Dessert Recipes-Old Time

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Recipe Index

AMBROSIA APPLE-BAKE APPLE CRISP APPLE CRUMB PIE

BAKLAVA AYALLA'S BANANA BREAD BANANA SPLIT CAKE BERRY COBBLER
BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES BLACK FOREST PIE PEANUT BUTTER BON BONS

BRAN MUFFINS DOUBLE-FROSTED BROWNIES

BUTTERNUT BISCUITS BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE BUTTER COOKIES

CARROT RAISIN BARS STEAMED CARROT PUDDING HELEN'S CARROT CAKE

CARROTCAKE-2 — UCLA Medical center carrot cake CREAM CHEESE BUTTER COOKIES

CHAFFCOMBE APPLE PUDDING CHEESECAKE-1 — Legendary cheesecake

CHEESECAKE-2 — perfect chocolate cheesecake

CHEESECAKE-3 — Restaurant-style cheesecake

DON CHANEY'S CHEESECAKE RS CHEESECAKE

CHEESECAKE 7 CHEESECAKE-8 — Food processor cheesecake

HAZELNUT CHERRY TART CHOCOLATE FANTASY CAKE QUICK CHOCOLATE CAKE

FRENCH CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE CHOCOLATE NUT CAKE CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES STEVE'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

CHOCOLATE BROWN SUGAR COOKIES CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIES CHOCOLATE CRACKLES

PASSOVER CHOCOLATE NUT TORTE CHOCOLATE PANCAKES

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHESS PIE . .CHOC-PUDDING-1 CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

CHOC-SLICES — Chocolate cream slices FRUIT TART

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE HOBEE'S COFFEE CAKE

COGNAC COOKIES Peanut-Butter cookies GRANDMA MACKAY'S CRANBERRY BREAD

CRANBERY-APPLE COOKIES CURRIED FRUIT FLAN — A rich Mexican custard

FRANGO MINT PIE OLD WORLD FRUIT CAKE FRUIT-SALAD — Generic fresh fruit salad

SOUTHERN CREAM APPLE PIE BROWNIES-2 — Serious chocolate brownies COCO-CHIPS
BO'S CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE

AMBROSIA

AMBROSIA — Simple desert for failed Pavlova attempts

My mother used to make the banana variety of this when she cooked her meringues a little too long or too hot. I've no idea of its origins.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

1¼ cups heavy cream

2 bananas (or equivalent amount of some soft fruit)

broken meringue

PROCEDURE

(1) Whip the cream.

(2) Chop fruit coarsely, but don't crush.

(3) Break meringue into large crumbs.

(4) Mix everything shortly before serving and pile into glasses.

NOTES

I can never make up my mind whether I prefer the strawberry or the banana version. Peach should be pretty good too, though I've never tried it. This is a neat way of saving a Pavlova (D) attempt when the meringue part fails: it produces a delicious desert and no-one need ever know...

RATING

Difficulty: very simple. Time: 10 minutes presuming you have the meringue available. Precision: No need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

Marcus G Hand,

AT&T Information Systems, Middletown, NJ.

mtuni!mgh

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the USENET copyright notice and the title of the newsgroup and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the USENET Community Trust or the original contributor.

BAKED APPLES

APPLE-BAKE — A quick substitute for apple pie

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

4 green apples (crispy, tart, medium sized—Granny Smiths are good)

3 in. stick cinnamon, broken and ground (use a coffee grinder.) Alternative: 1¼ tsp powdered cinnamon.

14 allspice berries, ground the same way (makes interesting coffee afterwards). Alternative: ½ tsp allspice.

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

½ cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp butter (grate if cold)

juice of ½ medium lemon

3/4 cup golden raisins

¼ cup dried pitted prunes

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts)

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 400º F. Butter a deep baking dish that has a lid.

(2) Core the apples but do not peel them. Arrange them in the dish. Cut apples to fit, if necessary.

(3) Combine all remaining ingredients in bowl. Mix well (this is where grating the butter comes in handy). Stuff this mixture into the holes and spaces in and between the apples.

(4) Bake covered at 400º F for about 30 minutes. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream (spoon extra sauce over ice cream).

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes cooking. Precision: measure the spices.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jeff Winslow

Tektronix Inc., Design Automation Group, Beaverton Oregon

jeffw@midas.UUCP

proved: reid@glacier.ARPA

APPLE CRISP

APPLE-CRISP — Easy baked apple dessert

I got this recipe from Marsha Foregger. It's very easy and makes a yummy dessert.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6 to 8)

5– 6 cups apple slices

¾ cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

1 egg

1/3 cup solid shortening (e.g. Crisco)

½ tsp cinnamon

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat the oven to 350º F.

(2) Fill a greased baking dish (approximately 6×10 inches) with the apple slices.

(3) Mix together with fork until crumbly the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and egg. Sprinkle over apples.

(4) Melt the shortening, cool slightly and pour over apple-flour mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake 30–40 minutes at 350º F. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

NOTES

I usually sprinkle some raisins and walnut halves in among the apple slices.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 40 minutes baking. Precision: measure the ingredents.

CONTRIBUTOR

Nancy Mintz

UNIX System Development Lab, AT&T-IS, Summit, New Jersey, USA

ihnp4!attunix!nlm

APPLE CRUMB PIE

APPLE-PIE-1 — One-crust apple crumb pie

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 pie)

4 cups tart apples

2 Tbsp butter

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

1 pie crust

PROCEDURE

(1) Core, peel and slice the apples.

(2) Melt the butter, and mix the rest in with it. Pour over apples and mix around so the apples are coated.

(3) Put in an unbaked pie shell

(4) Combine brown sugar, flour, melted butter, and nuts. Spread over top of the filling.

(5) Bake at 375º F for 50 minutes, or until it is bubbling.

NOTES

The pie can also be frozen and then baked, right from the freezer, at 360º F for 90 minutes. The pies will keep a very long time in the freezer, and not be worse for wear. PS: For those who like the quality of home-made pie crusts but the convenience of ready-made, make a bunch of crusts someday when the mood grabs you, and put them in the freezer in a big plastic bag.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 1 hour baking. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Margaret Reek

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

mmr@ritcv.UUCP

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

SOUTHERN CREAM APPLE PIE

APPLE-PIE-2 — Apple pie with sour cream goodness

This recipe came from my wife's boss, Dick Dolan, the editor of the Hewlett Packard Journal. It is sinfully delicious and never lasts very long, even if you don't have help eating it!

INGREDIENTS (Makes 2 pies)

PIE

22 oz tart apples

1½ cups sugar

¼ cup flour

3 cups sour cream

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 deep-dish pastry shells, 9 inches wide

TOPPING

1 1/8 cups sugar

¾ cup flour

1½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup butter

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat the oven to 400º F. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla into a smooth mixture.

(2) Core, peel, and chop the apples. Boil them in a small amount of water with a little lemon juice for 3 to 5 minutes until they begin to get tender.

(3) Drain apples and add to the mixture.

(4) Pour into two 9-inch pastry shells.

(5) Bake at 400º F for 30 minutes.

(6) While pies are baking, crumble topping ingredients into a bowl and mix with a pastry cutter or two knives.

(7) Remove pies from oven and cover with topping recipe.

(8) Put pies under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until the topping begins to bubble.

NOTES

Don't take your eyes off the pies while they're under the broiler. A moment's inattention can mean burned pie! If there is any pie left over, the remainder should be refrigerated.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 30 minutes baking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Richard Johnsson

DEC Western Software Lab, Palo Alto, Calif., USA

johnsson@decwrl.dec.com

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BAKLAVA

BAKLAVA — An incredibly sweet and wonderful Balkan dessert

Baklava is claimed by almost every Balkan state as its own invention; most people in the United States first encounter it in Greek restaurants. If the truth were known, it's probably the Turkish who invented it, as is the case for many other "typically Greek" dishes. This recipe comes from my Bulgarian grandmother, and follows Bulgarian tradition, in that the filling is very simple.

