Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is a yummy and easy crowd-pleasing dessert. It yields 16-20 pieces, so if my crowd were a real crowd, I’d double the recipe.

Cake 

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients.
   
2. In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and water to a boil. Add to dry ingredients (step 1) and mix well.
   
3. In a small bowl, beat eggs. Add buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. Stir into cocoa mixture.
   
4. Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
   
5. Bake at 375F for 20-22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean.

 
Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cups icing (or confectioner’s) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. While cake is baking,  bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil in a saucepan, stirring constantly.
   
2. Remove pan from heat; add sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
   
3. When cake is done, spread frosting over hot cake.
4. Cool frosted cake on a wire rack. 

Recipe adapted from this recipe found in Taste of Home.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

While we’re on the subject of recipes from Taste of Home magazine, I’m sharing this recipe for a rolled sweet bread that I made a couple of weeks ago. I tore this recipe out of an issue of Taste of Home several years ago, but tried it for the first time this Christmas. It was fairly easy to do, looked very pretty, and passed the taste test, too.

 

Bread

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/2 cup warm sour cream (110° to 115°)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze

• 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt and egg. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.
   
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. (I do steps 1 and 2 with my stand mixer with dough hook, which makes bread making so easy.)
   
3. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. 
   
4. While dough rises, mix filling: In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth; set aside.
5. When dough is doubled, punch it down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.
6. Roll each piece into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle.
7. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Spoon jam lengthwise over half of the filling.
8. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side with the jam. Pinch seams to seal; tuck ends under.
9. Place loaves seam side down on a greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut shallow slashes across the top of each.
   
10. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
11. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack.
    
12. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cakes.

Yield: 2 loaves (10 slices each)

 

Next time I make it,  I’m going to shape it like the coffee cake in this video. (This video also demonstrates pinching and turning the ends under on a rolled loaf, and drizzling glaze over your warm coffee cake.)

 

Frosted Sugar Cookies

Each Christmas I try to make one rolled and cut-0ut cookie. On my really ambitious years, I make rolled gingerbread men and women—cowboys, ballerinas, Santa and Mrs. Santa, clowns, snowmen and bald-headed old men in suits. This year, I’m just making frosted sugar cookies from my mother’s recipe.  I haven’t actually made any yet, so this photo isn’t of cookies I made, but mine look quite a bit like these. And here’s how I make them.

1. In large mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon soda.
2. Cut in 1 cup butter—you know, with a pastry cutter like you do for pie crust—until the mixture is in pea-sized lumps.
3. Beat two eggs in a small bowl and add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons water. Mix. Add to flour mixture and stir well.
4. Roll the dough out  1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
5. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned.
6. Cool and frost with butter frosting.

Frosting:

1. Combine 1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar; 3 tablespoons butter, softened; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon milk; beat until creamy. Thin with additional milk to desired spreading consistency if necessary.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired. Spread frosting over cookies.

It’s hard to say how many cookies this yields, since cookie cutters vary so much in size. The recipe says it makes 7 dozen, but I don’t remember it making that many.

 

For those who like to get a head start on Christmas baking, these can be frozen unfrosted and then frosted after they have thawed.

 

I’ve posted this recipe for tomorrow’s Recipe Round Up. See details here. 

 

Previously posted cookie recipes:

• Rosettes
• Rice Krispies Cookies
• Snickerdoodles