The first time I ate this dessert Friend Janice and I had been out doing our usual thing on Fridays - going to estate sales and we stopped by an old house-turned-restaurant called Sara's Kitchen in Kearney, MO. (I think someone suggested it at an estate sale we were at nearby. It has been over a year, at least and we have eaten at a lot of restaurants and gone to a lot of sales since then.)
The waitress, I think, told us about the dessert when she brought the menus. It sounded so good, we decided to eat "light" so we would have room for the dessert. When our waitress came to take the order and we told her we were eating light so we would have room for the dessert - I think they called it apple dumplings. Anyway, she looked alarmed and said she thought there might be only 2 left. We insisted she go check. Fortunately for us, she came back and said there were only 2 left, but she had put them back for us.
Then I saw the recipe on Pinterest (We had asked our waitress how they were made because they were so good and she told us.), but I just never got around to making them. When I was trying to decide what to serve for the quilters canasta group that was meeting at my house last Thursday, I saw it in my Amish Friends Cookbook - Desserts collected by Wanda E. Brunstetter. The recipe was contributed by Ida Marchand from Goshen, Indiana. (There was even a delicious full page picture.)
Generally speaking I followed her recipe - well close enough. I reduced the brown sugar to 3/4 cup and used a diet cherry 7-Up. I served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and Friends Ellen, Fran, and Janice were almost speechless. It was just as good as I remembered.
GRANNY SMITH APPLE DESSERT
1 Granny Smith apple
1 tube crescent rolls
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar (I reduced it to 3/4 cup)
1 cup Mountain Dew (I used diet cherry 7-Up)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel and core apple. Cut into 8 slices. (This is really simple if you have an apple corer/cutter.)
Microwave slices 2 minutes on paper towel or bake in 250 degree F oven 5 to 6 minutes.
(I used my microwave.)
Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll
and place in an 8 x 8 - inch pan.
Melt butter and brown sugar. Do not boil.
Pour over rolls. (coat evenly)
Then pour cola over the mixture.
Bake 50 minutes or until golden brown and set.
Serve warm with a little whipped cream or ice cream.
Remember all those chicken breasts I bought back in the summer? Well, we are still trying to eat them up. Every other day or so (it seems) my husband will tell me I need to make something with them. Earlier this week when we told me that, I told him I had a recipe to try and would use a couple of them. That satisfied him.
Suzanne Elizabeth Mastaw's original recipe called for 6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves. These chicken breasts I got are so big, they don't make a slow cooker big enough to hold 6 of them. I just cut the recipe down and it worked great. It is also marvelous that you start with the chicken frozen. (I am sure it would work with thawed chicken, too.) Even with the two breasts I used, we will enjoy pulled barbecued chicken for several meals.
ZESTY BARBECUED PULLED CHICKEN
2-3 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (If you use more than 3 medium sized breast halves, increase the amounts of the rest of the ingredients.)
1 cup (6 - ounces) barbecue sauce
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing (I used a fat-free one)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Spray the bottom and sides of a larger slow cooker with non stick cooking spray.
Place frozen chicken pieces in bottom of cooker.
Combine the barbecue sauce, salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Stir well.
Pour over chicken pieces.
Cover and cook on High for 3 - 4 hours (I did do 4 hours) or Low for 6 - 8 hours.
Shred chicken with two forks.
Return to cooker to soak up sauce.
Enjoy.
Add more barbecue sauce if desired.
I wanted to make something that looked especially festive to share with the volunteers at Hillcrest Thrift Shop when I worked my shift on Monday of this week. Many of the regulars who work on Tuesdays were not there, of course, and I always hate that they miss out, but the Tuesday regulars who also volunteer on Monday expect me to bring something on the second Monday of the month. The Monday volunteers who do not come in on Tuesday always enjoy whatever I bring.
I have to share with you a funny story about this bread and a couple of the Monday volunteers. One spends a lot of his time at the register "carrying on" with the customers, helping take out large items to the parking lot, etc. I asked Terry if he had gotten a piece of the bread I brought. He asked me what was in it. I told him fresh cranberries and golden raisins. Terry said, "I thought it was fruitcake." I reassured him and he said he would get a piece.
When I was ready to leave at the end of my shift, I went into the community room to get my pan. There were only 3 or 4 small pieces left. I was trying to find a plate to put them on, and Terry asked another man at the table if he had eaten any. He said no because he thought it was fruitcake. Terry laughed and told him he had too, but it was cranberries and raisins. Then the man took one of the pieces and took a bite. Immediately, he said, "Oh! This is good." and finished eating the piece. I'm not sure if the last few small pieces stayed very long on the plate.
I think I would recommend baking this the day before. Wrapping it in plastic wrap makes it moist.
CRANBERRY RAISIN NUT BREAD
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup halved fresh or frozen cranberries (I used fresh ones)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cranberry-Orange Spread (recipe below), optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan.
Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl (with a whisk).
Stir in the cranberries, raisins, nuts, and orange peel.
Mix eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla in a small bowl until combined.
Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. (Folding the mixture helps combine the mixture.)
Pour into pan.
Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan at least 15 minutes.
Remove from pan and completely cool on wire rack.
Store tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.
