Chocolate Berry Crumb Bars

This busy grandma finally made these cookies along with my daughter-in-law, Yulia, who shared them with her office staff at a pitch-in luncheon. She won first place with kudos for the cookies. Try this recipe yourself. There are lots of parties and holidays in your future.

Scroll through the blog and you will find several of our favorite family recipes. Try the pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing.  Check back later for more October recipes.

                                          Chocolate Berry Crumb Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup butter softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cups packed brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)

1 ¼ cups sweetened condensed milk

½ cup of your favorite berry jam- I prefer seedless raspberry.

½ cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Spray 13x9 inch glass baking pan with baking spray.
2. In large mixing bowl beat softened butter until creamy. Add flour, sugar and salt and mix until crumbly. Spread all but about ¾ cup of crumbs into pan, sprinkle with flour, and press lightly with finger tips. Set rest of crumbs aside.
3. Bake about 10 minutes or until crumbs start to brown around edges. Remove from oven, but leave oven on.
4. In a small saucepan put the condensed milk and 1 cup chocolate chips. Warm at low temperature and stir until creamy. Spread it over the baked crust.
5. Chop the nuts and add to the remaining crumbs. Sprinkle over chocolate sauce.
6. Drop dollops of jam on top of crumbs until ½ cup of jam is used. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top and return to oven. Bake 25-30 minutes until center is set and crumbs are slightly brown. Remove pan to wire rack to cool. Cut into squares. Serve and delight your guests.

Never Too Many Strawberries

June for me always meant strawberry time. When I was young strawberries were sweeter, smaller, and juicier than today.  I made jam in a large gray kettle, inhaled the aroma, scraped the foam from the luscious concoction, and shared it with the children. The finished product was canned in half pint jars and kept in the cellar for winter.

Recently my daughter Becky came to visit and made strawberry jam. It was delicious, took much less time to make and is now stored in the freezer. We don’t have wild berries, but it certainly brings back memories when poured over ice cream, or spread on toast.

A couple of weeks ago we went shopping at Costco and got a huge crate of strawberries. We got creative and made strawberry bread from Heaven’s recipes. (Recipe found on this blog). There were so many berries we didn’t have room to store them in the refrigerator. So I rinsed and froze most of them in two cup portions and thought of ways to use them: smoothies, muffins, jam, and a recipe for a strawberry fruit cake that I invented.

This is a variation of a Mexican fruit cake that I have been making for years. The recipe originally came from my daughter-in-law Stacey. The difference being I substituted a package of frozen strawberries for crushed pineapple. Try this extremely moist cake while strawberries are still available at a reasonable price.

                                                     Strawberry Fruit Cake

 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

4. Combine eggs, sugar, and chopped strawberries in medium mixing bowl.
5. In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and baking soda.
6. Add contents of medium bowl to flour, sugar mixture and combine thoroughly. Then add nuts.
7. Grease bottom of oblong cake pan and pour batter into pan.
8. Place into preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake until golden brown about 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Ice with this cream cheese frosting recipe while still hot.
10. Cool on wire rack and refrigerate until ready to serve.

                                              

                                              Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened

1 stick softened butter (no substitute)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

While the cake is baking, cream the softened cheese and butter (no substitute). Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat with mixer until ingredients are well combined. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven pour the icing over the cake. Cool on rack and then refrigerate until ready to serve. This iced cake with the frosting is very rich. Cut it into small pieces and it will serve a large crowd. Let the children help with this project. They love to mix and of course lick the bowl. Have fun cooking with the kids.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Here is another Thanksgiving recipe for all you people who have probably already shopped or already have these items in your cupboard. You won't find it boring or just like every other pumpkin pie and it will certainly wake up your taste buds. My daughter Becky makes this dessert every year when she goes to the fall family get-together. Try it out and let me know if you like it better than plain pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:
3 cups solid packed pumpkin
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup evaporated milk (add water to make two cup)


1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup melted butter

In large mixing bowl combine eight  top ingredients and pour in rectangular cake pan.Then sprinkle top of pumpkin mixture with entire box of yellow cake mix. Next sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Finally melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter and pour over cake mix. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve with Redi Wip or ice cream. Are you going to change your favorite pumpkin dish to Pumpkin Pie Cake?

Surprise Oatmeal Pancakes

I got this basic recipe during the 1970’s from a Chicago friend of ours named Mike.  He was a traveling salesman and visited our area about once a month and usually spent the night.  One morning while he was there we were about to make breakfast when he decided to help out.  He made these wonderful oatmeal pancakes that were so delicious we adopted them for our own.  We’ve turned them into a Sunday brunch tradition at our home.  They never get boring because we change them by adding everything from blueberries to nuts and chocolate chips.  Let the children or grandchildren help out with this project.  They love making choices and adding their own  favorite ingredients.  

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tbsp. canola oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
½ cup milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup whole wheat flour
1½ cups old fashioned oatmeal

Optional: ½ cup chopped apple, a sprinkling of cinnamon, chocolate chips, blueberries, sliced strawberries, sliced almonds, chopped pecans, applesauce or anything else you or your assistants have chosen.

Directions: Preheat griddle to 350 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl whip egg with oil.  Add salt, cinnamon, honey, yogurt and milk.  Mix thoroughly and then add wheat flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and soda.  Add the optional ingredients of your choice or those of your assistants.
Pour batter onto a warm preheated griddle and cook until beginning to set.  Turn pancakes over and continue to cook until springy in center.  These pancakes burn easily so keep temperature lower than recommended by griddle manufacturers.  Place on platter when done and keep warm in oven until ready to eat.  I promise your family will love these.  Serve with maple syrup, your favorite jam, or fruit.  Turn off the TV and telephone, sit at the table and have a conversation with your family.  What a treat!