OLD-TIME CINNAMON JUMBLES

 Made with buttermilk...delicately soft and cake-like. "So easy...that making them is a thrill for the girls in the Home Economics classes each year," according to Miss Sarah M. Knight of Buffalo, NY. And even her sixth-graders report making them with great success in their own homes!"

I love old cookbooks and I can almost imagine what this cookbook looks like just from the picture. I have several old cookbooks that I have had forever. NO I didn't buy them at estate sales - although I have seen them at estate sales. I used to buy them at truck stops when we first got married. 

Cafe Treats Baker Dorene made these and they were so delicious. That added cinnamon sugar on top is so tasty on your lips when you take a bite of the cookie. I loved that. I think you might also.

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OLD-TIME CINNAMON JUMBLES

1/2     cup soft shortening (part butter)

1        cup sugar

1        egg

3/4     cup buttermilk

1        teaspoon vanilla

2        cups sifted flour

1/2     teaspoon soda

1/2     teaspoon salt

****

1/4     cup sugar

1        teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix thoroughly the shortening/butter, 

sugar, and egg.

Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla.

Sift together the sifted flour, soda, and salt. Stir in to make a dough.

Chill the dough for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

Remove dough from the refrigerator. Drop rounded  teaspoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Bake until cookies are set 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen 2 inch cookies.

CAKE MIX OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

Being able to make cookies, quick bread, and other desserts using a cake mix as the base definitely make it easier. I especially liked it when I found a Sugar-Free or now they call it Zero-Sugar yellow, devils food, and even brownies mixes on the grocery shelves. Now, of course, with gluten-free and even keto friendly options being so popular, you can even use those. Since gluten-free options still have all of the sugar content, if you want to reduce the sugar in your food, that isn't really an option. I did see a gluten-free/keto friendly cake mix, I think, recently in the store. Since I am back on my Sugar-Buster lifestyle, I am interested in reading more about that option.

Cafe Treats Baker Sandi often uses the Zero-Sugar cake mix in her recipes due to being diabetic. I don't think she did in this recipe. If you want/need to reduce the amount of sugar for this recipe, you could easily do so using a Zero-Sugar yellow cake mix, brown sugar blend, and zero-sugar chocolate chips. Since I am avoiding enriched flour, I am interested in finding the gluten-free/keto friendly cake mix.

I didn't take one big bite of Sandi's cookies and it is definitely something I am going to look into. They look awesome, too, don't you think? You would never guess they were made using a cake mix.

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CAKE MIX OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1       box yellow cake mix

1/2    cup packed brown sugar

1/2    cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1/2    cup oil

1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2    teaspoon nutmeg

1       large egg, beaten

2       cups oats

1       cup chocolate chips*

1-2    tablespoons water, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper two cookie sheets. Set aside.

Stir the cake mix, brown sugar, spices and oats together in a large bowl with a spatula.

Add the butter, oil, and eggs. Mix

 well with a mixer. If the mixture is dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheet and bake 14 to 16 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

Let cook for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to finish cooling.

*Raisins can be substituted for the chocolate chips if you prefer.

WHITE CHIP CHOCOLATE COOKIES

It is extremely rare that I share a recipe that I didn't actually get to eat. This time though I am sharing a recipe for these fabulous looking cookies and I didn't get to take them.

I always set aside one of everything that is brought for the Cafe Treats that I can eat later so I can actually enjoy every bite. I did that Sunday before I went to Sunday school. I have to admit I just placed them on a plate, but I have done that before. They were still there when I came back to check on everything after class and had to leave the Cafe so I could help with hospitality. When the 11 o'clock service was over and I went to clean up, the White Chip Chocolate Cookie that I had saved to enjoy later was missing from the plate. I couldn't believe someone would do that. I guess it just looked too inviting for them to pass up.

You have to admit, they do look pretty awesome and I am sure they tasted awesome because they were all eaten. Maybe Cafe Treats Baker Kathy will make them again.

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WHITE CHIP CHOCOLATE COOKIES

2-1/4   cups flour

2/3      cup baking cocoa

1         teaspoon baking soda

1/4      teaspoon salt

1         cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

1/2      cup sugar

1/2      cup brown sugar

1         teaspoon vanilla

2         large eggs

2         cups white chips (12 - oz package)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing well in between.

