COLONIAL JIFFY CHOCOLATE CAKE

 As far as I am concerned, Lydia ann Miller, cook, and Edna Nissley, waitress, at Das Dutchman Essenhaus left out a key word in the title of this cake...Fudge. 

I made the cake because you cook it in an 8 x 8 - inch square pan which is just perfect for just the two of us. I didn't know how delicious it was going to taste. I did let the cake cool, I think, for an hour, but it was like eating fudge candy it was so good. I would highly recommend it if you were entertaining with a few couples and don't forget some ice cream. 

I did make one change. Nothing was mentioned about frosting so I decided to just spread about 3/4 cup of chocolate chips on top as soon as I took it out of the oven, waited about 3 minutes, and then spread them out over the top. Just the right amount of icing.

COLONIAL JIFFY CHOCOLATE CAKE

1       egg

1       cup sugar

1/2    cup cocoa

1/2    cup shortening

1       teaspoon baking soda

1/2    teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 cups flour

1       teaspoon vanilla

1/2    teaspoon salt

1/2    cup milk

1/2    cup boiling water

3/4    cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease or spray an 8 x 8 inch square baking dish. Set aside.

Put ingredients in a mixing bowl in the order in which they are give.

Beat with beater for 3 minutes. (I stopped about half way through and scraped the sides of the bowl.)

Pour into pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.

Optional:

Immediately upon removing dish from the oven, sprinkle in one layer about 3/4 cup chocolate chips on top. 

Wait 3 minutes and then

spread chip to ice the cake.

I thought I was going to have to put the dish back in the oven for another minutes, but I just kept spreading and ...

SHARON'S JALAPENO POPPERS

 While we are away on a road trip visiting extended family, I thought I would re - share some posts that surprised me because not many people checked them out.

I personally don't like "heat" and especially peppers, but these Jalapeno Poppers that my friend Sharon made for our canasta group several years ago are a must for entertaining. Everyone else raved about them and couldn't stop eating them. I hope you will check them out.

JALAPENO POPPERS

DALLAS' OATMEAL CARROT MUFFINS

 I made these muffins for our Saturday morning special breakfast. They were easier to make than they might sound. I didn't look at the clock to see how long it took me to grate 1 cup of carrots, but it allowed me to let the buttermilk and quick oats to soak for a bit which I think helped make the muffins taste so good. I poured the buttermilk on the oats and stirred them up and then measured out everything else I needed to make the muffins. Becky Helmuth didn't indicate that you needed to let the mixture set for 5 + minutes but I have seen that in other recipe that soaked oats in buttermilk.

Becky is/was a waitress at Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, Indiana and her recipe was in Volume III of the Amish Country Cookbook. There were no personal notes so I don't know who Dallas was, but I can vouch for the recipe. I did add a little more than 1/4 cup raisins and about 1n 1/8 cup of chopped dates. That's what I had left in the bag. Becky didn't say how much of each to add, just that "if desired, add raisins and dates". I also use dried orange peel whenever a recipe calls for grated orange rind so I added about 1/4 teaspoon of pure orange oil that I bought at King Arthur's store in Vermont.

DALLAS' OATMEAL CARROT MUFFINS

1     cup quick cooking oats

1     cup buttermilk

1     egg, beaten

1/3  cup melted butter

1/2  cup brown sugar (I used 1/4 cup truvia brown sugar baking blend.)

1     cup finely shredded carrots

1     teaspoon vanilla

1     teaspoon grated orange rind (I use dried orange peel)

1     cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)

2     teaspoon baking powder

1     teaspoon baking soda

1     teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray a 12 - cup muffin tin. Set aside.

Pour buttermilk over oats in bowl. Set aside while you measure out all of the other ingredients.

Add beaten egg, melted butter,

brown sugar, carrots, vanilla, and orange rind/peel. (I also added about 1/4 teaspoon pure orange oil.)

Mix thoroughly.

Add the combined flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix,

stirring just until moistened.

If desired, add raisins and dates (1/4 cup each)

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Quite tasty with a smear of butter on a warm muffin. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Can warm up for 20 seconds in the microwave, if desired.

BLUEBERRY BOYBAIT

 I'm still trying to find that balance in my pre-covid life with my post-covid life. I don't think I'm rushing things by saying my "post-covid life". We are still wearing masks most of the time, but are getting out more e.g. eating out, going to in-person church, and seeing friends. If we are with friends who are also fully vaccinated, we don't wear masks which is nice! We are even taking a road trip the last part of May to visit with different family members. Even though we might be driving 7 to 9 hours a couple of days, we will be with family at night so we don't have to spend the night in hotels. I'm still a little nervous about that.

Before COVID I had a very busy schedule/social life and I loved it, but after staying home for almost a year, I find myself wanting a good balance between busy days and days at home to just vegetate if I want to. Do you know what vegetate means? "Live or spend a period of time in a dull, inactive, unchallenging way."  I think that definition is so funny.

