R,S,C #18 Recipes

As usual, I've gotten some really yummy recipes! Check these out and have a look at the great blogs written by the players!

From: Ian, The Gallumphing Gourmand

Chocolate Fruitcake
Makes 4 loaves

1 C butter
3/4 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 C brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 C red maraschino cherries, halved
1 C green maraschino cherries, halved
1 1/2 C walnuts and pecans, chopped
1/4 C grated coconut
red and green maraschino cherries, for garnish

PREPARATION:
Melt butter and chocolate chips in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring
often to keep it from burning or sticking to the sides. Remove from heat,
and let it cool for about 15 minutes.
Stir in brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
Add flour and salt, stirring until blended. Stir in candied fruits, nuts and
coconut. Spoon mixture into 4 greased and floured 5 x 3 x 2-inch loaf pans.
Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes
out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool on wire
racks.
Seal cakes in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly before cutting. Garnish with
more maraschinos, if you like.
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From: Paula, The Cookbook Junkie

Cherry Cherry Cookies
Silver Spring Presbyterian Church Cookbook ’98 Copyright 1998

1 c. packed brown sugar
¾ c. margarine, softened
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
½ c. maraschino cherries, well drained and chopped
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
½ c. flaked coconut

In a large mixing bowl, cream brown sugar, sugar, butter, egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, salt, baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Fold in cherries, pecans and coconut. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 4 dozen
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I can't count this as a submission since I planned on doing this for one of my older daughters. I make these often (just the brownie bite without the cherry) and she loves maraschino cherries so I thought the two may be good together. She loved them!

Cherry Brownie Bites
Printable Recipe

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick (1/2 c) butter
1/2 c plus 2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
24 maraschino cherries, rinsed and drained well.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 mini-muffin cups with paper liners or grease well.

Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth and let cool to room temperature. Set aside.
Mix flour and salt together in a small bowl-set aside.
Mix eggs and brown sugar together until thick and pale. Stir in vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture until well blended. Stir in flour until just combined.
Fill each muffin cup halfway with dough and top each with a cherry. Cover the cherries with more dough to nearly the top of the cup.
Bake 12-15 minutes (I find 14 works well) until the edges are set but the centers are moist and fudgy.
Cool for several minutes before removing.

Ready, Set, Cook! #18

OK kids, let's do something a little different today~dessert!

This may seem more difficult but I don't think it will be.
If you choose to bake something usually amounts are a little more exact than for other recipes. I tend to still be a "handful of this, pinch of that" type even when baking.
BUT, these ingredients can be used in so many ways though that I don't want anyone to get bogged down with fear that you can't make something with them unless you bake!

So, that said, here are today's 3 ingredients:

chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk chocolate, your choice)
brown sugar (dark or light, again your choice)
maraschino cherries (these are the super red sweet guys that we all see on top of sundaes)

On your mark, get set, COOK!

Kentucky Butter Cake

Kentucky Butter Cake

This recipe is from a book of recipes that belonged to my mother's friend, JoAn Henry. JoAn passed away some time ago and her husband put together a compilation of recipes in her memory. The book is so much more than just recipes though and I have enjoyed reading it time and again. I have very fond memories of John and JoAn Henry. They were from Indiana, as my mother was, but were also transplanted to Pennsylvania due to John's job with JCPenney.

John has since moved back to Indiana and I miss his warm smile and manner and JoAn's sweet and quiet nature.

This recipe is just awesome. For anyone who doesn't readily know this, oleo is the same as margarine although I use real butter when I make this. Also, soda means baking soda.

Kentucky Butter Cake
(John's Favorite)
Printable Recipe

1 c. oleo
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. buttermilk

Cream 1 cup oleo. Gradually add 2 cups sugar. Blend in 4 eggs, one at a time. Combine 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon soda. Combine 1 cup buttermilk with 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add milk and flour mixtures alternately to creamed mixture, ending with dry mixture. Mix well. Turn into greased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325° for 60 to 65 minutes.

Butter
sauce:

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. oleo

Combine in saucepan. Heat until butter melts; add 1 tablespoon vanilla. Poke holes into top of cake with fork. Pour sauce slowly over cake while cake is in pan. Cool before removing from pan.

Great with strawberries or peaches over it.

Note (included with the recipe): I remember my grandmother making cake very similar to this one. She would make it using the old wood stove. The only difference was, she didn't put the glaze on it. She also made corn bread in an iron skillet. I remember when my grandfather bought her a kerosene cook stove. I'm not sure she ever got used to it, because the old wood stove stayed there in the kitchen until she died in 1955.

From: Best Cookin' Ever, JoAn Henry's Favorite Recipes, by John Henry

Monkey Bread

This is so easy that it's even doable on busy mornings and the kids love it. I've made this with various types of doughs from frozen bread dough to regular canned biscuits but what we all agreed on was the type of canned biscuit that was best. The flaky ones that pull apart into layers taste the best hands-down. I don't do the "double-dip" method of first dipping in butter or margarine and then dipping in sugar. I find that isn't necessary at all since it all gets covered over with a butter-sugar mixture anyway.

There are so many versions of this that it's mind-boggling! I've seen a pumpkin one that I will try and report on but for now, this is the one we like.


Monkey Bread
Makes one bundt pan

Ingredients:

3 cans flaky-type biscuits (the kind that come apart in layers)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon-ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg-ground

Directions:

1. Coat the inside of a bundt pan with oil or cooking spray.
2. Mix sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until completely blended.
3. Cut each biscuit into quarters.
4. Dip each quarter into sugar and spice mixture and place randomly into bundt pan.
5. When all biscuit quarters have been dipped and placed into pan you should have about 1/2 c of the sugar and spice mixture left-over. Add 1/4 c of melted butter or margarine to sugar and spice and mix well. Pour this over the biscuits in pan.
6. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes or until puffed up and browned. Let stand for 5 minutes and turn out onto a large plate.
7. Serve by pulling apart with a fork into large pieces.

Whoops!

I feel rather pathetic. I honestly didn't mean to miss RSC today.

I am so busy with life in general that I think I might drop over soon.

My husband has had some inconclusive MRI's done recently and has other testing coming up soon to try and pinpoint where his chronic pain and weight loss (30 lbs) is coming from. Some scary stuff when the Drs look so concerned. He is not able to make calls or appointments for himself so I do all of that on top of regular daily life. His birthday is Thursday and I decided to get the "library" done and set up with another TV so he can play the few games he has time for without the kids tripping in front of him every 5 minutes. That was a bigger task that I thought and wore me out this weekend. Cake etc will be Thursday and I have a few other things to run around for as well.

I have 2 children heading for general anesthesia at the hospital for dental work just 2 days before my due date.

I have one son having difficulties in school with being bored and the behavior "problems" that can arise from that. We are looking at homeschooling again but just spoke with the principal today (our request) and will see if that makes a difference.

My mother-in-law is having a knee replacement on the 9th and I and my older girls are the only ones that will really be able to help her after that.

My own mother is having some depression issues stemming from grandma's death last year and is not doing too well. I'm hoping she can have her medication changed to help.

My two oldest are doing very well in school but they are both in the play this fall and are gone for much of the time and needing rides to and from practices etc.

I am in my last weeks with baby here and although I am healthier than usual, I'm also more tired than usual (gee, I wonder why) and am almost down to weekly appointments which is honestly an annoyance rather than a necessity at this stage. I had an appointment today and had the two littler ones with me. Let's just say that Drs offices are not too exciting at that age.

So, please forgive me for overlooking this (I also was not able to do board-posting duties for an online community that I belong to yesterday. I feel like I'm failing miserably there too!) I love you guys for checking in and thanks K for e-mailing me to check up!