Beat in dry ingredients. Scrape the sides the bowl as needed.

Fold in the baking chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. 

Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Ready to serve at the Cafe at church.

PEACH COBBLER

 This past Thursday night was our time to host our group of three other couples that we call The Tasty Bunch. We meet each month taking turns being host and meet for dinner at a local restaurant for dinner and then to the house of the hosting couple for more conversation and dessert. We have been doing this for a number of years. The couples have changed over the time except for three of us.

When it is our turn, I always spend many days trying to decide what I am going to make for dessert. I'm not trying to outdo my friends; I just want to make sure whatever I make is a success. 

I don't think I have ever repeated a dessert in all of these years and even though usually what I make is the first time I have made it (just kills my husband), I can't remember a time that I made a flop. I think one time I made two different desserts because I was afraid what I had made wasn't good because it didn't look great. Everyone wanted a little of both and loved both of them.

I love peach cobbler. Actually I just love peaches and have never had them in a dessert that I didn't enjoy. I really loved my mother's cobblers, but have never been able to replicate them, hard as I have tried.

Even though this recipe was nothing like what she made, I have to admit the taste of it was close to the overall taste. I think it was the first time I have used canned peach pie filling. I have used pie fillings a lot, just never peach.

I'm glad I bought two cans (21 ounces each) because the amount of slices of peaches were limited while the sugary thick "juice" was abundant. I ended up with half a can of the "juice" left after I spooned out the slices and then combined the "excess" juice. I did use some of it in the cobbler because I didn't want it to be dry.

As I said, the cobbler was really delicious and everyone loved it. We served either light peaches and cream ice cream or light vanilla ice cream with it. It was interesting to see who wanted which flavor. I would have liked to warm it up in the oven a bit before serving it, but didn't have the time as everyone wanted dessert as soon as they got to our house. BUT you know it tasted perfect cold. (Everyone agreed.)

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PEACH COBBLER

1/2    cup butter (1 stick)

1       cup flour

1       cup sugar (I removed 2 tablespoonsful)

1       teaspoon baking powder

1       cup milk

2       cans (21 ounces each) peach pie filling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the stick of butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan and place in the oven while it preheats.

Remove when the butter is melted. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder with a whisk to thoroughly mix.

Add the milk and stir until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the pan covering the bottom of the pan. (Do not stir.)

Carefully drop spoonfuls of the peach pie filling on top to evenly cover. (I didn't use all of the sugary mixture in the pie filling from the two cans. I mainly wanted to have enough peach slices for a nice cobbler.) Again, do not stir.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and batter is set and golden brown.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack. 

Serve warm or cold with ice cream.

WHEATIES DROP COOKIES

According to Friend and Cafe Treats Baker, Dorene, these cookies are fast and easy to make and kids love them. I'm not a kid anymore, but I did like them.

Dorene took a few liberties with the recipe like substituting butter for shortening that the original recipe called for. That would have made a difference in the look of the cookies as cookies made with butter spread more than those made with shortening. She also omitted the nuts because the Cafe Treats are a nut-free zone so that would change the taste and the looks of the cookies from what they were meant to look like. She also used a generic wheat flakes for the Wheaties, but I don't think that would make too much of a difference except in the cost of the ingredients in the cookies.

My review would include that they were a moist, soft, flavorful cookie, even adults can enjoy.

 

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WHEATIES DROP COOKIES

1     cup butter, 2 sticks, softened

1/2  cup sugar

1/2  cup light brown sugar

2     eggs

1     cup sour milk

2     cups sifted flour

1/2  teaspoon soda

1/2  teaspoon salt

1     teaspoon cinnamon

1/2  teaspoon nutmeg

1/2  teaspoon cloves

3/4  cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

1     cup cut-up raisins

3     cups Wheaties cereal

Mix thoroughly the shortening, sugars, and eggs.

Stir in milk.

Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add to creamed mixture.

Stir in the nuts, if using, and raisins.

Fold in the Wheaties.

Chill the dough for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray cookies sheets. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart. (rounded teaspoonful)

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until when touched lightly with finger, no imprint remains.

Cool on a wire rack.

The recipe says they freeze well. I would recommend using wax paper between the layers though.

