4-Layer Delight (Myrtie Nunn)

My 14-year-old daughter prepared this dessert for a dinner party she hosted for a couple of friends. She did a fantastic job - just look at this beauty!

My mom has been making this exact same recipe for years, simply calling it butterscotch pie... or chocolate pie, depending on which type of pudding she uses.

The recipe from the Yellow Box says to prepare the dessert in a 12" x 8" dish, but since my mom always serves it as a pie, my daughter wanted to do the same. She also wanted butterscotch instead of chocolate, so the photo above isn't quite what we would have ended up with by following the recipe card, but you get the idea. I'll prepare it properly (chocolate and rectangular) the next time we invite people over, and update with a new photo.

My daughter baked the crust in a 9.5" pie plate, only to discover that it wasn't big enough to hold all of the remaining layers. We put the surplus cream cheese and pudding fillings in a separate bowl and stuck it in the fridge to enjoy as a "2-Layer Delight" later. I asked my mom about the pie size, and she said a 10" plate works for her.

Instead of Cool Whip, I had my daughter use whipped cream (my mom does that, too). She beat ¼ cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla into 1 pint of whipping cream. It was just barely sweet - in a good way. Depending on one's taste, I think up to ½ cup of powdered sugar in the cream would be fine.

There were six of us at the dinner, and everyone raved about how delicious and not-too-sweet this dessert is. My husband especially loved it, and that's a big deal; he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth and usually skips dessert.

I'll make this again soon with chocolate - and I like the suggestion to make my own chocolate filling. I think I'll try that.

This is a perfect dessert for a spring patio party!
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Four-Layer Delight
from Myrtie Nunn

Layer 1
1 stick (8 oz.) oleo (butter), melted
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix well and press into the bottom of a 12" x 8" Pyrex (glass) pan.
[OR use a 10" pie plate, pressing evenly over the bottom and sides.]
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Let cool.

Layer 2
1 large (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip (or sweetened whipped cream)

Blend together and spread on crust.

Layer 3
2 small (3.4 oz.) pkgs instant chocolate pudding [or butterscotch]
3 cups milk

Mix together until thick and spread on crust.

Layer 4
1 large carton Cool Whip (less the 1 cup used for Layer 2)
[OR substitute with 1 pint (2 cups) cream whipped with 1 tsp vanilla and ¼ - ½ cup powdered sugar]

Top with remaining Cool Whip (or whipped cream).
Sprinkle nuts on top.
Cover with Saran (plastic) wrap and refrigerate. Keeps for a week.

You can make your own chocolate filling.
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Breakfast Casserole

I am thrilled that this recipe is in The Yellow Box, because it is identical to the breakfast casserole my mom has been making my entire life (a Christmas morning tradition that continues today), and it is the best breakfast casserole I've ever had.

(My apologies for the bad photo, but you get the idea.)

I think I'll just leave it at that.

Make this, and you will end up with some very happy tummies.
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Breakfast Casserole

8 eggs - slightly beaten*
6 slices white bread, cubed, with crust**
1 lb [breakfast] sausage, cooked and drained
2 cups milk
1 cup grated sharp cheese [a little more cheese isn't a bad idea]
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mustard [I use dry mustard; recommend Dijon if using prepared mustard]

Combine all ingredients in large bowl.
Pour into 9" x 13" greased baking dish.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or 12 hours before baking.
Bake uncovered at 350° for 35 minutes.

This is very good reheated.

*6 eggs and 4 oz. sliced mushrooms can be used instead of 8 eggs.
[However, my recipe doesn't omit any eggs if mushrooms are added. I prefer fresh sauteed mushrooms to canned.]

**[You can experiment with different kinds of bread.]
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Bran Muffins (Peggy Taylor)

I remember my mom making this recipe when I was little. It must have been all the rage in the 70's, but I haven't heard of anyone preparing this in recent years. I'm curious to see if these are as delicious as I remember. I also recall thinking how cool it was to have the batter in the fridge and be able to bake fresh muffins whenever we wanted.