INGREDIENTS (Makes two small pans)

DOUGH

1 lb strudel dough (or fillo leaves)

1 lb unsalted butter, well melted. Salted butter or margarine are not acceptable.

FILLING

1 lb walnut meat, chopped medium fine

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla (or use vanilla sugar)

SYRUP

4 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 tsp lemon juice

PROCEDURE

(1) Heat oven to 300º F to 325º F.

(2) Make the syrup first. Boil the water and sugar for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice, boil 10 more minutes, set aside to cool.

(3) Make the filling: Mix all ingredients well. I prefer the walnuts fairly coarse; some people like them quite fine.

(4) Cut the dough with scissors to the size of the tray. Handle the dough very carefully; do not press hard on it at any time. Cover with wax paper and damp towel.

(5) Take out one sheet of dough at a time and place it in the pan. Brush the dough with melted butter between each layer. Continue until you have about 12 sheets buttered. Small and broken pieces of dough can be used in the center, but there must be butter between every two layers.

(6) Spread walnut filling across the tray.

(7) Put on a sheet of dough, brush on butter, and continue until all the dough is used up.

(8) Cut into diamond shapes: cut into quarters with cuts parallel to the long axis, then cut diagonally across. Don't press hard!

(9) Bake for about 1½ hour, until golden brown. Be careful not to burn the bottom or the walnuts, especially with a glass pan.

(10) Let cool on rack for 5 minutes. Add syrup which should have cooled to room temperature. Let cool for at least two hours before eating.

NOTES

Probably the hardest thing about this recipe is waiting those last two hours! Depending on where you go, you'll hear the name of this dish pronounced different ways. I pronounce the name with all /ah/ sounds, with accents of equal intensity on both the first and third syllable. The second syllable is quite faint. Greek-speaking persons typically put a heavy accent on the second syllable.

Many variations on the filling are to be found. A simple one was mentioned above, regarding the coarseness of grind of the walnuts in the filling. They may even be ground. Spices such as chopped cloves or cinnamon may be added, and the filling may be included in several layers instead of just one.

A large (14×10 inch) pan is almost too big to handle. I typically make this recipe in two 7¾×11 inch pans, which is just about the size of a half sheet of the dough I buy. By the way, if you can make your own strudel dough, it will be even better ... but much more effort.

It is best to have a partner help you prepare the pans. One person handles the dough and places it in the pan, while the other applies the butter. It is very important that sufficient butter be placed between layers so that each layer gets flaky, rather than having them stick together. Pay particular attention to the edges and corners.

In case you haven't noticed, this is very sweet stuff. It goes great with a fine cup of coffee, espresso, or Turkish coffee, even with sugar. Two pieces will probably fill anyone up; it refrigerates and freezes quite well. This recipe requires a lot of effort, but it's well worth it.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate to hard. Time: 1½ hours preparation, 1½ hours cooking, 2 hours cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Chris Kent

DEC Western Research Lab, Palo Alto, California

kent@decwrl.dec.com ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax!decwrl!kent

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

AYALLA'S BANANA BREAD

BANANA-BREAD — Banana-nut bread

This recipe is from my friend Ayalla. It makes a heavy, but moist, loaf of banana bread.

INGREDIENTS (1 loaf)

3 very ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

½ cup shortening (butter)

2 eggs

3 Tbsp yoghurt or sour cream

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chopped walnuts

rum, vanilla, or amaretto (optional)

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat the oven to 350º F. Cream the shortening and sugar.

(2) Mix in the bananas.

(3) Mix in the remaining ingredients.

(4) Pour into a greased loaf pan.

(5) Bake 1 hour 15-20 minutes at 350º F.

NOTES

If you use more than 3 normal-size bananas, I suggest that you lower the oven temperature and cook for a while longer. Otherwise, the crust comes out almost overcooked while the middle remains moist and almost undercooked.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: Preparation: 10 minutes; baking: at least 95 minutes. Allow some time for cooling. Precision: Approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Aviva Garrett

Santa Cruz, California, USA

(Excelan, Inc., San Jose)

ucbvax!mtxinu!excelan!aviva

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BANANA SPLIT CAKE

BANANA-CAKE — A no-cooking cake with fruit and whipped cream

INGREDIENTS (Crust #1)

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup margarine

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix and press in bottom of a 9×13 pan. Bake 10 minutes at 350º F. Cool.

INGREDIENTS (Crust #2)

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

1 cup soft margarine

1 egg, slightly beaten

½ tsp vanilla

PROCEDURE

(1) Blend all ingredients thoroughly. Pat dough on bottom of a pan.

(2) Bake at 400º F for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

INGREDIENTS (Crust #3)

32 Oreo cookies

2/3 cup melted margarine

PROCEDURE

(1) Crush cookies and mix them with the margarine. Press mixture in bottom of pan.

INGREDIENTS (Filling for 1 cake)

½ cup margarine

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

2 eggs

4–5 bananas, sliced lengthwise

20 oz chunk pineapple, drained

4 cups whole strawberries

1 cup whipping cream

chopped nuts

PROCEDURE

(1) Whip margarine/sugar/egg mixture with electric mixer and spread over cooled crust.

(2) Place bananas, cut side down, on top of above layer.

(3) Spread on the pineapple chunks, then the strawberries.

(4) Whip the cream, cover the whole dish with whipped cream, and sprinkle with nuts.

(5) Refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 4 hours cooling. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Peggy B. Gillenwater

Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego

peggy@noscvax.UUCP

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

BERRY COBBLER

BERRY-COBBLER — Berry cobbler

This recipe was lifted from TV Guide's series of recipes from television stars. It is similar to the recipe for Berry Pudding found in Edna Staebler's Food That Really Schmecks cookbook. I will list a few variations on it at the end.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)

½ cup sugar (for sprinkling)

4 cups berries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup sugar (for the batter)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup milk

¼ cup butter (softened)

nutmeg

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F.

(2) Sprinkle ½ cup of sugar on the berries, and place them in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish.

(3) Combine the remaining dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt).

(4) Add the milk and softened butter, and beat well.

(5) Spoon the batter over the berries. Sprinkle some nutmeg on top.

(6) Bake for about 45 minutes.

NOTES

You can use pretty well any type of berry for the base. A favourite of mine is a combination of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. The base of this turns out to be a bit thin and liquidy. If you strain the juice from the fruit, add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the juice, and then pour the juice over the fruit in the baking dish, the base will be semi-firm.

You do not need to sprinkle the full ½ cup of sugar on the berries; with sweeter berries, much less will often suffice.

If you would like a sweeter, candy-like batter, try adding more sugar to the batter. I wouldn't recommend putting more than 1¼ cups of sugar into the batter, though—the crust of the batter will be very candy-like, but the centre of the batter will not properly bake if you do.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 45 minutes baking. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Geoff Loker

University of Toronto, CSRI, Artificial Intelligence

USENET: ihnp4 decwrl utzoo uw-beaver!utcsri!utai!gkloker

CSNET: gkloker@toronto

ARPANET: gkloker.toronto@csnet-relay

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BLACK BOTTOM CUPCAKES

BLACKBOTTOM — Chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese filling

This was adapted from a recipe in the December, 1980 issue of Bon Appetit. I have doubled the original, along with changing it, so it may not double again easily.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 3 dozen)

CREAM-CHEESE MIXTURE

16 oz cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

FLOUR MIXTURE

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

½ cup cocoa, or more to taste

2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

LIQUIDS

1-1/3 cup water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 Tbsp dark rum (Myers's)—optional

16 oz sour cream

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F.