BANANA APPLESAUCE (NUT) BREAD

 Everybody loves this bread !

So says Margaret Guy from Mobile, AL in the 1996 Beta Sigma Phi's Let's Party cookbook.

I was a member of the social Sorority when we lived in Fayetteville, AR so any time I run across one of their cookbooks at estate sales or thrift shops, I usually end up buying it. I trust it is going to be full of outstanding recipes.

I must thank my husband for my finding the recipe. We are having some leakage in the foundation of our house and we had to move everything out of the storage room under the landing and stairs in our house. One of the things I had stored under there was a three-shelf bookcase full of cookbooks I have collected since moving to MO. I stacked them all behind the sofa in the den planning to go through them soon. 

Well, you know the rest of the story. A couple of days ago, he packed the books in three medium size boxes to store in the garage. All but two cookbooks, that is - this cookbook being one of them. He left the other one out because he found a coconut cake recipe he wants me to try. Not sure why he left this one out.

I finally decided to flip through them to see if I could donate them to our favorite thrift shop or discover some recipes I had marked or missed when I originally bought the cookbooks. I did see the coconut cake recipe but just took a picture of the recipe since I decided I could donate it. The cookbook had a lot of good-looking recipes, but they called for so much sugar...

This cookbook I am going to keep because I have several (a bunch) of recipes I want to finally try. If I decided to get rid of one cookbook each day, I might end up with no cookbooks by Christmas. I don't have to go to that extreme though so right now I will try for a couple of week. I am sure I will manage more than that once I get started. Will keep you posted.

Back to this recipe...Omitting the nuts even though it called for a whole cup didn't mess with the texture of the bread. I read recently if you are omitting nuts in a recipe to increase the flour by 1/4 cup. I considered doing that, but decided not to and I am glad I didn't. I added my personal notes at the end of the recipe, but I am serious about trying the recipe with stevia. One of the Cafe Treats Bakers made a banana bread a week or so ago with stevia and no one would believe it didn't contain real sugar. I will let you know how it works out.

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BANANA APPLESAUCE (NUT) BREAD

2    cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1    tablespoon baking powder

2    eggs, lightly beaten

1    cup sugar (I removed 2 tablespoons)

3/4 cup oil

3    tablespoons buttermilk

3    mashed bananas (I had about 1-1/4 cups)

1    cup unsweetened applesauce

1    cup chopped pecans (optional)

1    teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour one 4 x 8 - inch loaf pan. (I sprayed three mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and then dusted with flour shaking off the excess flour.) Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Add the eggs, sugar, oil, and buttermilk, mixing well with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

 

Stir in the bananas, applesauce, pecans if using, and vanilla.

Mix well.

Pour into the large loaf pan or divide the batter between the three mini loaves. (I use my digital scale to weigh each pan to make sure I do a good job dividing the batter evenly.) Oops! I forgot to take a picture. The pans were filled to about 1/4-1/8 inch from the top.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the bread tests done OR about 45 minutes for the mini-loaves. Can test for doneness by pressing lightly the center of the loaf. The bread should "bounce" back.

Cool in pan(s) on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing to finish cooling. 

At church for the Cafe Treats, I cut into slices about 1/4 inch wide and then down the middle for serving size pieces. (I thought I took a picture, but it isn't on my phone, so I guess I didn't. There were no pieces left after second service.)

Personal notes: 

If you are using very ripe bananas which are sweeter, I think you could substitute a cup of stevia or Splenda to make  bread "no-sugar-added. I'm going to try that next time. Removing the 2 tablespoons of sugar from the cup of sugar, did not keep the bread from being very sweet.

I wrapped mine with plastic wrap and left out at room temperature overnight to serve the next morning. I feel comfortable in saying that the loaf would freeze well for later enjoyment.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED CHERRY CAKE

 Tuesday was my first time to host the canasta group since I started seriously to try to take off a few pounds. I usually try to make desserts with less sugar, but I wanted to eliminate added sugar completely for me at least.

I felt like chocolate and I felt like cherries since I have been enjoying some fresh cherries. So I decided to do both chocolate and cherries. Winner! Winner!

To do chocolate and cherries, the first thing that came to my mind was a chocolate cake mix (zero-sugar) and cherry pie filling (no-sugar-added) and that's what I did.

