Welcome to My Kitchen

It is snowing as I sit down this early Monday morning to write the column. Is March going to come in like a lion or a lamb? Either way this yummy, Chunky Apple Cake recipe, submitted by Kathy Jantz, is perfect for late winter and early spring.

Additionally it just might be the recipe Nancy Liner has been searching for. The ingredients are the same and if one makes the small goof that Nancy reported making, the results would be the same. Nancy’s error, she reported, was missing the part about serving the sauce with the cake and instead poured it over the cake before baking which made it very gooey, like a pudding cake.

The recipe appears here as submitted by Kathy. You may use your own judgment on when to add the sauce.

Chunky Apple Cake

Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 cups peeled and chopped tart apples

Butterscotch Sauce:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well (batter will be very stiff). Stir in apples until well combined.

Spread mixture in prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is lightly browned and springs back when lightly touched. Cool 30 minutes before serving.

Prepare sauce by combining brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Gradually add the cream, stirring well. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Serve sauce with the cake. Yield: 12-15 servings and 1 cup sauce.

Lecia Fink shared the recipe for Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting, that she and several others provided for a recent women's event. Because the recipe fills a 15 x10 inch jellyroll pan, these moist and tender bars are ideal for serving a crowd.

Banana Bread Bars

with Brown Butter Frosting

Bars:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (3-4)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 15 x10 inch jelly roll pan and set aside.

For bars, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter and eggs, in a large mixing bowl, until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt, blend for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth ( it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than a frosting). Use a spatula to spread the Brown Butter Frosting over warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while bars are still warm). Yield: 2 dozen large bars.

Note: you may find the Brown Butter Frosting recipe delicious on a variety of bar cookies and cakes.

Joyce McClanahan made Yum Yum Cookies for a coffee hour earlier this year and many requests came in for this recipe as well. Though the filling is cooked, this recipe falls in the no bake category and is a good one to have on hand for hot summer days when an elegant sweet treat is desired.

Yum Yum Cookies

2 packets of graham crackers from a 3 packet box.

1 cup melted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Pet (evaporated) milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup finely chopped nuts

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup margarine, softened

Enough cream to make desired spreading consistency, about 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Line a 13 x9 inch baking pan with a layer of whole graham crackers. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine butter, granulated sugar, Pet milk and egg. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until thickened. This takes a little while.

Stir in coconut, nuts and graham cracker crumbs. Pour over graham cracker layer in prepared pan. Add another layer of whole graham crackers.

Combine frosting ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and beat until blended. Add cream, a tablespoon at a time, until desired spreading consistency. Spread over last graham cracker layer.

Refrigerate until firm. Cut into small bars and serve. Refrigerate any leftover bars. Yield: about 3 dozen bars.

Note: the recipe calls for both butter and margarine, but I used butter in both cases.

Next column will feature some main dishes to counteract all this sweetness.

Share your favorite spring main dish recipes and other spring family favorites by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office.

Though you may start things like broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts indoors now, it is still too early to start tomato plants.