Serve with Cranberry-Orange Spread, if desired. (I did not make this but it sounds and looks good in the picture in the cookbook.)
CRANBERRY-ORANGE SPREAD
1 package (8-ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 package (3-ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 container (12-ounces) cranberry-orange sauce
3/4 cup chopped pecans
Combine cream cheese and cranberry-orange sauce in small bowl. Stir with a spoon until blended. Stir in pecans. Store in refrigerator. (Makes about 3 cups spread)
As many times as I have personally made a "dump cake", I can't believe I have never shared one on this blog. Last Saturday the Tasty Bunch gang met for dinner and dessert (back at one of our houses). Friends Carol and Keith made reservations for the 12 of us (6 couples) at Gram & Dun, a restaurant at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City and then we went to Friends Patricia and Gary's for dessert.
Patricia tried a new recipe for her called Cherry Dump Cake. While Patricia did use cherry pie filling, you can substitute any flavor pie filling. Since she had never made it before, she was a little concerned because some of the cake mix was still powdery. I asked her if she melted the butter and drizzled it over it. She said that was the recipe said to do. I told her I always thinly sliced the stick of butter and completely covered the top. Then it all cooks.
CHERRY DUMP CAKE
2 cans cherry pie filling
1 chocolate cake mix (any flavor of chocolate will work)
1 stick butter
1/2 chopped nuts
1/2 mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dump the cans of cherry pie filling in the bottom of the pan and spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the pie filling. (Break up any clumps. Patricia said she sifted the cake mix.)
Thinly slice the stick of butter and place the slices evenly over the top.
Sprinkle the nuts on top. Then add the chocolate chips.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Spoon out to serve.
Tastes great alone
or with a scoop of ice cream.
Here are some of the picture I took down at the Plaza. The Plaza always looks so beautiful as they outline the buildings with lights for the holidays.
I have to admit I had to look up the word "grassroot" to see if I could find a meaning to explain why Susanna Schrock from Wheatland, Missouri might call her cookies in Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Cookbook (Desserts) Grassroot Dream Cookies. While the definition (the most basic level of an activity or organization) didn't help me any, the first synonym listed did - popular. After making and eating one of these cookies, I am sure they could also be called Popular Dream Cookies.
I was making these cookies to take for the men who were serving us at the Ladies Christmas Tea at my church earlier this month. (I shared with you the Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe that I made for the ladies at Friend Janice and my table.) I had some holiday vanilla chips that were green and red that I thought would look festive for the occasion that I decided to add to the recipe. (I made one cookie sheet full just as the recipe read and then the next two I added a few of the colored chips.)
GRASSROOT DREAM COOKIES
1/2 cup margarine (I did use a stick of butter)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup cornflakes
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I did use unsweetened coconut)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Cream together the margarine/butter and sugars.
Add egg and vanilla; blend til smooth. (Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.)
Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture.
Stir in oats, cornflakes, and coconut. (You don't have to crush the cornflakes, the beater on your mixer will bake them up as you blend in the ingredients.)
Drop by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. (I used my cookie scoop that holds 1 tablespoon of water. It isn't necessary to flatten the dough; the cookies will flatten as they bake.)
Bake 12 to 15 minutes.
(Let cool about 1 minutes before removing the cookies to finish cooling on a wire rack.)
Makes about 3 dozen crisp cookies.
I added about 1/4 cup (I didn't really measure them. If you want to add some chips, add however many you like.) vanilla holiday chips - red and green.
Monday was the busiest baking days I have had in quite a while. Tuesday night we had our annual Ladies Christmas Tea at church and Friend Janice and I hosted a table again (seating 10 ladies). I made two chocolate pecan pies for our table. I also made three dozen cookies to treat the men servers at the tea. I also worked my usual 3-hour shift at the register for Hillcrest Thrift Shop and of course had to make something to take to treat the volunteers.
For some reason it took me longer than normal to make a decision on what to make for the latter. I finally chose this recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Loaves from my Famous Brand Name Gifts from the Christmas Kitchen cookbook. They had a full page picture of it and it looked really scrumptious with the glass of milk.
As usual, the complements flowed from the volunteers. When I tell my husband or friends what they tell me, the usual response I get is, "Well, they would probably say that about any thing you brought." I disagree. I can tell if they aren't as crazy about the treat as they usually are.
PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP LOAVES
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened (I stick)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 - inch loaf pans.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.
Beat peanut butter, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in large mixing bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down side of bowl after each addition.
Beat in buttermilk and vanilla.
Gradually add flour mixture.
Beat at low speed.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide dough evening between prepared pans. (I used one 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 - inch pan and one smaller. I filled the larger one fuller and it took longer to cook. Next time I will just make two the same size.)
Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes before removing to finish cooling completely on the wire rack.
Wrap with foil to keep it moist.
Peel and core apple. Cut into 8 slices. (This is really simple if you have an apple corer/cutter.)
Microwave slices 2 minutes on paper towel or bake in 250 degree F oven 5 to 6 minutes. 
(I used my microwave.)
Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll 
and place in an 8 x 8 - inch pan.
Melt butter and brown sugar. Do not boil.
Pour over rolls. (coat evenly)
Then pour cola over the mixture.
Bake 50 minutes or until golden brown and set.
