepare brownies as specified on the back of the box. Let cool.

Mix sugar, 1/2 c butter, and peppermint extract until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Let set (about 15 minutes).

Melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat. Poor chocolate over frosted brownies. Let set (about 1 hour).

Enjoy!

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

This was a huge hit today; it was also easy to make. Today, I just served it in a prepared pie crust; however, this could easily be dressed up to serve as a traditional cheesecake in a spring form pan with a homemade graham cracker crust. I'd probably just make one batch of the regular cheesecake filling and then a separate batch of the pumpkin filling.

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Update (12/23/2010): Today, I made a new version of this cheesecake. I used three 8-0z packages of cream cheese (instead of two), 3/4 c sugar (instead of 1/2 c), and added 1/2 c of sour cream (after adding the eggs). I also used 1 c of pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin and all the spices. I made it in a springform pan with a graham cracker crust: (1 c graham crackers, 5 T butter, and 1/8 c sugar). I baked it at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Pumpkin Cake

I've made this cake several times already this fall. It is really moist and yummy. Bonus - it is dairy-free.

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12x18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12x18 inch pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

One of my very favorite spring-time cakes!

1/4 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1 can (20 oz) pineapple slices in juice

Maraschino cherries

1 box yellow cake mix

Eggs, oil, and water called for on cake mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in the oven in a 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Arrange pineapple slices and cherries on sugar/butter mixture.

Make cake batter as directed on the box - EXCEPT - substitute pineapple juice leftover from pineapple for water called in the recipe. If there's not enough pineapple juice to entirely substitute the water, then add water to the juice as necessary to get to the amount called for on the box.

Pour batter into pan (over pineapples and cherries) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

When cake is finished, remove cake from oven and immediately run a knife around the edge of the pan. Then turn the cake over on a heat-safe serving platter. Leave pan over cake for 5 minutes to allow extra brown sugar mixture to cover cake. Remove pan and let cool for 30 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Crunch Truffles

So - one of the things I can't really do while on modified bed rest is cook. Boo! But, I can drool over fun recipes I want to make in the future. Here's a really fun one from Picky Palate! I have a feeling this will be a huge hit for Syd and Tom.

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy Peanut Butter

1/2 cup strawberry preserves, or your favorite jam or jelly

1 package Nature Valley Oats and Honey Crunchy Granola bars (1 package, 2 bars)

3/4 cup powdered sugar plus 1/4 cup for rolling truffles

1. Place peanut butter and jelly into a mixing bowl. Crush granola bars with a rolling pin while still in the package. Open and pour into peanut butter and jelly bowl. Mix until well combined and then slowly stir in 3/4 cup powdered sugar until combined. Take 1 inch pieces of mixture and roll into balls. Roll each ball into remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar and then place into paper cups. Refrigerate or serve room temperature.

Grandma Estelle's Cheesecake

Use a spring form pan with a hole in the center.

Combine:

1 cup of graham cracker crumbs

1 T. sugar

½ stick of butter

Push into the bottom ONLY of the spring form pan.

Mix and make smooth:

3 8oz. pkgs of Philadelphia cream cheese

1 t. vanilla

5 whole eggs

1 c sugar

Pour over crumbs.

Bake in a 350° oven for 40 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.

Topping:

Mix together:

1 pint (2 cups) sour cream

4 T. sugar

1 t. vanilla

Pour over cheese cake….bake 5 minutes longer in a 400° oven.

Let stand to cool then chill before serving for at least 4 hours. Pre-slice the cake for your guests, wiping the knife between slices.

Ultimate Frozen Mud Pie Dessert

This is one of my favorite dinner party desserts... Yummy!

1 pint (2 cups) coffee-flavored frozen yogurt
Chocolate cookie pie crust
1/2 cup caramel topping
2 T chopped pecans
Cool Whip

Spread slightly softened yogurt evenly over crust. Freeze about 1 hour or until firm. In small bowl, mix caramel and pecans. To serve, top each serving with Cool Whip and caramel mixture.

Dark Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars

These are the best chocolate chip cookie bars I've ever had; they could do some serious damage to my rear and thighs. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to pray that Tom eats more than I do (if you must know, I may hide them from him). If you want one, come on over.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 eggs
1 cups dark chocolate chips, divided
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat in egg. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in half of the chocolate chips. Spread into prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan. Invert pan on a cutting board, and cut into bars.

Original Source: www.dinnersforayear.blogspot.com