All Bran and Bran Flakes are not a staple in our house, so this recipe required a trip to the grocery store (for the buttermilk as well). Other than that, it's super easy to prepare; it just requires a really, really, really big bowl. My largest mixing bowl just barely held the batter, so I had to transfer it to our huge plastic popcorn bowl in order to add the cereals. A large stock pot could work as well.

Freshly mixed, the batter is a little on the soupy side, so I covered the bowl with plastic wrap to sit overnight, and I'll make the first batch of muffins in the morning.

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Yep, the batter thickened up overnight as the cereal absorbed the liquid. I gave it a good stir, then made 30 muffins, which smelled wonderful as they baked. I can tell you they look and smell just as I remember, and they have a moist, soft, springy texture.

But here's the thing: I can't eat these muffins right now, so I can't tell you how they taste. I've never been one to follow a restrictive diet for any stretch of time, but my husband and I are headed to the Caribbean beaches of Costa Rica in less than two months, and I don't want the sight of me in a bikini to scare away small children and animals. I am being so good about following this diet, I won't even allow myself a taste of off-limits treats. I'm hardcore, baby.

The upside is that, according to this recipe, the batter keeps in the fridge for up to six weeks, and by then I'll be done with the diet so I can do my own taste test and report back wth the results.

For now, though, I have to rely on the opinion of others, which so far is excellent. I took the first batch, still warm, to share at a breakfast meeting, and everyone who tried them said they were delicious. My husband, daughter, brother, niece, and nephew all liked them, too.

I'm estimating that I used about half of the batter to make the 30 muffins. However, I overfilled the muffin cups a little, and could have stretched it to three dozen. I recommend filling the cups no more than half-full.

I poured the rest of the batter into jars to store in the fridge. I'll keep a tally and update the number when I finish it off in a few weeks, but I'd guess the recipe is enough for around 6 dozen muffins - a very good value compared to the cost and simplicity of the ingredients!

This is a fantastic recipe for feeding a crowd, and/or for having freshly baked muffins in 20 minutes whenever you like.

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Bran Muffins
from Peggy Taylor

2 cups boiling water
5 tsp baking soda
1 cup oil
4 cups sugar
4 beaten eggs
5 cups sifted flour
4 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups Bran Flakes
1 qt buttermilk
1 tsp salt

[You will need a very large bowl or stock pot.]

Mix boiling water and soda. Cool.
Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs, then other ingredients.

[Cover and refrigerate overnight, then stir well in the morning.]

Grease and flour muffin tins or use paper liners. [Fill muffin cups no more than half full.]
Bake for 20 minutes at 400°.

Batter keeps for 6 weeks.
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Cream Puffs (Win)

As far as ingredients go, these puffs are only one egg short of being identical to Alice T's recipe, but the preparation and baking instructions are different. As far as I could tell, the end result is the same, so take your pick.

As usual, I used butter instead of margarine.

Out of curiosity, I also looked up the recipe for cream puffs in The Joy of Cooking. It says to let the hot water-butter-flour mixture cool slightly so it won't cook the eggs when they are added. I assume that this is the same purpose of beating the mixture for 2 or 3 minutes before adding eggs in this recipe.

The batter was not as thick as when I made Alice T's puffs last year. However, I tried making Alice T's recipe again today, and it turned out the same slightly thinner consistency as Win's - so I can only assume it had something to do with the temperature or humidiy of the room.

Baking these puffs at 450° for 20 minutes followed by 325° for 20 minutes is much too long. After the initial 20 minutes, I turned the oven down, but took the puffs from the oven 10 minutes later because they were getting too brown. Next time, I plan to try 450° for 10 minutes before turning it down to 325° (The Joy of Cooking says to start at 400° for 10 minutes then reduce to 350°).

I lightly greased the baking sheet, but to my frustration and dismay, many of the puffs stuck so much that the bottoms tore apart and I couldn't use them for making sandwiches. I'm not sure why this happened. It was at this point that I decided to make a second batch using Alice T's recipe, but they came out the same way, so something else was going on. Perhaps it was the oven temperature, or I didn't grease the sheet enough, or (most likely) whatever it was that made the batter turn out too thin. They are so easy to make, I don't mind trying again.

The puffs otherwise turned out beautifully, but sticking to the pan wasn't cool. Only about half of them were useable.

I was preparing these for a luncheon, and went with savory instead of sweet puffs. For perfect little tea sandwiches, I stirred about ¼ tsp of minced fresh chives into the batter, and put a light sprinkle of sea salt on top of each puff before baking. To serve, I cut them crosswise and put a spoonful of tuna salad in each one.

(Incidentally, I make really good tuna salad - just like my mom's, only with mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip. I also have a fabulous chicken salad recipe, if anyone is looking.)
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Cream Puffs
from Win

½ cup oleo (¼ lb) [margarine or butter]
1 cup water
1 cup flour
3 unbeaten eggs

Heat oleo [butter] and water in saucepan until oleo is melted.
Add flour all at once and heat 2 or 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time and beat after each.
Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.

Bake in hot oven (450°) 20 min. [I recommend 10 min.] Reduce heat to 325° and bake 20 min. more or until done. Remove one from baking sheet and if it doesn't fall, they are done.

Use 1 heaping tablespoon for each large cream puff.

Small ones make good tea sandwiches filled with chicken or tuna salad.
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Spicey Coffee Cake (Dorothy)

This is "Spicey" - not spicy - Coffee Cake. :)

I made this recipe for a funeral reception that I did not attend, so I can't yet provide any opinions of the final product. I did, however, use a couple of tablespoons of batter and spice mixture to make myself a mini sample in a custard cup. Right now, it's wrapped up in the freezer, waiting for my diet to be over in a few weeks, so I'll be back to update with a full taste report at a later date. Actually, I'll probably just find an excuse to make the recipe again so I can taste it fresh - I love a warm coffee cake.

I didn't think to take an individual photo of the finished product, but here's one of all the goodies I prepared for the reception (it was a very long day in the kitchen, but worth it!):

The Spicey Coffee Cake is in the bottom center. Also pictured, clockwise from the coffee cake, are the Breakfast Casserole, a bacon-swiss quiche (my personal specialty, not from the Yellow Box), Meat Loaf, Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake (I added a maple glaze), and Banana Cake that I split into three small loaves.

I made one large (9" x 13") cake, dividing the batter into two layers with half the spice mixture between the layers. This batter turns out extremely thick, so it was a bit of a trick to spread the second layer on top of the layer of spice mixture. I suppose I could have just put all of the spice mixture on top, but I like to have the extra flavor in the middle.

Other than that, it's a straightforward recipe. It'll be hard to beat either the Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake or Pattie Wheeler's Night Before Coffee Cake, so I'm curious to know how this one is.

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five months later

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I finally tried the cake myself, and I am a fan.

I started baking part-time in a local coffee shop over the summer, and have made this recipe several times because it is so simple to prepare. I've been making it in a tube pan with good results.There isn't much to the cake batter, but it's really the spice mixture, swirled through the middle and sprinkled on top, that makes every bite delicious.

A simple recipe, this coffee cake is best served warm, but still very good the next day.

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Spicey Coffee Cake
from Dorothy

Bottom
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1½ cup sugar     } sift first 4 ingredients together

½ cup oleo [butter/margarine] (1 stick)     } cut into dry ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk      } beat and add to other ingredients

Spice Mixture
mix together:
1 cup brown sugar
4 tsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp melted oleo [butter/margarine]
⅔ cup chopped nuts

Grease two 8" pans or one large (9" x 13") pan.
Alternate layers of batter and spice mixture (batter is very thick), topping with spice mixture.

Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes.
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