Transformation is One Solution
Category: Baking
Remove Cookies from Oven Before Leaving House
Kitchen Sink Cookies
Butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, oatmeal, raisins the basic start to a cookie……but then you add Grape-Nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut, toasted pecans…..Kitchen Sink Cookies (click for recipe). There are other recipes that add potato chips, pretzels and toffee.
Idiom – “everything but the kitchen sink”
“……first print reference can be found in 1918 in the newspaper The Syracuse Herald. The expression became popular during World War II, where it was said that everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at the enemy.”
Gato de Muez de Pesah Walnut and Orange Passover Cake
I am at my sister’s in NYC and sifting through old recipes and photos. This is from 2011.
When I googled this recipe title, from the one she wrote down on a piece of composition paper, I discovered that it is from The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden who says it is the Passover Cake of Istanbul and it is imperative to use walnuts that are not stale! You can see the actual recipe in the link above, if you have trouble viewing the handwritten version
Here is a link to a Youtube Video with
Claudia Roden an Interview on Jewish Food from the British Library
The photo of the recipe cuts off the word STIFF but that is how you need to beat those egg whites. 
The Last Package of Lebkuchen
When I got to Laura’s house there were three packages of Lebkuchen by the guest bed. My daughter knows me well. These are from Germany.
Unfortunately, Oscar the dog got one package and ate some (no ill effects even though he got a chocolate covered one)
but he didn’t get my favorite kind.
I just opened it tonight. One a day for six days and then will have to wait until next Christmas
Lots of Lebkuchen links below
Aunt Rhea’s Recipe post from her mother’s father.
Friends in Florida and Massachusetts Bake Aubt Rhea’s Lebkuchen recipe a double guest blog
And if you want to experiment with different recipes here’s the blend of Lebkuchen spices
Buttermilk in Blueberry Muffins
Baking with buttermilk creates delicious results. I used the Best Ever Blueberry Muffins recipe with buttermilk but reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup.
And I used 1/2 c of melted butter instead of canola oil. No butter necessary on the muffin. It’s already inside. The house smells so good when they are baking.
Bread Making- Guest Blog
Kristin sent these photos of her husband making bread.
Rick is really good at bread making.
He’s okay with the photos being posted.
I added the first photo of my grandmother’s ode to bread and the last photo of Rick kneading his famous and delicious bread in 2016.
Fruit and Nut Biscotti
The Complete Prune Cake Recipe
Yesterday’s post recipe link had a very strange symbol when there was a fraction involved in the amount of a few ingredients.
Sorry about that.
Good thing I have several eagle eye readers to alert me. Here’s the the entire recipe.
I’m thinking the baking is 325 degrees and not 300 as recipe says but that cookbook was from 1984.
Bake until done.
(Also I’ve used a stick of butter and 1/2 c of olive oil together when I didn’t have good vegetable oil in the pantry) I omit the nuts as my kids didn’t care for them but they are in the original recipe.
Here I’ve declared n kno this recipe COMPLETE. Yikes, I don’t see the 1 tsp allspice in this recipe I’m posting today. Be sure to include it.
Still best the second day after baking. I see I wrote “Best cake you’ll ever eat.” I would say now, “that’s debatable!”
Prune Cake- tastes better than it sounds, Promise
Prune cake recipe is from The Beaumont Inn Harrodsburg, Kentucky. I saw it in a newspaper when we lived in Fort Knox.
I’ve baked this recipe for decades. It’s a moist spice cake. Even better the second day.
Be sure you cook and mash the prunes first!
I shared the Prune Cake recipe and the person said later her cake didn’t taste or look like mine. I asked her about it – she didn’t like cooked prunes so she thought she’d improve the recipe by just cutting them up. The prune mash needs to distributed throughout the batter. Doesn’t work her way!
I omitted the warm sauce this time, cutting the calories of extra butter and sugar but it’s delicious that way. Keeps it extra moist.
Many blog viewers baked a spinach pie and reported great success. Not sure how many will be tempted to bake a prune cake. If you do, please let me know.
And buttermilk is key to success.