My Most Favorite Coffee Cake

I love coffee cake.  I think I love pretty much any kind of cake.  Simple, fancy, frosted, filled, however I can have it, I love it.  And since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day (with my coffee drink, of course) I like to make coffee cakes.  I don't know why I chose this recipe out of a cookbook years ago, but it is the best in my opinion.  It's super moist and the brown sugar and pecans give it this sweet crunch.  It's delicious warm, but it's also great the next day too.  The flavors sink in even more.  I hope you'll like it as much as I do!

Easy Coffee Cake (EWO Church Cookbook)

1 yellow cake mix (I use French Vanilla)

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 pkg instant butterscotch pudding

4 eggs

1 c. water

1 c. oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

Mix batter ingredients together and pour half into a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle half of topping mixture over that.  Repeat.  Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes.

Super easy and super yummy!!!

What's been baking in my kitchen this week...

I wasn't sure what I wanted to post about this week.  My heart has felt very sad about the devastation in Haiti and talking about food hasn't felt like something I wanted to do.  I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti back in 2001 on a medical mission trip.  I know that my life was changed more by the people I met than theirs were changed by me.  They did not have much - hardly anything.  Some barely had clothes to cover themselves with.  But they did not complain.  They were - they are beautiful people.  I don't understand why such disasters happen.  I know people question why God would allow it.  But I believe that things happen in life for a reason.  I don't need to know why as long as I know who is in control and trust that He has not for one moment left us alone.  My prayers are with them.  One thing I have been reminded of this week is how much I complain about the little things in life.  I find myself now being so thankful for what I have been blessed with. 

On a lighter note - I did do some baking this week.  I had some bananas that started getting brown faster than I had thought they would.  I remembered seeing a recipe from the Sugar Plum blog for a Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Marbled Banana Bread - so I gave it a try.  It was delicious!  It was huge and beautiful too.  I brought it to work and it was gone by the end of the day.  This recipe is definitely one I will make again!

Isn't it pretty?!  It looked even better when you sliced into it.  Very swirly.  Unfortunately those pictures didn't do it justice - so I left them out.

I have recently gotten into the routine at night of checking my blog for comments and then checking each of the blogs I follow for their newest recipes.  I keep a notebook by the computer to remind me of which ones I want to try.  This week Jenny from Picky Palate had beautiful pictures of a panini she had made.  It got me thinking - I have a panini maker in my basement I had never tried before.  So I got it out and whipped up and turkey and provolone panini with ranch/pesto dressing.  It was really good.  I wont be keeping that panini maker in the basement anymore!

Peanut Butter S'mores

I have a great group of girlfriends that I love to get together with and play cards.  Once upon a time we used to meet weekly for dinner and games-but things have changed as we have gotten married and had kids.  Our New Years resolution for 2010 is to have Girls Night Out at least once a month.   I hosted this past weekend and we had such a fun time!  We munched on veggies and dip and a hot spinach/artichoke dip.  For dinner I made a roast beef roll that was delicious.  (It is a Pampered Chef recipe that I hadn't made in a long time)  After dinner we got into our card game and passed around a big bowl of kettle corn - which is a staple for Girls Night in my opinion.  I also tried out my own creation - a peanut butter s'mores dessert.

Here's a picture of my two best friends...my sisters.  I couldn't have asked for better sisters or friends!

And here are some pictures of my creation...

Peanut Butter S'mores

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix

2/3 c. crushed graham crackers

1/2 c. softened margarine

1 egg

Mix all ingredients together, except egg.  Add egg when crumbly.  Press into ungreased 13x9 pan.  Bake 14-16 minutes.

 1+1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1/3 c. powdered sugar

Mix together until smooth.  Spread over warm chocolate crust.  Sprinkle mini-marshmallows and crushed peanut butter cups.  Broil 10-20 seconds until toasty brown.

Cranberry Crisp Bars

This recipe turned out much different than I had planned, but it was still really good.  I had been hoping to create a coffee cake with a crispy cranberry struesel.  However, I didn't check my pantry for ingredients before I started my baking-oops!

After making the struesel, I went to the pantry to grab a box of French Vanilla cake mix and was bummed when I realized I didn't have one.

So I got out one of my favorite church cook books and found a recipe for a cake - Grandma Cake to be exact.  It has to be good with a name like that, right?!

They were yummy warm out of the oven with ice cream.  And they were nice and crunchy the next morning for breakfast (no ice cream!)

 

Cranberry Crisp Bars

3 cups Cranberry Crisp Cereal

3/4 c. brown sugar

1+1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 c. butter, melted

Mix this all together in medium bowl.  Set aside.

For Cake:

2 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 T. cinnamon

Mix the above ingredients in a large bowl in the order given.  Mix well.  Place half of this mixture in a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Top with half of cereal mixture.  Spoon remaining cake mixture over that. And top with remaining cereal mixture.  Sprinkle 1 cup white chocolate chips over crisp.  Bake 40-50 minutes at 350 F.

Frosting Filled Bugle Bites

After making Egg Nog Thumbprint Cookies this Christmas I knew I wanted to try that fabulous frosting in or on something else.  As I was shopping at Meijer a few weeks I ago, I came upon a lone bag of Caramel Bugles sitting up on a shelf where it didn't belong.  I tossed it in my cart and became excited realizing that General Mills makes a caramel flavored bugle.  Plain bugles are yummy, I can't imagine how good they must be covered in sweet caramel.  And then I got more excited at the thought of filling those bugles with the frosting! 

I dipped some in melted white chocolate and chopped pecans - but after tasting them I decided I liked just a simple drizzle of melted milk chocolate.  They are a little time consuming to make, but they are a fun and yummy little treat!

Frosting Filled Bugle Bites

1 bag Caramel Bugles

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1-2 T. rum (mine was coconut flavored)

milk chocolate chips, melted - to drizzle

Mix together butter, powdered sugar and rum until creamy.  Pipe frosting into bugles (I used a frosting bag and tip).  Drizzle with melted chocolate.