Anyway, Sunday was Mother's Day and it was a busy day with church in the morning, lunch, an afternoon drive, phone conversations with both sons, and a church Zoom meeting for a book discussion on Some of My Best Friends are Black. In the middle of all of this I found this recipe and tried to bake it to take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop Monday morning. At 9:15, I decided to just cover the bowl of dry ingredients + butter and put it in the refrigerator. I decided I would just finish mixing it up Monday morning before I went to Hillcrest. By the next morning I had decided I would make the BoyBait and take it to the thrift shop, but then come home and that's what I did. 

I ended up machine quilting a Blanket of Hope, sewing on the binding and then slip stitching it down by the time I went to bed. I left the BoyBait at the shop and went back to get the dish yesterday afternoon on my way home from church and our Blanket of Hope meeting. The guys were exciting that it was still warm from the oven. I don't think they minded that I didn't stay and clean.

BLUEBERRY BOYBAIT

2       cups flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

2/3    cup butter

2       teaspoons baking powder

1       teaspoon salt

2       eggs

1       cup milk

1       cup blueberries, fresh are best, or frozen (I used fresh ones that I had frozen and thawed.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12 x 8 x 2 - inch pan. (Mine was 11 x 8 x 2.)

Separate the eggs yolks and the egg whites. Sift together the flour and sugar.

Cut in butter until particles are the size of peas.

(Super slicing the butter and breaking it up into pieces makes this so easy.)

Reserve 3/4 cup for the topping.

Add baking powder, salt, 2 unbeaten egg yolks and milk. 

Beat for 3 minutes until well blended on low speed in electric mixer,

In a separate bowl, beat the 2 egg whites until stiff but not dry.

Fold gently into the batter.

Spread into pan.

Arrange the blueberries

over the batter.

Sprinkle with reserved topping.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream for dessert. You can also serve it warm as a coffee cake.

BAKED COCONUT CREAM PIE (AMISH)

 We needed something sweet in the house and I couldn't think of anything better than a coconut pie. The title of the pie has "cream" in it, but don't get confused with your ordinary coconut cream pie. That's not what this pie is. It tastes like a coconut pie and if you like coconut as much as Wayne and I do, that speaks volumes. I do think it tasted better the second night after being in the refrigerator over night, but we couldn't resist enjoying a piece of it while it was still a little warm. 

The recipe is Mary Esther MIller, the Manager/Restaurant Gifts at the Das Dutchman Essenaus in Middlebury, Indiana. I really hope we can get there sometime before the end of the year. It sounds like a really neat place to visit.

BAKED COCONUT CREAM PIE

2       eggs, beaten

1       cup corn syrup

1       cup milk

1       teaspoon vanilla

1/4    cup sugar

1       tablespoon flour

2       teaspoon melted butter

1       cup coconut

1       9 - inch deep pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat eggs well.

Mix ingredients well.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 45 min to 1 hour. (I did bake mine for an hour.) (My pie shell said to bake pie on a cookie sheet so I did.)

Cool on wire rack. Store covered in refrigerator. I think it is better the second day.

ANNIE EASTON NOBLE'S CRANBERRY CAKE

 At the time Yolanda Lodi completed her third cookbook,(Yolanda's All New Cranberry Cookbook) Annie Easton Noble was in her 80's and living in Dennisport, MA where she bred cocker spaniels. Yolanda used shortening when she made the cake, but found out Annie uses margarine or whatever other shortening was available during time of war. I decided I would be a little truer to Annie's recipe and used butter.

The volunteers at Hillcrest Thrift Shop really enjoyed it. Volunteer Sue said it was such a pretty cake too. I agreed with her. I was so pleased that the cranberries didn't sink to the bottom of the cake but were spread out throughout the cake. I took a few pieces home with me to share with Friend Fran and Friend Rita. I even took another piece home to Wayne. I hope some of the volunteers who didn't make it to the Community Room until lunch weren't disappointed if they didn't get a piece.

ANNIE EASTON NOBLE'S CRANBERRY CAKE

1       cup shortening or butter (I used 2 sticks of butter)

1-1/2 cups sugar

4       large eggs

3       cups flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2    teaspoon salt

2/3    cup milk

2       cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed), chopped (I cut the fresh cranberries in half)

1       cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 - inch tube pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening or butter and sugar thoroughly. I allowed the butter to soften some by letting it set out at room temperature for a bit. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add sifted dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternately with milk, bllending after each addition.

Scrape the sides of the bowl often.

Fold in cranberries and pecans.

Spread in tube pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. (I took mine out about 7 minutes early.)

Cool cake before removing from pan. (about 10 minutes) 

Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar (as I did) or frost cake with the following recipe (I have not tried, but I'm sure it's delicious) :

CRANBERRY FROSTING

1/2       cup cranberries, fresh or frozen

1/4       cup water

1          tablespoon lemon juice

1/4       cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

4          cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a small saucepan combine cranberries and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until berries pop (about 5 minutes).

Remove from stove and cool.

Blend in lemon juice.

Cream the butter in a large bowl.

Add powdered sugar, alternately with the cranberry mixture, blending after each addition. Add onlyy enough sugar to make a spreading consistency.