(2) Make the cream-cheese mixture: blend cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and salt with a wooden spoon.

(3) Carefully fold in chips. Set aside.

(4) Make the flour mixture: combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in another bowl.

(5) Mix in the liquids. Blend thoroughly.

(6) Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. Fill papers about ¾ full with batter.

(7) Drop one heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each.

(8) Bake until done, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 30 minutes baking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ed Gould MT XINU, 2560 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 USA

ucbvax,decvax!mtxinu!ed

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BLACK FOREST PIE

BLKFOREST-PIE — A rich chocolate/cherry pie

I got this recipe from my mom, I don't know where she got it. It is very rich, so be careful!

INGREDIENTS (1 pie)

1 pie crust, cooked

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 Tbsp flour

¼ cup butter

1/3 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1¼ lb cherry pie filling (one large can)

8 oz whipped cream

1 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely grated

PROCEDURE

(1) Prepare your favorite crust for a filled 1-crust pie.

(2) Preheat oven to 350º F. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa and flour; add butter and milk. Cook until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

(3) Add small amount of hot mixture to eggs, mix well, then fold egg mixture into the chocolate mixture.

(4) Fold 1/3 of the pie filling into chocolate mixture; save the rest for the topping. Pour chocolate mixture into pie crust.

(5) Bake at 350º F for 35–45 minutes or until center is set but still shiny. Cool, and chill one hour.

(6) Whip the cream. Combine 2 cups whipped cream and grated chocolate and spread over cooled pie. Top with remaining pie filling, and the remaining whipped cream. Chill at least half an hour before serving.

NOTES

I use a pre-mixed whipped topping rather than real whipped cream when I make this pie.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 3 hours cooking and cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Darrell Walker

Hewlett Packard, Cupertino, California, USA

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

PEANUT BUTTER BON BONS

BON-BONS — Chocolate and peanutbutter holiday treat

INGREDIENTS (3–4 dozen)

3 lb powdered sugar

1 lb butter

2 cups crunchy peanut butter

1 lb chocolate chips

½ lb block paraffin

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix together the sugar and peanut butter in a bowl. Melt the butter, and pour it over this mixture. Stir and knead until smooth.

(2) Roll into walnut-sized balls.

(3) Melt together the chocolate chips and paraffin over water.

(4) Dip balls into chocolate coating, set on waxed paper to harden.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 15 minutes. Precision: Approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Katherine Rives Albitz

Hewlett-Packard, Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

BRAN MUFFINS

BRAN-MUFFINS-2 — Tasty muffins with bran and dried fruit

This is a simple New Zealand recipe based on "golden syrup". The muffins make a delicious alternative to scones. We eat them buttered, either hot or cold. I've added the dried fruit to the original recipe as it makes them much more interesting.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 12)

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1½ cups unprocessed bran

1 tsp baking soda

1 egg

4 tsp golden syrup

1 Tbsp butter

6 Tbsp sugar

1 cup milk

1 cup sultanas (or substitute raisins, dates, etc.)

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 425º F. Dissolve the soda in the milk.

(2) Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

(3) Beat the egg well, then add the milk/soda.

(4) Add the golden syrup and butter which have been heated together to melt the butter.

(5) Add the dry ingredients and mix quickly.

(6) Put into greased muffin tins and bake for 12–15 minutes at 425º F.

NOTES

Golden syrup is a very thick sugar syrup that is readily available in countries where people drive on the left-hand side of the road, but seems to be rare elsewhere. If the gourmet section of your supermarket does not carry it, you could try substituting some kind of honey, such as sage honey. Any dried fruit can be used instead of sultanas, e.g. raisins, dates - whatever strikes your fancy.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Peter C. Maxwell

University of New South Wales, Sydney, AUSTRALIA

peterm%cad.unsw.oz@uunet.uu.net

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

DOUBLE-FROSTED BROWNIES

BROWNIES-1 — Very rich brownies with double frosting

This recipe is for people who like intense chocolate flavor. The result is a brownie with a fondant frosting, covered with unsweetened chocolate. They are vey rich, with an intersting combination of textures. This recipe is not for beginners.

INGREDIENTS (1 dozen)

BATTER

2 oz unsweetened chocolate (2 squares)

¼ lb butter

2 eggs (large)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts are traditional)

FIRST FROSTING

1½ cups sugar

1/3 cup butter

½ cup half-and-half (also called light cream)

1 tsp vanilla extract

SECOND FROSTING

3 oz unsweetened chocolate (3 squares)

PROCEDURE

(1) Pre-heat oven to 350º F.

(2) Melt 2 oz of chocolate and the butter in a heavy saucepan, then let it cool. Be careful not to let the chocolate burn.

(3) Beat the eggs in a large bowl until they are blended. Add 1 cup of sugar and mix well.

(4) Stir in chocolate-and-butter mixture. Mix until the chocolate is fully incorporated, with no streakyness. Add the vanilla, flour, salt, and nuts. Stir just until the flour is incorporated; overstirring will make a tough brownie.

(5) Spread the mixture in a greased 11×7 inch pan that is 1½ inch deep. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

(6) Cool in the pan on a rack. While it is cooling, follow these instructions to make the first frosting:

(7) Mix 1½ cups sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and ½ cup of half-and-half in a heavy, medium-size saucepan.

(8) Bring to a boil, then cook over moderate heat without stirring until a small amount of the mixture forms a soft ball when dropped in ice water, or it reaches 236º F on a candy thermometer.

(9) Remove from heat immediately and cool in a pan of ice-water until the candy is lukewarm. DANGER: melted sugar cools very slowly. You can burn yourself badly by testing it with your finger.

(10) Add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the candy. Beat it until it is creamy and of a spreading consistency. This is most easily done with an electric mixer, although you can use a heavy wire whip.

(11) Spread the frosting over the brownies.

(12) Melt the remaining 3 oz chocolate, and spread over the frosting just put on the brownies. Cover as evenly as possible.

(13) Cool for several hours in a refrigerator, then bring to room temperature and cut into pieces to serve.

NOTES

Be very careful when melting chocolate. It burns easily. A double boiler is probably the best way thing to use. It is critical to cook the first frosting to just the right point. If cooked too little, it will be too thin to beat to a creamy consistency. If cooked too much, it will be too brittle. So keep a close eye on it; sugar tends to cook slowly to the soft-ball stage, then it cooks quickly.

RATING

Difficulty: difficult. Time: a few hours preparation, several hours chilling and then warming Precision: measure ingredients carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jeff Lichtman

Relational Technology, Inc., Alameda, California, USA

amdahl,sun!rtech!jeff ucbvax,decvax!mtxinu!rtech!jeff

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BROWNIES II

BROWNIES-2 — Serious chocolate brownies

This is an adaptation of the "Scrumptious Brownies" recipe found on a box of Baker's unsweetened chocolate. I've reduced the amounts of sugar and flour from the original, which I find makes for a very fudgey brownie.

INGREDIENTS (32 brownies)

8 oz unsweetened chocolate (8 squares)

½ lb butter

5 eggs

2½ cups sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1½ cups flour

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

PROCEDURE

(1) Grease a 13×9 inch pan and pre-heat oven to 375º F.

(2) Melt the chocolate and the butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool while beating eggs.

(3) Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for a full 10 minutes.

(4) Blend in the chocolate-and-butter mixture at low speed.

(5) Add flour, beating just to blend. Stir in walnuts, if desired.

