Tag Archives: pecans

Recipes - Desserts

Apple Pecan Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting


I always have an eye out in whatever newspaper I am reading, hoping to run across new recipes that sound inviting, and spotted the recipe for this apple spice cake in our local Southeast Missourian newspaper several weeks ago and first made it to take to Deer Camp weekend in Kentucky in mid-November.  Though this cake does beautifully chilled in the refrigerator, this one barely made it through the first day of Deer Camp.

If your cake is allowed to sit, the chopped apples mellow and the spices mingle, producing a moist, dense cake packed with flavor.  Chop the apples into small pieces and chop the pecans coarsely for the best results.  Cinnamon and nutmeg season the apples perfectly, providing a taste of autumn in every bite.

You don’t need a stand mixer, but be prepared with a strong arm to thoroughly mix and fold all batter ingredients.  A hand electric mixer is all you need for preparing the frosting, but do beat the mixture until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, at least five minutes.  The cake does require refrigerating once frosted, but after that, the amount of leftovers is up to you and your guests.  If you have any at all, keep the cake refrigerated.

Whether you are cooking for a crowd or a special family meal, you will have a hard time finding a cake more satisfying, more evocative of autumn and its blessings, than this concoction.  I hope you will try it soon and let me know how you like it.

Apple Pecan Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

4 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped small
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Wesson oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Frosting

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup golden brown sugar

Directions Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9×13” baking pan. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine apples and sugar. Stir in oil, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the flour mixture to the apple mixture. Add milk and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Add chopped pecans. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For frosting: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add butter and continue to beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and brown sugar. Beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved. Spread evenly on top of cake. Refrigerate after frosting.

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Recipes - Salads

Mama’s Curried Chicken Salad



 

Is there anything better than a good chicken salad sandwich on a summer day?  Okay, maybe a bowl of lightly salted chilled watermelon, but other than that, you can’t do better than a chicken salad sandwich on a soft dinner roll; add curry to your dressing and toasted pecans to the salad and you will feel strictly uptown and satisfied!  I intended to have a photo of this salad ready to serve on soft butter and egg rolls but the café was jumping on Wednesday and the chicken salad flew out the door before there was time for an additional photo op!

This old recipe of mama’s originally used a can of cooked chicken but I changed that years ago and began using either skinless boneless chicken breasts, or, as I did last week, 6-7 large chicken thighs with the skin on for cooking then skin discarded and meat cut from the bone and shredded.  That is the only change I would even consider for this delightful flavorful  salad.

Prep your vegetables while the chicken simmers in enough water to cover and prepare the dressing and you’ll be all set once the chicken cools enough to shred.  Add everything to a large mixing bowl and pour on the dressing, folding gently.  Chill at least 4 hours or overnight and you’ll be uptown in no time!  Serve on a large dinner roll or bun or lay the salad into a quartered ripe juicy tomato, add crackers, and ohhh-la-la!

Ingredients

4-5 chicken breasts or thighs (around 1-1/2 lbs.)
1/2 lb. seedless green grapes, ends trimmed and each cut lengthwise
1-(12 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 cup celery, sliced very thin
1-1/2 cups pecans, chopped and toasted

For the dressing

1-1/2 cups Hellman’s mayonnaise
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. shoyu (soy sauce)
1/2 T. curry powder, or less, to taste

Directions Gently boil the chicken until tender. Don’t overcook the chicken as it will turn hard and rubbery. Drain well, cool, then chop or shred into small pieces. It is fine for the chicken to shred small; it doesn’t need mincing as then it wouldn’t absorb the dressing as readily. In large bowl, combine chicken, grapes, water chestnuts, celery and pecans.

Prepare the dressing by combining the mayonnaise, lemon juice, shoyu (soy sauce), and curry powder. Use a whisk to thoroughly blend, tasting as you go and adjusting to your taste. Spoon the dressing over the salad ingredients, folding gently but thoroughly to coat well. Chill covered for several hours, or overnight, allowing the flavors to mingle.

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Recipes - Desserts

Mississippi Mud Cake

Perhaps it was watching our beloved St. Louis Cardinals slugging it out in the mud last night at Busch Stadium (only to lose the game) but I woke this morning with a Mississippi Mud Cake on my mind. Whether the State of Mississippi or the mighty Mississippi River as it flows beside the city of St. Louis, I will leave to my readers!

This well-known Southern favorite is rich with melted butter, cocoa, sugar, and eggs.  Make it in a jelly roll pan and cut in squares.  The chocolate cake layer is the perfect complement to a sweet-crunchy topping made of mini-marshmallows and chopped pecans.  Allow the marshmallows to soften for five minutes after returning to the oven. When they begin to brown on top, take the cake out and drizzle the chocolate frosting over the top.  Yum Yum GOOD!  The chocolate frosting recipe makes 2 cups; I saved half of it for another purpose.

A great cake for sharing as it serves 15-18 easily, and a great ball game today: Cards win it 3-1!

Mississippi Mud Cake

Ingredients

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 (10.5-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
Chocolate Frosting

Directions Whisk together melted butter and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in flour and chopped pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; top warm cake evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, and bake 5 minutes. Drizzle Chocolate Frosting over warm cake. Cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup milk $
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Beat all at medium speed until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Store leftover frosting in fridge to be used for frosting cookies.

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Recipes - Desserts

White Texas Sheet Cake

Bring your sweet tooth for this one!  This great cake, perfect for winter with its frosty cool look, is also perfect for spring with its delicate almond flavor. The simple frosting only adds to the cake’s allure. this is a sweet creamy frosting, yes indeed, so serve cut into small squares. You can substitute slivered toasted almonds or walnuts for the chopped pecans, but definitely want to add nuts for texture in the frosting. Public Service Announcement: for users of my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook, please note that the recipe, as written in the cookbook, has two typos.  The recipe should say begin with 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar so e kalamai, please excuse that mistake.  The recipe is correct below.

The cake requires just a short prep yet it nets you big results.  Allow your butter-water mixture to cool slightly before adding the dry ingredients; whisk and stir well from this point so that the batter is free of lumps.  The batter is thin so don’t worry that you have made a mistake; the hot liquid thins an otherwise traditional cake batter. The thinness of the batter produces a finished almond-flavored moist cake.   Today I baked it closer to 28 minutes than 22 as my oven runs slow of late; bake it definitely  for 22 minutes, minimum, then give it more time to set and brown slightly on top.  Two great things about this true sheet cake are that what isn’t in a tall cake is definitely made up for in volume and the cake will serve 20 easily so great to take to a potluck or a picnic, and, also this cake tastes even better the next day so any leftovers are always welcome.

Cool at least 20 minutes before frosting.  Almond extract also goes into the frosting; whisk well to remove all lumps before spreading on the still-warm cake. Guaranteed, every sweet bite will remind you of soft breezes and trees ready to burst forth into glorious bloom.  Ahhhh, Happy Spring to You!

White Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, mix and stir the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Bring butter and water to boil in saucepan on stove. Add to dry ingredients and add beaten eggs, sour cream, and almond extract. Stir all until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into a greased 15x10x1” pan (jelly roll pan) and bake for 20-22 minutes, until set and browned on top. Cool 20 minutes.

FROSTING Ingredients and Directions Prepare by melting 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup milk in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add  4-1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix and whisk well. Fold in 1 cup chopped pecans, thoroughly blending. Spread over the slightly warm cake.

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Bakery Miscellaneous

Betty’s Molasses Cookies


Day 3 Cookie Bake! My heart beats faster when I run across a recipe that is obviously well-used and treasured. This recipe came to me from mama’s recipe box and it to her from her close friend Betty Hopkins. Miss Betty’s Molasses Cookies made for a satisfying and wholesome end to cookie baking time today and I definitely see why mama insisted these cookies be included in my cookbook.  These proved to be a perfect cold weather stay-at-home-with-a book treat.

The buttermilk is in the dough, they aren’t glazed, and they have a soft, yet chewy, texture.  They bake round and tall and fill your kitchen with the aroma of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.  I love the dark raisins and the walnuts I used as they make  the cookies dense and satisfying; these are definitely cookies to sink your teeth into, and, needless to say, so perfect with a glass of cold milk (yes, for lunch). The molasses sweetly softens them but also makes for a sticky dough and these benefit from just a bit of shaping once they are on the cookie sheets. The spices layer with the molasses throughout and I have to say there really isn’t a thing that needs changing here, proving once again that old recipes are, like old friendships,  treasures indeed.

Betty’s Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Directions  Preheat oven to 400. In large mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar, and the molasses with a wooden spoon until well blended. Add the egg and buttermilk and beat briefly with electric mixer. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl and stir with a fork to sift. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture gradually, blending well with a large rubber spatula after each addition. Fold in the raisins and the nuts. Bake on lightly-greased cookie sheets for 10 minutes. Store airtight. Yields 5 dozen.

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