Category: <span>Sweet Treats</span>

Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Bread

Makes 4 mini loaves (3.5×6 inch pans)

1/2 (15-oz) can pumpkin
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
½ tsp vanilla
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 ¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour pans or use butter spray.
2. In large bowl, mix pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla, white sugar, and brown sugar until well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and the spices.
4. Mix in the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture until well blended.
5. Pour into prepared pans.
6. Bake about 35 minutes in the preheated oven until loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Allow breads to cool in the pans on a rack about 15 minutes. Turn out breads onto cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Paula Deen

Southern chef maven Paula Deen made Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes a signature dessert at her restaurant The Lady & Sons. These buttery sweet bar cookies get better every day. The problem is they don’t last long! This is the basic recipe that is fabulous but feel to get creative with her variations.

Cake

1. 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
2. 1 large egg
3. 1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling

1. 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2. 2 large eggs
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners’ sugar
5. 1/2 cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, egg, and 1/2 cup melted butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until combined. Press into the bottom of prepared pan; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese at low speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating well. Slowly add remaining 1/2 cup melted butter, mixing well. Pour evenly over cake mixture.
4. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until center is slightly set. Let cool completely, and cut into squares to serve.

Paula Deen Magazine https://www.pauladeenmagazine.com/

Peach Bundt Cake

2 cups sugar
1 ¼ cup canola oil
3 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 cups sliced fresh peaches – peeled and thinly sliced – toss with 2 T of sugar if not sweet enough. Can add 1 tsp of cinnamon, if desired.
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixer bowl, cream together sugar, oil and eggs. Gradually mix in flour mixture and vanilla. Mix on medium speed 2 minutes to blend thoroughly.
• Stir in peaches and nuts.
• Pour into well-greased Bundt pan. Batter will fill a 12-cup pan, but if smaller pan is used, pour the rest of the mixture into small bread pans or mini-bundt pans.
• Bake large Bundt pan for about 60-70 minutes. Test with sharp knife until it comes out clean. Smaller pans take a less time.  Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on rack. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• The cake is better if made the day before and allowed to rest overnight. Freezes well.

If desired, apply a confectioner’s sugar glaze over cooled cake.

1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar – sifted
2-3 T milk or cream
½ tsp vanilla

Whisk together until smooth to desired drizzle consistency. Drizzle over cake.

Berries Romanoff

We’re back to entertaining at Josmo’s Café! During a recent V2 (guests fully vaccinated) dinner party, our friend Mary Beth came through with another outstanding dessert, perfect for spring. Mary Beth is from Georgia and served these wonderful berry parfaits with Georgia Peach Cookies from Byrd Cookie Company. What a treat!

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce container sour cream

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Kahlua or strong coffee

1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier or Cointreau

3 cups assorted fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and blueberries tossed with a bit of liquor and if the berries need to be sweetened add a bit of sugar

Mint sprigs for garnish

• Combine sour cream, brown sugar, Kahlua and Grand Marnier. Cover and chill 4-24 hours.
• An hour or so before serving, toss the berries with extra liquor and sugar (if needed)
• Serve in a wine glass or parfait glass. Layer berries and sour cream sauce. Decorate with mint sprigs.

Dalgona Whipped Coffee

• 1 Tbsp instant coffee (Instant coffee is what builds texture, so don’t substitute)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp hot water
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup milk (your choice), chilled or heated
• (optional) ice cubes

1. Combine instant coffee, sugar and hot water in a mixing bowl. Mix them well. Then using a handheld mixer (my Cuisinart immersion whisk worked great) whisk it on high speed until the coffee mixture forms a stiff peak (about 5 minutes).

If you don’t have any of these tools, you can whisk it manually by hand. It still works! Just whisk it about 400 times. ?

2. For iced coffee, put ice cubes in a clear glass then pour in the milk. Scoop out the whipped coffee and put on top of the milk. Serve. Let each person mix the coffee mixture and milk together after admiring how pretty the drink is!

Note: If you want to make a large volume of whipped coffee, it can be refrigerated for a few days in an airtight container (without milk). It will dissolve eventually, but it stays stable for a few days at least.

Recipe from My Korean Kitchen

Cinnamon Twirl Cookies

These crisp, not-too-sweet cookies are the perfect pairing with a cup of coffee.

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened (I only use butter)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Dash salt

Filling

• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat margarine and sour cream until blended. Add egg yolk; mix well. Combine flour and salt; add to margarine mixture and mix well (dough will be sticky). Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. (I suggest overnight.)
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Divide dough into eighths. On a well-floured surface, roll each portion into a 10-in. circle. Cut each circle into 8 triangles. Combine the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over each triangle.
3. Roll up triangles from the wide ends and place point side down 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned, 20-22 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Store in an airtight container.

© 2021 RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC Taste of Home October/November 2019

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 40 min. + chilling Bake: 20 min./batch + cooling

YIELD: 64 servings

John’s Mother’s Old-Fashioned Rum Cake

John is the baker on this one! It is the best of all the rum cakes we’ve had! Be sure and use the exact ingredients that are listed.

½ cup pecans or walnuts – chopped
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
1 box butter recipe yellow cake mix
½ cup light rum
½ cup salad oil – vegetable or canola
½ cup water
4 eggs

Grease and flour Bundt pan or use Pam. Sprinkle nuts in bottom of pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add the rest of the ingredients. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until cake tests done.

Have the glaze hot and ready when you take the cake from the oven.

Glaze:

¼ cup light rum
1/8 cup water
1 cup sugar
¾ stick butter

Mix ingredients in a small saucepan. Boil for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn or boil over. Have the glaze boiling hot and pour over cake immediately upon removing from oven. Slip knife edge around edge of pan so glaze will dribble down sides. Cool in pan 30 minutes before inverting on rack. Carefully remove from the pan. You may need to slip a knife around the edges to release.

Make it the day before serving for best flavor.

Eggnog Cookies

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 ¼ cups white sugar

¾ cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup eggnog

2 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well and set aside.
3. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks. Beat until smooth.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Be careful not to overmix.
5. Drop by nicely rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg (or festive colored sugar).
6. Bake for 15-17 minutes until bottoms turn light brown.
7. Transfer to cooling rack with a spatula.

Baking tips: Bake cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. After dropping the dough on the cookie sheet, use slightly damp fingers to smooth and round the cookie dough to bake a prettier cookie.

Apple Cinnamon Cake

John’s loves all things apple! I created this sweet, moist cake by combining several of our favorite apple cake recipes. Make it a day before serving to enhance the flavor and moistness. It’s a great coffee cake or top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a terrific dessert. Enjoy!

For the cake:

1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups peeled and roughly chopped apples (Granny Smith and Honeycrisp make a good combination)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sour cream

For the cinnamon topping:

½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, add eggs and whisk well. Add vanilla, oil, and sour cream and whisk to blend with the eggs. Add apples and stir to combine. Let mixture rest 5 minutes.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Gently mix with wooden spoon until combined. Be careful not to overmix.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
6. Make the cinnamon topping by combining all the ingredients. Mix until lumpy and wet. Sprinkle over cake batter.
7. Bake cake 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Fig Orange Jam

This delicious spicy fig jam (from www.simplyrecipes.com) is a huge hit with both fig and non-fig lovers. The spices and fresh orange are a perfect combination of flavors. It’s a breeze to make in the microwave. Avoid doubling the recipe if you do use the microwave method because it will boil over and make a huge mess!

1 1/2 cups diced fresh figs (6-10 figs, depending on the size of the figs)
1/2 cup seeded, peeled orange, diced
1 1/2 cups of sugar (reduce if you want, though it won’t set as well)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon butter
2 (8-ounce) canning jars

Cooking method:

1. Place the ingredients in a large ceramic or glass bowl or casserole (Use a 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup), stir to combine, let sit for 30 minutes for the fruit to macerate in the sugar.
2. Place in microwave. Cook the fruit mixture on the high setting for approximately 15 minutes. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, after about 6 to 8 minutes, stop the cooking and stir. Continue cooking and stir every few minutes. At about 13 minutes the mixture should start to get viscous. If you spoon out a bit on to a small plate that has been in the freezer, you can push the mixture around a bit with your finger to see how thick it is. If it is runny, cook it a couple minutes more. You can also check by seeing how the jam runs off a spoon. If it seems to firm up a bit as it drips, it’s done.
3. Pour the jam into jars, leaving 1/4-inch of headroom from the top of the jars. If you want to keep your jam in a cupboard, then use sterilized jars (heat them in the oven at 200°F for 10 minutes). If you plan to eat up quickly and will keep them in the refrigerator, regular clean jars will do or heavy plastic containers. The jam freezes well.