(6) Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly dirty.

(7) Cool in pan, then cut into squares.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking and cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ed Gould

mt Xinu, Berkeley, California, USA

ucbvax,decvax,uunet!mtxinu!ed

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

BUTTER COOKIES

BUTTER-COOKIES — Simple butter cookies

After reading the ingredients on a can of imported Danish butter cookies, I thought: "Hey! I can do this myself!", so I developed the following recipe. It doesn't resemble the original too much, but considering that the cookies don't stay around for more than two days, and that even my mother liked them, they must be good!

INGREDIENTS

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

1½ cup white flour

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1½ tsp baking powder

PROCEDURE

(1) Beat the butter with the sugar.

(2) Add the egg and vanilla and beat until you get a uniform mixture.

(3) Mix the flour and baking powder and gradually blend them into the mixture. When you're done, you should have a rather sticky dough.

(4) Shape the dough into balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Roll them in sugar and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving about an inch of space between cookies, so that they don't stick together when they expand.

(5) Bake in preheated oven at 350º F for 20 minutes.

(6) Remove from oven, let them cool for a while, and start eating right away.

RATING

Difficulty: Easy. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 20 minutes baking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Kriton Kyrimis

Princeton University, Computer Science Dept., Princeton, New Jersey, USA

princeton!kyrimis

"I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow..."

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BUTTERNUT BISCUITS

BUTTERNUTS — Biscuits (cookies) with butter and coconut

This recipe is from our local school's collection of "mother's favourite recipes". It's terrific.

INGREDIENTS (6 dozen)

2 Tbsp butter,

1 cup sugar

1 egg

½ tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1½ cups plain white flour

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 cup dessicated coconut

2 Tbsp golden syrup

1 Tbsp milk

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix all ingredients together well. Preheat oven to 250º F.

(2) Roll dough into small balls.

(3) Bake for 15 minutes, or until brown.

NOTES

Golden syrup is not available in North America; it is a caramelized sugar syrup. North Americans can substitute dark corn syrup or a mixture of molasses and water.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Michael Gigante

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne Vic., Australia

seismo!munnari!cidam.oz!mg mg%cidam.oz@australia.csnet

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE

BUTTERSCOTCH — Butterscotch pudding with a meringue top

A delicious dessert for the sugar addict. It goes well with apricot chicken. This is one of the family favourites that mum makes.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs (separated)

2 cups milk

2 Tbsp plain flour

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup white sugar

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix flour and brown sugar, adding beaten egg yolks and milk gradually.

(2) Put on to boil and thicken, stir constantly.

(3) Take off heat.

(4) Add butter and mix well.

(5) Pour into buttered pie dish.

(6) Beat egg whites with white sugar until meringue consistency and pile on top.

(7) Bake in a pre-heated oven at 340º F until meringue is nicely brown.

NOTES

It is very important not to let the oven get too hot!

RATING

Difficulty: Moderate. Time: 15 minutes preparation, about 40 minutes cooking. Precision: Measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Greg Sharp

Dept. Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands

gregor@vu44.uucp

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CARROT RAISIN BARS

CARROT-BARS — Chewy carrot raisin and nut bars

This is from The Carrot Cookbook, by Audra and Jack Hendrickson. As they say, this recipe is beta-carotene rich. In any case, they are a tasty treat.

BOTTOM LAYER

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4–6)

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 cup flour

TOP LAYER

2 eggs

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1½ cups raisins

½ cup chopped nuts

1 tsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp flour

½ tsp baking powder

dash salt

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 400º F. Cream together the butter and sugar.

(2) Add the flour and mix well. Form into a ball, then press it down into a uniform layer in a 8-inch square baking pan.

(3) Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes).

(4) Combine ingredients for top layer, mixing well. When bottom layer is done, pour on top and spread evenly.

(5) Bake for 25 minutes.

NOTES

Ships well for gifts and the like. Doesn't easily break or dry out.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 40 minutes baking. Precision: Approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Nicholas Horton

Reed College, Portland, Oregon, USA

tektronix!reed!horton

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STEAMED CARROT PUDDING

CARROT-PUDDING — An old Welsh steamed carrot pudding

This is a good steamed pudding, despite the list of ingredients that are "good for you". The sauce (following the recipe) is not a necessity for good taste, only for authenticity, although I LIKE it with the sauce. This is a very old recipe, I gathered it from my grandmother, who would have been 101 (sniff) this year, who learned it from her Welsh mother, who learned it from her ... (in Wales), ergo it's at least 200+. Given its similarity to some late Medieval puddings, one might suspect that its origins are much earlier.

I determined the quantities listed here by measuring what my grandmother tossed into the pot.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 5 pounds)

DRY INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted and measured

1½ tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp cloves

1½ tsp salt

2 tsp double-acting baking powder

OTHER PUDDING INGREDIENTS

1½ cups raw, grated, or ground potatoes

1½ tsp baking soda

1½ cups raw, ground carrots (use medium blade)

1½ cups bread crumbs (dry, not toasted)

1½ cups crisco shortening, (solid white vegetable shortening)

1½ cups brown sugar (light or dark, depends on what you like)

1 jumbo egg, or 2 large eggs, lightly beaten.

1½ tsp lemon extract

1½ tsp vanilla

1½ cups finely chopped walnuts (black walnuts are wonderful if you can get them)

15 oz raisins

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

¼ cups water

½ cups brown sugar (I use a mixture of light and dark)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon extract

1/8 tsp cornstarch, well divided

1 Tbsp butter

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix the dry ingredients and set them aside. Grease completely three large (25-oz) tin cans, such as the kind used for tomato purée. Do NOT use the plastic-lined variety. Alternatively, grease one large steaming mold, with a hole in the center. Or improvise.

(2) Add the potatoes. Mix well. Then, in turn, add the baking soda, the carrots, the bread crumbs, and the Crisco, making sure that you mix well after adding each ingredient. This matters, so do it! You may have to get some help from King Kong to blend adequately after adding the shortening.

(3) Add, in sequence, the brown sugar, the beaten egg, the lemon extract, and the vanilla, mixing well after each addition.

(4) Now, add the dry ingredients mixture, a bit at a time. The mixture will be extremely thick, and very difficult to mix.

(5) Add the walnuts and the raisins. Mix them in. Go ahead. You're strong enough.

(6) Push the mixture into the tins, with each about ¾ full, or a little more. Seal the tins with aluminum foil, and use a rubber band to hold the foil on. (the pudding should not be exposed directly to the steam).

(7) Steam 1½ to 2 hours, (until the pudding seems uniform. You can't overcook it, so err on the long side, please!) and cool if you're not going to serve it right now.

(8) Make the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heating until it bubbles and all ingredients are dissolved.

(9) To serve, reheat by steaming for at least 45 minutes, or serve out of the original pot.

NOTES

This stuff keeps in the fridge nearly forever (at least a month) as long as you don't let it dry out. Some add rum to this sauce. Suit yourself. I like it both ways.

Decant or spoon out (depends on if you want to be fancy or not) and serve with sauce, also steaming.

Then, don't eat for two days to make up for the calories.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate (considerable physical work required). Time: 1 hour preparation, 3 hours steaming. Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jim Johnston, (ihnp4;allegra;research)!alice!jj

AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ

TEDDY BEARS ARE SHY, SAVE A POWDERMILK BISCUIT FOR YOURS!

"There are bridges, bridges in the sky, and bridges in the air..."

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

HELEN'S CARROT CAKE

CARROTCAKE-1 — Carrot cake with cream cheese filling

I got this recipe originally from The Oregonian in Portland, Oregon.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 12)

4 eggs, separated

1½ cup sugar

grated

1 cup walnuts, finely grated

1½ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup oil

2½ Tbsp hot water

½ tsp baking soda

FILLING

8 oz cream cheese

½ cup sugar

½ cup strawberry, apricot or raspberry jam

FROSTING

1 cup whipping cream

2 Tbsp sugar

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F. Cream together egg yolks and 1 cup of the sugar until the yolk color lightens. Stir in carrots, nuts, flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and oil.

(2) Mix together hot water and soda and stir into flour mixture.

(3) Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar. Beat until stiff and glossy.

(4) Fold egg white mixture into flour mixture.

(5) Turn mixture into a greased 13×9-inch pan lined with greased wax paper and bake for 45 minutes or until done. Cool.

(6) Slice in half horizontally, to form two layers.

(7) Make the cream cheese filling: soften the cream cheese and beat in the sugar, mixing gradually, until the filling is smooth and fluffy. A food processor works well for this.

(8) Cover bottom layer with cream cheese filling, then cover cream cheese layer with jam. Place the top layer of the cake carefully on top of the jam.

(9) Make the frosting: beat the whipping cream until slightly stiff, then add the sugar and beat the mixture to stiff peaks. Frost the entire cake with whipped cream.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour baking and cooling, 10 minutes frosting. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Gary L. Scott

Tektronix, Inc, Beaverton Oregon, USA

garys@tekcbi.UUCP

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CARROT CAKE

CARROTCAKE-2 — UCLA Medical center carrot cake

INGREDIENTS (One cake)

CAKE

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour, sifted

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp soda

2 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cardamom

1 cup walnuts, chopped finely

½ cup raisins

½ cup crushed pineapple, well drained

2 cups carrots, shredded and packed

FROSTING

3 oz cream cheese

½ cup butter

1¼ cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp pineapple, crushed, chopped and well drained

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

1/8 tsp cardamom

PROCEDURE

(1) Cream butter until soft. Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy, at least ten minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time until thoroughly blended. Add vanilla.

(2) In a separate bowl sift flour, salt, cinnamon, soda, nutmeg and cardamom together several times and set aside.

(3) Add walnuts, pineapple, raisins and carrots to egg-sugar mixture. Stir in flour mixture and mix well.

(4) Pour into greased and floured pan and bake at 350º F for 1 hour. Cool completely.

(5) Apply frosting.

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.

(2) Add pineapple, walnuts and cardamom. Blend well.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking, 1 hour cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Gary L. Scott

Tektronix, Inc, Beaverton, Oregon, USA

hplabs,decvaxtektronix!tekcbi!garys garys@tekcbi.uss.tek.com

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CREAM CHEESE BUTTER COOKIES

CBUTTR-COOKIES — Simple filled butter cookies with cream cheese

INGREDIENTS (3–4 dozen)

½ pound butter

1 cup sugar

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 egg yolk

4 oz cream cheese

raspberry jam

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F. Cream together the butter and sugar.

(2) Add the flour and egg yolk and mix well.

(3) Add the cream cheese and mix well.

(4) Roll into balls about 5/8 inch in diameter. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet (the cookies don't grow when baked, so they can be somewhat close together). Then press your thumb into each to flatten it and make an indentation to hold some jam. Fill it with jam.

(5) Bake at 350º F for 15 to 20 minutes.

NOTES

You can use any flavor jam you like. The jam is the only part of the cookie that has any texture, so I prefer using it to jelly.

Don't eat the cookies straight from the oven, or you'll probably burn your tongue. The jam stays hotter much longer than the cookie.

RATING

Difficulty: easy, but strenuous if made by hand. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 15–20 minutes baking. Precision: Measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Aviva Garrett

Santa Cruz, California, USA

Excelan, Inc., San Jose, California

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

CHAFFCOMBE APPLE PUDDING

CHAFF — Apple and orange pudding with oats on top

(from "Friends of the Earth Cookbook") A really quick to prepare, juicy pudding – it's amazing the difference the orange makes.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

3 medium cooking apples

1 orange

1 oz margarine or butter

2 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp oats (uncooked flake oatmeal)

PROCEDURE

(1) Grate the apple (including the skin, but not the core) and the skin of the orange into an ovenproof dish. Mix in the juice of the orange and half the sugar.

(2) Melt the margarine in a saucepan over a low heat and mix in the oats and the rest of the sugar. Stir until thoroughly coated. Spread over the top of the apple mixture.

(3) Stand for one hour before cooking for 20–30 minutes at 375º F.

NOTES

Try it with different toppings – crumble or cornflakes for example.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 15 minutes preparation, 1 hour standing, 20–30 minutes cooking. Precision: No need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

Paul Green

University of Warwick, Coventry, England.

pg@warwick.uucp

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHEESECAKE I

CHEESECAKE-1 — Legendary cheesecake

This is from a dessert-chef friend of a regular-chef friend, and apparently won some award. I've had cheesecakes that I think are more impressive (including one I can make), but I think I'm something of a cheesecake connoisseur. If I want to blow people's socks off, this is the one I cook. I think that every time I've served it to a new group, at least one person has said "That was the best cheesecake I've ever had."

INGREDIENTS (one cheesecake)

CRUST:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp white sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

CAKE FILLING:

1½ lb cream cheese

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tsp grated lemon rind

2 tsp vanilla

TOPPING:

2 cups sour cream

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

GLAZE:

½ cup sugar

1½ Tbsp cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup water

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 egg yolk, WELL BEATEN.

1 Tbsp butter

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F. Combine crust ingredients. Press crust on bottom and sides of buttered 10-inch springform pan. Bake 5 minutes, and cool.

(2) Beat cheese until soft. Add sugar and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in the lemon rind and the vanilla, and add to the mixture. Pour into the pre-baked crust, and bake 35 minutes.

(3) Combine topping ingredients, spread on top of cheesecake, and return to oven immediately. Bake 10–12 minutes and remove from oven.

(4) Combine dry glaze ingredients; add liquid glaze ingredients. Cook over low heat until thick. Add 1 Tbsp of butter. Cool, and spread this glaze on the cake before the glaze thickens too much.

NOTES

Some pointers: this is the traditional crust, but I often use a more floury-baked-pie-crust-like one. It's not too critical. The magic to getting the texture perfect is in how you beat the cheese. I use a kitchen aid, work slowly, scrape the bowl often, and ALWAYS USE ROOM TEMPERATURE EVERYTHING. Using cold cream cheese guarantees lumps. Don't beat too hard before putting in the sugar, but make sure it's even and fluffy before the eggs go in. Then again, don't overbeat. It takes practice. I've been known to make it with no sugar or vanilla in the topping, and I think it's more interesting. but the contrast between the layers may confuse those accustomed to restaurant cheesecakes.

The glaze is easy as glazes go, but treat it properly. In particular, stir constantly until it's thick, but don't stir hard or you'll break down the starch.

RATING

Difficulty: rather difficult (timing is critical.) Time: 1 hour. Precision: measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Rob Pike, research!rob

AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ

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CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

CHEESECAKE-2 — Picture-perfect chocolate cheesecake

You may have seen this on the cover of a recent magazine when you were standing in the grocery line. It makes a very rich, truly decadent chocolate cheesecake.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 16 servings)

½ lb chocolate wafers finely crushed.

1/3 cup butter, melted

1½ lb cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

6 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

3 Tbsp white flour

3 large eggs

2 Tbsp heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 400º F. Mix chocolate wafer crumbs and butter. Press firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up the sides of an ungreased, 9-inch springform pan.

(2) Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300º F.

(3) Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until it is smooth.

(4) Add sugar, chocolate, and flour. Beat again, until the mixture is well blended and fluffy.