Since the Zero-Sugar Devil's Food cake mix doesn't come with pudding, I decided I would just add a 4-serving package of sugar-free chocolate instant pudding and I would have the cake mix with pudding. 

The outcome though was a little surprise, but a pleasant surprise. The finished cake tasted more like a rich fudgy brownie. I decided maybe the cake mix with pudding included doesn't have as much pudding as if you used a plain cake mix and added a pudding mix. 

I added a scoop of ice cream for everyone else, but I just ate mine plain since my ice cream was not a no-sugar-added variety.

Everyone else enjoyed their dessert so I will consider making it again. Of course, if you don't want to eliminate the sugar in your cake, just use a regular cake mix (without the pudding) and add a pudding mix.

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CHOCOLATE-COVERED CHERRY CAKE

1     package (Zero-Sugar) devil's food cake mix 

1     4-serving size package Sugar-Free chocolate instant pudding

1     can (21 ounces) No-Sugar-Added cherry pie filling

2     large eggs

1     teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding mix with a whisk until well blended. Then add the pie filling, eggs, and flavoring.

Stir on low for 1 minute with electric mixer. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Increase the speed to medium (1 notch up) and beat for another minute or two.

Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Batter will be thick.

Spread into the pan and

bake for 30 minutes or until it springs back when lightly touched in the center.

Allow to cool before serving. 

You can frost it, if you like with your favorite chocolate frosting. OR dust it with powdered sugar (less sugar). OR just top with a scoop of ice cream (No-Sugar-Added for even less sugar).

Cover with foil or top for pan at room temperature for up to five days (if it will last that long).

JEAN'S HAWAIIAN BANANA BREAD

 I have made a Hawaiian Bread before but I don't think it was a type of banana bread. I'm not really sure because it has been quite a while since I did, but this bread that Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Jean made for the Cafe at church was so delicious. I guess the patrons visiting the Cafe thought so too because the platter was empty before the second service started.

It is so much fun to keep finding recipes, and quick bread ones in this case, to try and enjoy. Creating the Cafe Treats and forming the group of bakers who contribute each week has been so much fun (most of the time), but it has been awesome seeing all of the different treats/recipes. I should explain that it isn't always fun scheduling people. I wish we had more involved so I wouldn't have to ask someone if they are available when not enough people signed up for a particular date.

Jean cut the bread before so I didn't get a picture of the whole loaf so I know it's hard to see how it looks with the picture I have.

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HAWAIIAN BANANA BREAD

1/2     cup butter, softened (1 stick)

1        cup sugar

2        large eggs

1        very ripe banana

1        8 - oz can of crushed pineapple (do not drain)

2        cups flour

1        teaspoon baking powder

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

1/4     teaspoon salt

1/4     cup coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray one large loaf pan or two mini-loaf pans. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.

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

Stir in the banana and pineapple.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Stir in the coconut.

Pour into  large pan or divide evenly in the smaller pans.

Bake the large loaf for about 60 minutes or the smaller ones for 45 minutes or until done.

FUDGY OATMEAL BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

I'm a little late sharing this delicious cookie recipe with you, but better late than never. This cookie recipe definitely is one you should add to your recipe box, especially if you like chocolate and butterscotch together.

Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Jean didn't, but I would substitute a Zero-Sugar devil's food cake mix to reduce the added sugar. I don't think I have seen sugar-free butterscotch chips, but I do have sugar-free chocolate chips. 

I am really trying to reduce my sugar-intake as my husband and I did about 20 years ago and was successful in loosing some weight so I love when I find a recipe that I can do that. It doesn't change the taste and as I do that, I will get adjusted to the taste of sugar and not realize the difference. 

This recipe is definitely going to be starred for me to make for us.

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FUDGY OATMEAL BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

1       package devil's food cake mix

1-1/2 cups quick-cooking, or old-fashioned oats, uncooked

3/4    cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, melted

2       large eggs

1       tablespoon oil

1       teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups chocolate mini-baking bits

1       cup butterscotch chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oats, butter, eggs, oil, and vanilla until well blended.

Stir in the mini-baking chips and butterscotch chips.

Using a tablespoon size cookie scoop, scoop a level amount of dough and place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool for 1 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Store in a tightly covered container.