Breakfast Cake

This recipe can be kind of confusing and dish-intensive, but it's yummy! My daughter requests it any time I ask what she wants for breakfast. (I don't ask her often...) ☺

2 ½ cups flour (OR-- 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup oatmeal. OR-- half whole wheat flour, half white flour)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix; remove ½ cup and add to (extra) topping. (see below).

Then, to the remaining dry ingredients, add:

½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Stir dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients together:

½ cup applesauce
3 Tb oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (may substitute 1 Tb lemon juice(or vinegar) plus milk to make 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes before adding.)

Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

For (extra) topping:
In a separate bowl, mix together:

1/2 cup taken from dry ingredients (above)
3 Tb flour
3 Tb brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 Tb soft butter
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Sprinkle topping over batter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until it seems firm on top. It’s fine when it appears collapsed in center as long as sides have lifted slightly from baking dish.

Serve warm. Optional: serve with cool whip, cinnamon sugar, or fresh fruit.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I got this recipe from here and here. I combined them, using the ingredients/measurements I wanted, and then re-named it "cake" instead of "brownies." Also, I added chocolate chips to the batter.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional -- I don't add nuts because my kids won't eat them. ... I think next time I'll add nuts. ☺)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (also optional)


Frosting:

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cake springs back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled cake before cutting into squares. (I put the frosting on while both the frosting and cake are still hot -- I like how the frosting seeps into the cake.)
  

Blackberry Oatmeal Bars

Where I live in the Northwest, there are a lot of blackberry bushes, and we can pick them to our heart's content. Tonight (and, truth be told, last night, too) we made a yummy dessert with blackberries. I got the recipe out of my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It's called "Fruit-Filled Oatmeal Bars" and you can select any fruit filling to put in it. I made up a blackberry filling for it. The first night it wasn't sweet enough, tonight it was too sweet. I guess we'll have to try it again. Darn.

Here's the cookie part of it:

1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Set aside 1/2 cup crumbs. Press the rest of the crumbs into an ungreased 9x9 pan. Spread with fruit of choice (blackberry recipe below). Top with reserved 1/2 cup crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Blackberry filling:

The first night I used about 2 cups blackberries, and crushed them with 1/2 cup brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon and 2 Tb. flour.

Tonight, we were making blackberry jam, so we just used some of the jam for the filling. I thought it was too sweet, but I liked the overall taste and consistency better. I think it's because I cooked it, and it had pectin in it to set it up better. I also pushed about half of the berries through a sieve, so it wasn't quite so seedy.

Next time, I will use this recipe:

3 cups blackberries crushed and half pushed through sieve
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 Tb flour or corn starch

Stir together. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Put in crust.

Serve with ice cream. Yum!

Pear Butter

I haven't tried this, but it sounded good, so I'm sharing...

Pear Butter
8 cups thick pear pulp
4 cups sugar
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Wash pears. Core and slice but do not peel. Put in a pan, add enough water to cover fruit and cook until very soft. Drain off excess water and press through a sieve. Add sugar and spice. Cook until thick, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Pour into jars and seal while hot.