(5) Add eggs, one at a time, beating again after each egg is added.

(6) Beat in the cream and vanilla.

(7) Pour mixture into the cooled crust. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, until filling is set. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

(8) Blend sour cream, vanilla, and sugar together until well mixed. Spread over top of cooled cheesecake. Chill several hours or overnight

NOTES

A chocolate wafer is a crisp chocolate cookie about three inches in diameter and an eigth of an inch thick. If you can't find them, you can substitute any kind of dry crunchy chocolate-flavored cookie. You can make the crust and filling in a food processor if you have one. It makes it a lot easier.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 30 minutes to prepare, 70 minutes to cook, several hours to chill. Precision: measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jonathan Hue

LMSC-Mechanisms & Servo Systems, Sunnyvale, CA

amdcad!cae780 | sun!sunncal | ihnp4!rtgvax leadsv!msunix!jon

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CHEESECAKE II

CHEESECAKE-3 — Restaurant-style cheesecake

INGREDIENTS (one cheesecake)

CRUST

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp lemon rind

¼ tsp vanilla

1 egg yolk

¼ cup softened butter

CAKE FILLING

2½ lb cream cheese

1¾ cup sugar

3½ Tbsp flour

½ Tbsp orange rind

½ Tbsp lemon rind

¼ tsp vanilla

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

¼ cup cream

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix crust ingredients; press into a baking pan. Bake 10 minutes at 400º F.

(2) Combine filling ingredients; mix well, and pour into baked crust.

(3) Bake at 450º F for 10–12 minutes.

(4) Reduce to 200º F for 1 hour.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour baking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Carol Orange, ucbvax!dagobah!orange

LucasFilm, San Rafael, CA

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

DON CHANEY'S CHEESECAKE

CHEESECAKE-4 — Ultimate cheesecake

This recipe is the original creation of a co-worker, Don Chaney. I consider myself a cheesecake gourmet, and I rate this recipe as 8.5 out of 10 (However, there are no 10's). The recipe is so simple, I almost feel guilty serving it.

INGREDIENTS (One cheesecake)

CRUST

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbsp sugar

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

FILLING

24 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

TOPPING

2 cups sour cream

½ tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp sugar

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F.

(2) Mix crust ingredients. Press into springform pan on bottom and sides.

(3) Mix filling ingredients and pour into pan. Make sure all ingredients are room temperature.

(4) Bake 30–35 minutes, or until slightly browned.

(5) Remove cake from oven, and increase oven temperature to 500º F. Mix topping ingredients, and gently spread on top of cake. Return cake to 500º F oven for five mins.

(6) Remove from oven, cool to room temperature, and chill overnight. Serve cold.

NOTES

Variations: Crush some walnuts into the crust. Pour a can of cherry or blueberry pie filling over the chilled cake, then chill again. Put 2–3 Tbsp of your favorite liqueur into the cake filling.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 40 minutes baking, overnight cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Brian G. Gordon

CAE Systems Division of Tektronix, Inc., Santa Clara CA

tektronix!cae780!gordon ihnp4, decwrl!amdcad!cae780!gordon

hplabs, resonex, qubix, leadsv!cae780!gordon

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

RS CHEESECAKE

CHEESECAKE-5 — A moist cheesecake with a wonderful crust

A college friend gave me this recipe, oh so many moons ago. It comes from his parents, and may have roots in Belgium. It is very different from the typical New-York-style dry cheesecake.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 6–8)

CRUST

2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal, but do not use instant oatmeal or steel-cut oats).

2/3 cup brown sugar

½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)

FILLING

11 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)

¾ cup small-curd cottage cheese

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F.

(2) Mix crust ingredients with your hands until well blended. Put the mixture in a 9-inch springform pan, and form a crust, pushing it about 1½ inches up the sides of the pan.

(3) Bake the crust about 10 minutes at 350º F and let it cool.

(4) Beat (or mix) the filling ingredients, at very high speed, for seven minutes. The mixture must be very smooth.

(5) Put the filling in the baked crust. You may want to re-form the crust slightly first.

(6) Bake for 35–40 minutes at 350º F. The cheesecake is done when the filling is firm, but not dark (burned) on top. Let it cool, then chill it.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 40 minutes baking. Precision: measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Alan M. Marcum

Sun Microsystems, Mountain View, California

sun!nescorna!marcum

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

BO'S CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE

CHEESECAKE-6 — A truly decadent chocolate chip cheesecake

This recipe came to me from a friend of mine, Bo (pronounced "boo") Ture Ahlberg, who would occasionally (read "whenever we could persuade him") bring it into work. Needless to say, it would be snarfed up immediately.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 cheesecake)

24 oz cream cheese, broken into pieces

4 eggs, separated

2 Tbsp vanilla extract (do not use artificial vanilla)

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup brown sugar, or to taste

1 lb chocolate chips

1 lb graham cracker crumbs

½ cup butter, melted.

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat the oven to 325º F.

(2) Prepare the batter: place the egg yolks in a food processor for 5 seconds, then add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and process for several minutes, or until the batter is very smooth. Add the sour cream, then beat the eggwhites and fold into the cheese mixture. Set aside.

(3) Prepare the crust: soften butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs. Mix until fully blended, e.g. they will form a ball when squeezed in your hand or by a spoon. Pat the crust into the sides and bottom of a springform pan about 9 inches in diameter.

(4) Spread a generous layer of chips on the bottom of the pan, and then pour the batter into the pan. Add another generous layer of chips to the top of the cake.

(5) Place the filled pan into the preheated oven. Baking time will vary from about 30 minutes to 2 hours. Cooking time depends on whether you want a soft, gooey "New York" style cheesecake (shorter) to a fluffy "soufflé"-like cheesecake (longer). The longer you cook it, the fluffier it gets.

(6) When the cake starts to rise like a soufflé, start checking to see if it is done. It will just about double in volume, and should not flow over the sides of the pan. If the cake shimmers like Jello when shaken, it is done. Alternatively, if a knife inserted comes out clean, the cake is overcooked: the knife should be very lightly coated with batter.

NOTES

Bo prefers to use Nestlé Mini-Morsel chocolate chips.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 15 minutes preparation, up to 2 hours cooking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Daniel P. Faigin

System Development Corporation, Santa Monica CA

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sdcrdcf!faigin@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU

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CHEESECAKE 7

CHEESECAKE-7 — Amaretto-amaretti chocolate cheesecake

This is adapted from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, (Knopf 1980). It won me a blue ribbon at the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Exhibition and Fair in 1983. If you ever find yourself in front of a firing squad, this makes an unbeatable last request.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 16)

CRUST

7 oz Amaretti (see note)

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 oz unsweetened chocolate (1 square)

5 Tbsp sweet butter

FILLING

6 oz semisweet chocolate

7 oz Amaretti

4 oz almond paste

1/3 cup Amaretto liqueur

1½ lb cream cheese at room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar

4 eggs (large or extra-large)

½ cup heavy cream

PROCEDURE

(1) Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 9-inch spring-form pan (2½–3 inches deep).

(2) Grind the Amaretti very fine in a food processor or blender. Mix with sugar in a mixing bowl.

(3) Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Add the melted mixture to the Amaretti crumbs and sugar and mix thoroughly. (Don't wash the double boiler; you'll be using it again in a minute.)

(4) Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. With your fingers, distribute it evenly over the bottom and press it down into a very firm, compact layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

PROCEDURE

(1) Adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350º F.

(2) Partially melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler, then uncover and stir until completely melted. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside to cool.

(3) Break the Amaretti coarsely into a bowl and set aside.

(4) Cut the almond paste into small pieces, and beat on low speed with an electric mixer, while gradually adding the Amaretto liqueur. Beat until thoroughly mixed, and set aside.

(5) Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth again. Add the almond paste-Amaretto mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add the melted chocolate and beat well again. Add the eggs one at a time, beating at low speed until they are incorporated after each addition. Add the heavy cream and beat until smooth. Add the coarsely broken Amaretti and stir gently only to mix.

(6) Turn into the prepared pan, pouring the mixture over the bottom crust. Rotate the pan gently to level the batter. (Don't worry if the mixture comes almost to the top; it won't run over.)

(7) Bake 45 minutes. It will seem soft and not done, but don't bake any more; it will become firm when chilled. The top of the cake is supposed to look bumpy because of the large chunks of Amaretti.

(8) Let cool completely at room temperature, then carefully remove the sides of the pan and refrigerate the cake (still on the bottom of the pan) for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.

NOTES

Amaretti are Italian almond-flavored wafer cookies. They are usually sold in metal tins with the wafers wrapped in packages of two inside the tin. You can also buy Amarettini, which are the same flavor but much smaller and not individually wrapped. Since you're going to grind some of the wafers and break the others into chunks, it doesn't matter which size you start with. One brand is Amaretti di Saronna, Lazzaroni & Co. This is an expensive cake, both in terms of the cost of the ingredients ($15–$20) and the number of calories.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate to hard. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 45 minutes baking, overnight cooling. Precision: measure ingredients carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jan Wolitzky

AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA

ihnp4!mhuxd!wolit

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHEESECAKE VIII

CHEESECAKE-8 — Food processor cheesecake

This is reputedly the 1980 A&S Cheesecake contest award winner. I have an nth generation copy of the recipe, but it is the best cheesecake I have tasted.

INGREDIENTS (One cheesecake)

CRUST:

6 oz Zwieback cookies

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ lb butter

CAKE FILLING:

1½ lb cream cheese

1 cup sugar

4 egg whites

1½ tsp vanilla

TOPPING:

2 cups sour cream

2 Tbsp sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1 Tbsp butter

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F. Use the steel blade of the food processor; drop the zwieback cookies into the processor, one at a time, and process until fine. Add the sugar and cinnamon. Melt butter and pour in. Process 2 seconds or until crumbs are moistened. Reserve ¾ cup of crumbs. Press the rest into bottom and sides of a buttered 10 inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Wash the food processor bowl.

(2) Preheat oven to 350º F. Cut the cheese into 1 oz pieces. Process with steel blade until smooth. In another bowl, beat the eggs until stiff. Blend sugar into the egg whites and pour into processor bowl. Process with cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla. Process for 2 seconds. Pour mixture into crust and bake for 25 minutes.

(3) Preheat oven to 475º F. Mix together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour and spread over the top of cake. Sprinkle reserved crumbs to cover topping. Arrange slivered almonds over the crumbs. Bake for 7 minutes.

(4) Refrigerate overnight. The next morning open the springform pan and knock off excess crust

NOTES

Enjoy.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Precision is required. Time: 1½ hours. Precision: measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

John Ioannidis

Columbia University, New York, USA

ji@columbia.edu

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

HAZELNUT CHERRY TART

CHERRY-HAZLNUT — A thoroughly decadent desert

This has simply got to be the best dessert you'll ever try. My wife has made this one many times. The only complaint ever lodged is that there was not enough.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

PASTRY

½ cup plain flour

1/8 tsp salt

2 oz ground roast hazelnuts

2 Tbsp sugar

2 oz butter

1 egg yolk

2 tsp water

CUSTARD FILLING

4 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1¾ cups cream

3 tsp gelatine

2 Tbsp water

TOPPING

2 lb canned cherries

2 tsp gelatine

2 tsp rum (see note)

PROCEDURE

PASTRY

(1) Sift flour and add all dry ingredients together, with the sugar in the centre, on a pastry board.

(2) Add the butter (softened), egg yolk, and water. Work the liquids into the sugar, until it is creamy.

(3) Now work in the flour mixture, as you would for any sweet pastry.

(4) Press the dough into a greased 9 in flan tin. Prick the base of the pastry all over.

(5) Refrigerate for 30 mins, then cook in a moderate oven (375º F) for 15 to 20 mins (until golden brown)

FILLING

(6) Put egg yolks, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and beat until thick and creamy.

(7) Heat cream carefully until almost boiling.

(8) Combine the two mixtures, beating until smooth, then add the result to the top of a double boiler and simmer until it thickens (STIR CONSTANTLY).

(9) Dissolve the gelatine in the water, and add to the cream mixture, stirring well until it is well mixed.

(10) Allow this mixture to cool completely before adding to the pastry case. Refrigerate until it sets.

TOPPING

(11) Drain the cherries and reserve 1 cup of the syrup. NB: we don't use commercial canned cherries. I would suggest a "light" syrup.

(12) Arrange the pitted cherries artistically over the top of the tart.

(13) Put the reserved syrup, gelatine and rum (we usually use cherry brandy or kirsch) into a saucepan and heat (stirring) until gelatine dissolves.

(14) Cool the liquid and pour over the cherries. Refrigerate until set.

NOTES

Don't be put off by the complexity of the recipe—it is well worth the effort. All the egg whites "wasted" can be used in something else, such as a Pavlova.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate to hard. Time: several hours preparation, cooking, and cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Kevin J. Maciunas

Discipline of Computer Science, Flinders University, South Australia

ACSnet: kevin@flinders.oz ARPA: kevin%flinders.oz@seismo.arpa

UUCP: ..!seismo!munnari!flinders.oz!kevin

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHERRY CREAM CHEESE PIE

CHERRYCHEESE-1 — A simple cherry cream cheese pie

My wife makes this for me periodically, and it is always delicious. No baking is required, and it is very easy to make.

INGREDIENTS (Makes one pie)

1 graham cracker pie shell

8 oz cream cheese

½ cup sour cream

1/3 cup granulated sugar

½ tsp vanilla (or to taste)

4 oz whipped cream

14 oz cherry pie filling (1 can)

PROCEDURE

(1) Cream together the cheese and sour cream.

(2) Fold in sugar gradually.

(3) Add vanilla and mix well.

(4) Fold in whipped cream.

(5) Pour into pie shell and chill for at least 3 hours.

(6) Pour excess syrup from the can of cherry pie filling. Leave some, but you certainly don't need all of it. The sauce should cover the cream cheese mix, but the cherries shouldn't be drowning in it.

(7) Pour pie filling on top. Serve cold.

NOTES

If you don't have the time to sit around for 3 hours waiting for the pie to chill, make the cream cheese filling the night before and let the pie chill overnight. We prefer to use non-dairy whipped cream substitute. We usually use the same brand name ingredients for best results: Philadelphia cream cheese, Breakstone's sour cream, Cool-whip, and Comstock cherry pie filling.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 3 hours chilling. Precision: approximate measurement OK, especially with the vanilla.

CONTRIBUTOR

William LeFebvre

Department of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

phil@Rice.edu

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHOCOLATE FANTASY CAKE

CHOC-CAKE-1 — A no-bake chocolate cake

This is a very simple, quick, no-bake cake for those of us who hate getting near an oven, but like delightful cheese cakes. This recipe is originally from the Yediot Achronot (Latest News) newspaper supplement here in Israel. It should be prepared a day or two before you intend to eat it, so that the flavoring fills out. Definitely not for people on a diet.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 6–8)

CAKE

1 lb tea biscuits (dry cookies)

3 Tbsp liqueur (chocolate or coffee flavored)

3 Tbsp brandy

2½ cups cream

3 cups milk

3 pkgs instant chocolate pudding

pinch salt

FROSTING

4 oz bittersweet chocolate

4 oz milk chocolate

PROCEDURE

(1) Arrange a layer of biscuits at the bottom of a large baking pan.

