Chocolate Crazy Cake

This cake is so delicious and easy! I first found the recipe over on Sweet Little Bluebird. Make sure to check her out; she has a variety of different flavors to go with this cake! This cake has no eggs, no milk and no butter, plus it is so simple you don't even need a mixer. This is a cake that was created during the Depression, where eggs, butter and milk were not as easy to acquire. This is the 2nd time that I have made this cake this week.

The recipe is so basic and simple I decided to make up three bags of dry ingredients to speed up the next time that I make it. With as simple as this cake is to make I taped a little direction sheet to each bag, so no matter who makes it they can do it easily without having to go look for the recipe.

Chocolate Crazy Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp.  salt

1 tsp. white vinegar

1 tsp.  pure vanilla extract

5 Tbsp. vegetable oil 

1 cup water 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 pan. Simply mix all of the dry ingredients together. Create 3 wells or holes in the dry ingredients; dump vinegar, vanilla, and oil into those holes. Dump the water all over the top of the cake. Mix everything together until smooth and put it in the pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until done.

Note:

I made these into cupcakes and one batch made 12 regular cupcakes.

I frosted them using my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. I simply made a half batch of frosting (I only use 4 ounces Cream Cheese instead of 5). The white frosting is the same recipe minus the chocolate, and with a tsp more vanilla.

New York Cheesecake

This is a really great textured cheesecake. It is baked so it doesn't have a smooth light texture. I'm going to try making this again but not baking it which means not using any eggs.

what you need

6  HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, finely crushed (about 1 cup)

3Tbsp.  sugar

3Tbsp.  butter or margarine, melted

5pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1cup  sugar

3Tbsp.  flour

1Tbsp.  vanilla

1cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

4  eggs

1can  (21 oz.) cherry pie filling (optional)

Directions

HEAT oven to 325°F.

Step 1: Mix graham crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9X13 pan. Bake 10 min.

Step 2 MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

Step 3 BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Top with pie filling.

Next time I would go through step 2 but stop at the eggs, the flavor and consistency was delicious. I don't usually put any pie filling on top but it would probably be pretty good.

Old Fashioned Ultra Chewy Brownies

My sister hates boxed brownies but she absolutely loves these ones.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

6 Tbsp milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside. 

In a separate mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together white sugar, light-brown sugar and melted butter until combine. 

Stir in eggs and vanilla and mix until blended. 

Add in half of the flour mixture and mix just until combine, add in milk and mix just until combine, then add remaining flour mixture and mix just until combine. 

DANG I FORGOT A PICTURE OF THIS STEP!

Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking dish and spread into an even layer. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes then allow to cool completely. Frost with chocolate frosting and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container. 

NOTE: I used 2 8 x 8's and the cooking time was still 40 minutes.

Magic Cookie Bars

These cookies are delicious!!  I used to wait every year for Christmas time because I knew that I got these. This recipe is so easy and quick, NO MORE waiting!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions

HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 8 X 8-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.

Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with fork.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

Note:

·         I did an extra 1 cup of Coconut instead of the chopped nuts.

·         For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up with edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars.

Pumpkin Pie

 I love this pudding!!! It's the Pumpkin Spice Pudding but it's only seasonal.

It is so good!

I just mixed it up like the instructions say and then I dumped it into my crust and just refrigerated it.

Classic Crisco Pie Crust

This was a really good flaky crust!!!

Printable Recipe Download

Classic Crisco Pie Crust

Ingredients:

·        1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

·        ½ tsp. salt

·        ½ Crisco stick or ½ cup Crisco all-vegetable shortening

·        3 tbsp. cold water

Directions:

1.    BLEND flour and salt in medium mixing bowl.

2.   CUT chilled shortening into 1/2-inch cubes. Cut in chilled shortening cubes into flour mixture, using a pastry blender, in an up and down chopping motion, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.

3.   SPRINKLE half the maximum recommended amount of ice cold water over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir and draw flour from bottom of bowl to the top, distributing moisture evenly into flour. Press chunks down to bottom of bowl with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, until dough is moist enough to hold together when pressed together.

TIP: Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.

4.  SHAPE dough into a ball for single pie crust. Divide dough in two for double crust or double deep dish crust, one ball slightly larger than the other. Flatten ball(s) into 1/2-inch thick round disk(s).

TIP: For ease in rolling, wrap dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

5.  ROLL dough (larger ball of dough for double crust pie) from center outward with steady pressure on a lightly floured work surface (or between two sheets of wax or parchment paper) into a circle 2-inches wider than pie plate for the bottom crust. Transfer dough to pie plate by loosely rolling around rolling pin. Center the rolling pin over the pie plate, and then unroll, easing dough into pie plate.

6.  For a SINGLE pie crust, trim edges of dough leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold edge under. Flute dough as desired. Bake according to specific recipe directions.

7.  For a DOUBLE pie crust, roll larger disk for bottom crust, trimming edges of dough even with outer edge of pie plate. Fill unbaked pie crust according to recipe directions. Roll out smaller dough disk. Transfer dough carefully onto filled pie. Trim edges of dough leaving a 3/4-inch overhang. Fold top edge under bottom crust. Press edges together to seal and flute as desired. Cut slits in top crust or prick with fork to vent steam. Bake according to specific recipe directions.

Two Methods for Pre-baking Pie Crusts (Cream Pies)

1.    Pre-baking without weights: Thoroughly prick bottom and sides of unbaked pie dough with fork (50 times) to prevent it from blistering or rising. Bake crust in lower third of oven, at 425°F, 10-12 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown.

2.   Pre-baking with weights: Thoroughly prick bottom and sides of unbaked pie dough with fork (50 times) to prevent it from blistering or rising. Chill or freeze for 30 minutes. Line pie dough snugly with foil or parchment paper. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Reduce oven to 350°F. Bake 5-10 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown.