Brownies (Grammie Hennie)

1/2 cup butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

Melt together

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

Beat together

1/2 cup flour

Vanilla or peppermint extract

Nuts optional

Mix all together, bake in 8×8 pan 25 minutes at 350

Merry Christmas & happy holidays to you!

Gingerbread Cookies 

1 stick unsalted butter, soft
1/2 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup dark molasses
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Blend butter & sugar until creamy. Beat in molasses. Sift flour with soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and salt, then add to butter mixture with 1/4 cup water. If too stiff ad a little more water.

Lightly knead dough until smooth and divide into three parts. Wrap two parts in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Grease the bottom of a cookie sheet, then roll out dough to just less than 1/4″ – thinner will be too crisp. Bake at 350 for 8 – 10 minutes.

I found one in the stash recently called Father’s Favorite Cake and it sounded really good, so we tried it out. The white cake, chocolate icing and coconut cream filling all sounded amazing together! While the original recipe for the white cake was a bit dry, another challenge was that the recipe for coconut cream filling was missing. I was able to find the recipe card for the Hungarian chocolate icing, so at least one of the three components was present, and of course the concept.

We decided to substitute Mother’s White Cake from my great grandmother as a tried-and-true white cake recipe, and I created a coconut cream filling. When we put the three components together, it turned out a moist and luscious cake with a sweet but not too sweet filling and a decadent chocolate icing that was so easy to make.

Even though there are really three recipes to this cake, I promise it isn’t difficult to make. I hope you will try out our Mounds Bar Cake for your next family dinner, maybe even for the father in your family, and perhaps it will turn out to be one of your favorite cakes to enjoy for years to come.

And please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, click the like button and the bell icon to be notified when we post a new video. We are trying to build our channel so look out for more great content coming soon. We are considering some of the most popular recipes on this site, and also some of the more interesting recipe cards to be found in my collection. If you like Facebook, you can follow us there, and we are now on Instagram. I think my husband even created us a TicToc!

Mounds Bar Cake

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 t salt

1 t vanilla

1 cup water

2 3/4 cups flour

3 heaping tsp Baking Powder

Whites of 4 eggs, beaten stiff – fold in

Cream butter and sugar, then add salt & vanilla. Add dry & wet alternately, beating hard. Divide into 2 9” cake pans that were sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Split the cakes and level the tops. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in freezer while you make the filling and icing.

Coconut Cream Filling

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 t vanilla

1 1/4 t coconut flavoring

8 oz cream cheese – soft

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 c shredded coconut

Whip together whipping cream, vanilla and coconut flavoring until peaks form. In another bowl, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Combine whipped cream and cream cheese mixtures, then add coconut flakes. Beat until smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until time to use.

Hungarian Chocolate Icing

6 oz bakers chocolate

3 cups powdered sugar

2 T hot water

6 egg yolks

8 T butter (soft)

Melt chocolate in double boiler. Once melted remove from water and add in powdered sugar and hot water. Mix. Add egg yolks one at a time beating after each. Add butter one tablespoon at a time beating after each.

To assemble the cake, place bottom layer, then a layer of coconut cream filling. Place the second layer and spread chocolate icing. Place the third layer and then a layer of coconut cream filling. Place the fourth layer and then ice the top and sides. Using some of the coconut cream filling write “Hi Dad” on top.

I did a little bit of research about Rosenberry’s and Pottstown, PA and found a long history of the market in that little town, plus a rich history of the town dating back to the 1700s. The Pottstown Historical Society can share more of the deeper details for you, but you should know that this town in the Pennsylvania Dutch area played host to a great family run grocery store that was an anchor to the community. Rosenberry’s was noted by site visitors as the place to go after church, to get a job, to meet friends, and buy necessities. And, of course, they sold Apie Cakes.

The great thing about Apie Cakes is they are really easy to make. They are hearty and filling, incredibly satisfying on a school morning or for an afternoon snack. You may also notice that Apie Cakes are made without eggs, making them an allergy friendly option, and if you used shortening it will be dairy free, and some shortenings are even vegan, so it ticks all the boxes for a sweet treat with broad appeal.

You can find a variety of recipes with variations. It all depends on whose grandmother had the recipe and that family’s preferences. Ours is a basic version that is packed with flavor. We hope you’ll try the recipe and enjoy them as much as we do!

Apie Cakes

4 cups flour

2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 pound butter, margarine or shortening, room temperature

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes. Add flour mixture one cup at a time, mixing well each time. Add water. Mix until all combined, the batter will be thick.

Divide between two 8 or 9” ungreased cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Ok to cut when still warm.

Our inaugural post is for Baked Ziti, one of my personal favorites. We have seven different versions of a “lazy day” or “easy” lasagna bake posted to this site, so there’s no shortage of inspiration. The version I’m making is a family favorite that never lasts long and never lets anyone go hungry. Be sure to check out the video and recipe below. It’s a really good one! Please also subscribe to our Youtube channel so you’ll be updated as we post more delicious (and sometimes not so delicious, but fun) recipes! You can also follow us on Facebook.

Baked Ziti – 350º

One 16 oz package of ziti

2 24 oz jars of Vodka sauce

16 oz Mild Italian sausage

16 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated

2.5 oz Romano cheese, grated

5 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup Ricotta cheese

1 egg

Optional: 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350°. Boil pasta, drain and return to pot. Add a little vodka sauce to the pasta, stir and set aside. Cook sausage, drain off grease. Mix Ricotta and egg together until smooth. Pour a little vodka sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish, spread around. Add half the pasta. Add half the mozzarella. Add half the Romano. Add half the Parmesan. Add the sausage. Add the Ricotta. Pour sauce over to cover this layer. Repeat layers until all ingredients have been used. Sprinkle any remaining cheese lightly over the sauce layer. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes, then remove foil and return to the oven 10-15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle parsley if using. Serve.

Here are links to the various versions of “pasta bake” dishes we have on the site

Sloppy Lasagna

Sloppy Lasagna 2

Easy Lasagna

Quick Lazy Day Lasagna

Quick Lasagna

Italian Style Casserole

Macaroni and Cheese Italia

This is a nonspecific recipe, really. It can be any vegetable you like. Broccoli? Zucchini? Carrot? Sure, whatever, as long as it’s chopped fine. You may want to use your food processor for that task depending on the type of veg you are using. Something like a zucchini would become a goopy paste but carrots or broccoli might hold up better. You may even try using frozen cooked vegetables and processing them while still frozen to help them hold their textures. Just an idea.

Vegetable Souffle (325° 40 min)

Stir 1/4 c flour into 1/2 c mayonnaise

Add 1/4 tsp salt – sash pepper. Don’t overmix.

Stir in 1/4 tsp milk, 1 c finely chopped cooked vegetables. Beat 4 egg whites – Fold in 1 1/2 qt

Bake 40 min until done

This might be an interesting side dish. I haven’t tried it, but it’s basically veggies and noodles, baked with some cheese. You can’t really mess that up. This person decided they would not use the Bell pepper in their dish, but you could try it if you like. I’d also note that the vegetables and aromatics should all be chopped up, shallots & garlic minced fine, etc.

Veg Noodle Bake (350° 1 hr)

Saute in olive oil –

1/2 chopped Bell pepper

1 minced shallot – 2 cloves garlic

lots of mushrooms – Add eggplant chunks – saute

Boil 6 oz egg noodle (drain)

Beat smooth – 4 eggs, 1 1/2 c milk, 1 c ricotta cheese

Combine with noodle – veg

Add salt & pepper to taste

Bake

Nope, just nope. This one is not for me.

Tongue En Casserole

1 beef tongue (cooked)

1 cup carrots (diced)

1/4 cup onion

1 cup celery (diced)

2 cups stock in which tongue was cooked

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

few grains pepper

Method

1. Place tongue in casserole and cover with diced vegetables
2. Add gravy prepared from liquor (liquid?), flour and seasonings
3. Bake at 300 degrees F 1 hour or simmer on top of stove

It’s three for one today! The tamale pie sounds great and somewhat similar to my Gram’s old Tamale Pie recipe with some notes she didn’t make. French dressing, note the comment, you can sub mineral oil for salad oil if you are “reducing” meaning, if you are on a diet – seems like a good laxative instead. The Vegetable Loaf isn’t exactly vegan, but if you eat eggs you could try this one for a non meat loaf.

Tamale Pie

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups milk

1 large onion

2 ads garlic

1 lb ground beef

1 can tomato sauce

1 small can corn

A few olives

Chili pepper & salt to taste

Soak cornmeal and milk 4 hours. Fry onion, garlic and meat til brown. Add chili pepper, tomato sauce, salt, corn and cornmeal. Mix together. Put in buttered baking dish, bake one hour at 400 degrees.

French Dressing

1 can tomato soup

3/4 cup vinegar

2 cups oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon paprika

3 tablespoons grated onon

2 cloves of garlic, grated

Put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake well to blend.

Note: if you are reducing you can use mineral oil in place of the salad oil and the various spices completely disguise it, and you’d never know that you hadn’t used the salad oil.

Vegetable Loaf

1 bunch carrots

5 stalks celery

1 onion

1 small bell pepper

12 sprays parsley

4 slices toast

Put all ingredients through a grinder (use a food processor). Add 1 beaten egg, put in buttered baking dish, dot well with butter and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

While “taco” and “quiche” are not two words that immediately go together in my mind, this actually sounds really delicious. You could sub in ground turkey or shredded chicken if you don’t have or like ground beef. I’d probably also up the spices for my family. I’ll list the ingredients and also transcribe the card as it is.

Taco Quiche – 13×9 pan, 350°, 1 hr

8 corn tortillas

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 t chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1 lb Jack cheese, grated

6 eggs

2 c milk

1 c sour cream

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 avocado, sliced

Line greased pan with 8 corn tortillas. Brown 2 lbs ground beef & 1 chopped onion. Add 1 clove pressed garlic – 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp oregano

Pour into pan, Top with 1 lb grated Jack cheese

Beat six eggs & 2 c milk, pour over

Bake 1 hr. While still warm spread 1 c sour cream, 2 sliced tomatoes, avocado