Mothers, Bake Sale Goodies... or goodies to have any time!

Today I'm writing about my Mothers.  I have three:  

My step-mother, Joannie.

Joannie, my Dad, JP and my nieces on New Year's Eve

My mother-in-law, Helen.

My father-in-law, Leonard, mother-in-law, Helen and JP

My mum, Lois.  

My mum, Lois, my nieces and JP on Christmas night

They are all very important to me and I love all three of them!  I'm so blessed to have three wonderful women in my life! (They are all good cooks, too!)

 

My step-mother, Joannie asked me today if I had any good recipes for Bake Sales.  And I do...  I love Bake Sales...there are always tons of goodies and they all look soooo good.  Usually the prices are reasonable, but even if they're not that reasonable, it's for a good cause (whatever the cause may be!)

I have two recipes I'm going to share.  Both are easy to make, both transport well and both sell like hotcakes.  And both are super YUMMY!  The first is from my mother-in-law, Helen.  Chocolate Brownies.  (Why isn't there a chocolate brown on the color wheel??) Three words describe these brownies:  To Die For.  Yes, they are that good.  If you make them for yourself, they are especially yummy warmed up in the microwave for a few seconds and topped with vanilla ice cream.  Again:  To Die For. 

The second recipe is from my mum.  I'm not sure where she got the recipe...but I know I copied it from one of her recipe cards.  The 3x5 card that it's written on is splattered with batter, the ink is smeared and it was written in my hand writing circa 1983 (or so...give or take a few years...so I was in 5th or 6th grade...I think.)  Anyways...  Apple Cake.  Sweet Goodness.  And hey, there's fruit in this...it's healthy, right???  (On a side note, I've tried many times to lighten up this recipe, and it just doesn't work.)  There is a delicate crust that forms on this cake that is just out of this world!

Oh, and by the way...the best news of all:  NO CALORIES.  That's right, no calories.  HA!  Gotcha!  Just take a sliver of each and give the rest to the bake sale!  It's for a good cause!  :)

Helen's Chocolate Brownies


4 oz. unsweetened chocolate 
2 sticks of butter or margarine
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
1-1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. baking powder
3/4 c. walnuts (optional)


In a large sauce pan, melt the chocolate and butter together.  Remove from heat and cool.  Add the sugar and vanilla.  Mix until combined.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each egg.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Spray a 12x17 inch sheet pan with cooking spray.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake in a 300* oven for 25 minutes.


Frosting:
1 c. sugar
6 T. butter or margarine
6 T. milk
1/2 c. chocolate chips


In a sauce pan, bring the sugar, butter and milk to a boil.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add chocolate chips.  Stir until melted.  Pour over cooked brownies.  Let the brownies/frosting cool completely before cutting.  



Apple Cake

1-1/3 c. oil
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
3 c. peeled and chopped apple (Granny Smith's work well)
1 c. raisins
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. nuts (any kind, optional)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350*.  In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar and eggs.  Add apples, raisins, coconut and nuts.  Stir thoroughly.  Add baking soda, salt, and vanilla.  Stir in the flour.  The batter will be very stiff.  Bake in a greased and floured bundt pan for 1 hour.  


Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before turning it onto a plate.  Once the cake is completely cool, dust with confectioners sugar. 

Raspberry Swirl Brownies

 

I got together with my Bunco group tonight and made some yummy brownies!  My Bunco group meets once a month and we play a couple of games of Bunco.  We talk, laugh, gossip and eat some scrumptious food. 

I hemmed and hawed about what to bring tonight.  I wanted to use up some frozen raspberries, I had a package of cream cheese and a brownie mix on hand.  So I looked at several recipes on allrecipes.com and combined a couple to make up my recipe. 

Raspberry Swirl Brownies


1 package brownie mix
10 ounce package of frozen raspberries, slightly thawed
8 ounce block of 1/3 Less Fat "Neufchâtel"cheese (or regular cream cheese)
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
plain fat free yogurt


Mix the brownie batter according to the package, except decrease the oil by half.  Replace the oil you didn't use with plain, fat free yogurt.


In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar and egg together.  Smash the raspberries and add to the cream cheese mixture.  Swirl raspberries in, but don't mix until combined. 


Preheat oven to directions on box of brownie mixture.  Spray a 9x11 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour half of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan.  Spoon the cream cheese and raspberry mixture onto the brownie batter in the pan.  Top with the remaining brownie batter.  

Drag a knife through the brownie mixture, up and down and back and forth to swirl the cream cheese and raspberry mixture in with the brownie batter.  Bake according to the package directions.  

Review:  These were very good brownies!  Everyone at Bunco enjoyed them.  The cream cheese added a tang, while the raspberries added depth and great flavor.  Next time, I would add 1 T. of flour to the cream cheese and raspberry mixture.  The flour would make the cream cheese mixture a little bit more firm.  This brownie recipe will go into my recipe file.  Enjoy~