Monkey bread muffin cups

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits (cut each biscuit into six pieces)

½ c. sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon (or to your liking)

½ c. butter

½ c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and spray muffin pan with non-stick spray.

Put sugar and cinnamon in a baggie.  Toss the biscuit pieces until coated.  Fill the cups with biscuit pieces (about 10 pieces each). 

Melt butter and brown sugar together.  Drizzle over the top of each muffin.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

My aunt Becky made these for us at the lake last weekend.  They were great! I’m usually not a monkey bread fanatic but something about these muffin size creations hit the spot.  I felt like the “gooey goodness” is more evenly distributed in the muffin pans than a bundt pan.  Also, I’m a big fan of portion control.  

Oatmeal Cake

This is one of my favorite family recipes EVER. It reminds me of family reunions, loved ones and sunshine.  My mom makes this for me on special occasions.

Ingredients:

1 C. raw oatmeal                                                                             

2 eggs

1 1/2 C. boiling water                                                                     

1 1/2 C. flour

1 C. white sugar                                                                                               

1 tsp. baking soda

1 C. brown sugar                                                                             

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 C. shortening                                                                            

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix the oatmeal and water.  Let stand 20 minutes.  Beat the two sugars and shortening together.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Sift flour, soda, salt and cinnamon together and add to sugar and egg mixture.  Add oatmeal mixture last.  Bake at 325 degrees in 9 x 13 pan for 35-40 minutes.  While cake is still warm, spread with the frosting below:

Frosting for oatmeal cake:

6 Tbsp. butter                                                                                   

1 C. coconut

1/4 C. half & half or cream                                                           

1/2 C. brown sugar                                                                         

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt the butter, add other ingredients.  Spread on the cake and put under the broiler until brown.

For more of my family recipes, our cookbook is available on Amazon.  

Mom's Delicious Pumpkin Bars

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 cup oil                      

2 cups flour

1 cup white sugar     

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup brown sugar    

1 tsp soda

4 eggs                           

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups canned pumpkin            

1 tsp nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese     

1 tsp vanilla

2 sticks butter                           

Approx. 3 cups powdered sugar

Mix in order given, sifting dry ingredients together first. Bake in 15 X 11-inch greased and floured pan at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

For cream cheese frosting: Soften and mix together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat well. Spread on cooled bars. If you don’t feel like making the frosting, you can buy a container of cream cheese frosting at the grocery store.  

Peach Cobbler Dump Cake

Review by Lyndee

Easter brought lots of get togethers with family and I needed to call on some new recipes to jazz it up.  It was pretty good. I didn’t love it as much as the Apple Dump Cake but if you like peaches, you can’t go wrong with this easy dessert. 

Ingredients:

2 – 16 oz cans peaches in heavy syrup

1 yellow cake mix

1 stick butter

Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan.  Dump in the peaches.  Cover with the cake mix.  Press down firmly.  Cut butter into slices and place on top of cake mix.  Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.  Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cool whip. 

Note-I would melt the butter and pour on top of the cake mix next time.  Up the amount of butter if needed, but I think it would spread more evenly across the cake mixture. 

Snickerdoodle muddy buddies

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

5 cups rice chex cereal

12 oz white chocolate chips

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Measure out chex cereal and put aside in a large bowl.  Mix together cinnamon and powdered sugar in a a large ziplock baggy.  Melt white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.  Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal and fold in until well coated.  Add cereal to the bag of sugar and shake until well covered. 

This was possibly the simplest recipe I’ve ever made and it’s so dang good!! it really does taste like snickerdoodle.  Even the hubby liked it and he’s generally not a big fan of finger foods!!  It took less than 5 minutes and is totally delicious.  Can’t wait to share this one with the family tonight.  

Apple Dump Cake

Review by Lyndee

I had never had apple dump cake but it looked easy enough. With the freak winter storm that hit Iowa last night, I was in the mood to bake.  I wish I could find the person that invented this cake and shake their hand.  They are brilliant and my hero.  This is amazing!

Ingredients:

2 can apple pie filling

1 yellow cake mix

2 sticks butter melted

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan.  Dump in the cans of apple pie filling.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cover with the cake mix.  Pour on the melted butter.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.  Mine only took about 40 minutes to bake.  Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Warning, your eyes may roll into the back of your head when you take your first bite.  It is so dang good.  And it makes the house smell awesome.  Winner, winner! 

Overnight apple oatmeal

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

2 sliced apples

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

2 cups of oatmeal

2 cups of milk

2 cups water

Place apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in the bottom of the crockpot.  Do not stir.  Pour in oatmeal, milk and water.  Again, do not stir.  Cook overnight for 8 - 9 hours on low.

This was cheap, easy to make and smelled great in the morning. I eagerly got a bowl and dug in.  The first bite was delicious. And then I got a bite with apple. And the texture of the skin was nasty! I checked numerous recipes and none said whether or not to peel your apples.  Apparently, it’s a personal preference left open for the reader.  I would highly recommend peeling the apples though! You have a soft, mushy oatmeal and then you get this weird texture from the apple skin. I will try this again without the skins and I think it will be perfect.