(2) Mix the brandy and liqueur in a small container, and pour on top of the biscuits.

(3) Whip the cream, milk, pudding and salt until the mixture is thick.

(4) Pour the mixture on top of the biscuits. Chill well.

(5) When the cream is cold, prepare the frosting by grating the chocolate onto the top of the cake. Refrigerate before serving.

NOTES

You can replace the milk and cream with 1½ lb of 9% milkfat cheese. This is a product sold in Israel. The nearest equivalent in North America is is sour cream. If you do this, replace the pudding with ½ cup of chocolate syrup. If you are not a chocolate lover, you may replace the chocolate pudding with vanilla pudding (or with vanilla extract if you are using the 9% cheese)

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, several hours chilling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Mike Trachtman

Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel

mike@wisdom.BITNET

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

QUICK CHOCOLATE CAKE

CHOC-CAKE-2 — Dangerously delicious chocolate cake

INGREDIENTS (1 cake)

CAKE MIXTURE

1¾–2 cups self–raising flour

1¼ cups caster sugar, or white sugar chopped in the blender

6 Tbsp cocoa, (Use more if you like)

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

4 oz butter or margarine

½ Tsp vanilla

TOPPING

1 cup cream, whipped with a little icing sugar

3 oz cooking chocolate

½ oz copha

nuts

PROCEDURE

(1) Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Soften the butter and add with the milk and vanilla to dry ingredients.

(2) Beat for 2 mins with a wooden spoon or until smooth. Add eggs and beat another 2 mins.

(3) Pour into an 8 inch round cake tin (I find the collapsible type best). Cook in a moderate 350–375º F oven for 1 hour.

(4) Turn the cooled cake over, slice into two layers and fill with cream. Melt chocolate with copha (do not burn) and pour over cake, dribbling it down the side. Decorate with almonds, pecans or walnuts.

NOTES

Self-raising flour is popular in Britain and Australia, and hard to find in North America. Substitute 2 cups of ordinary all-purpose flour with ½ tsp of salt and 3 tsp of baking powder mixed in. The North American equivalent of caster sugar is "granulated sugar". There is no equivalent of copha, but a mixture of butter and coconut is better than nothing. Crisco has the right cooking properties to substitute for copha, but the wrong flavor. You can pour a little Grand Marnier into the cake before spreading the cream in the middle, but it doesn't need it.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking, 1 hour to cool and 5 minutes decorating. 5 minutes to eat. Precision: Measure the ingredients, though the cocoa and cream are not critical.

CONTRIBUTOR

Alicia Parmiter

Australian Graduate School of Management, Uni of New South Wales

alicia@agsm.unsw.oz seismo!munnari!agsm.unsw.oz!alicia

FRENCH CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

CHOC-CAKE-3 — A decadently rich chocolate cake

My mother got this recipe from a radio show about ten years ago. She was intrigued because the cake contains no flour. It is definitely for chocoholics. Although it is a two-layer cake, it is only about 3–4 inches thick when it's done, and has the consistency and density of a chocolate candy bar. It can be frozen if you find it too much to eat at one time.

INGREDIENTS (one cake)

CAKE

2 tsp instant espresso coffee

¼ cup hot water

7 oz semisweet chocolate

2 oz bitter chocolate

4 eggs, separated

4 oz butter

2/3 cup sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

¾ cup sifted corn starch

FROSTING

2 tsp instant espresso coffee

7 oz semisweet chocolate

2 oz bitter chocolate

2 Tbsp butter

PROCEDURE

(1) Combine espresso, hot water, semisweet chocolate, and bitter chocolate in double boiler filled with hot water and cover. Without applying additional heat, melt the chocolate.

(2) Butter two layer-cake pans, lay a sheet of waxed paper in each, and dust the pans with flour. (The pans should be able to hold 4 cups each.)

(3) Beat the egg yolks and then gradually add 2/3 cup of sugar until the yolks are thick and lemon colored.

(4) Beat butter into the chocolate mixture. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and stir.

(5) Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, and then gradually add up to 2 Tbsp sugar.

(6) Add the sifted corn starch gradually to the chocolate mixture, alternating with the egg whites. The corn starch and egg whites should be folded in to the chocolate mixture.

(7) Pour half the batter into each cake pan.

(8) Bake on the lower middle level of a preheated 350º F oven until set on the sides.

(9) Cool the cake in the pan, and then turn out onto a serving dish.

(10) Combine the icing ingredients and make the icing as per Step 1. Ice the cake as you would a normal layer cake.

RATING

Difficulty: difficult. Time: 2 hours. Precision: precise measurement important.

CONTRIBUTOR

Aviva Garrett

Santa Cruz, California, USA

Excelan, Inc., San Jose, California

ucbvax!mtxinu!excelan!aviva

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHOCOLATE NUT CAKE

CHOC-CAKE-4 — A no-bake graham cracker chocolate cake.

This is a delicious, easy-to-make cake that everyone enjoys. It came from an East Indian friend of mine who said it had been in the family. It seems western so I am uncertain of its origins.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 cake)

¼ lb butter or margarine

1 cup icing sugar

2 large eggs

¾ cup cashews or almonds

2½ Tbsp cocoa

½ lb graham crackers

milk

¾ tsp vanilla

PROCEDURE

(1) Cream together the butter and sugar.

(2) Chop the nuts and roast if desired.

(3) Soak the crackers in the milk until they are soft but have not turned to mush.

(4) Dissolve cocoa in 2 Tbsp milk, and add this and the nuts to the creamed butter/sugar mixture.

(5) Separate the eggs and set the whites aside. To the creamed mixture add the yolks and vanilla and beat.

(6) Whip the whites until stiff peaks form, then fold this into the mixture.

(7) Line a 9-inch square pan with a layer of crackers, mixture, and crackers. Top with the remaining mixture and set in the refrigerator until hard.

NOTES

Depending on how you want the texture of the cake you can soak the crackers until they are slightly softened or until they fall apart.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, several hours chilling. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Rob Robson

School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, P.Q., Canada

musocs!mugeneral!rob@eddie.mit.edu

seismo!watmath!watcgl!onfcanim!musocs!mugeneral!rob

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

CHOC-CAKE-5 — A moist 2-layer chocolate layer cake

This was our wedding cake.

INGREDIENTS (serves 8)

1 ¼ cup sugar

½ cup cocoa

½ cup boiling water

½ cup shortening

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup buttermilk

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F. Combine ½ cup sugar with cocoa and boiling water, and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is glossy. Cool.

(2) Cream the shortening and eggs with the remaining sugar. Add the cocoa mixture and the vanilla.

(3) Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately.

(4) Bake in 2 greased layer pans at 350º F for 30-35 minutes.

(5) Frost the cake with your favorite frosting (see note below).

NOTES

For the frosting on our wedding cake, we used the chocolate mousse filling described in MOUSSE-CHOC-1. You can also make this as a single-layer cake. Just bake it a few minutes longer, as it is thicker.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour baking and cooling and frosting. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Aviva Garrett

Santa Cruz, CA

Excelan, Inc., San Jose, California, USA

sun,3comvax!excelan!aviva

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

CHOC-CHIP-1 — Chocolate chip cookies like Mrs. Fields makes

These cookies are a combination of oatmeal and chocolate chip. They are very rich, but very tasty. The recipe was obtained from a friend of a friend, who supposedly paid a large amount of money for it. However, the cookies do not taste exactly the same as the name brand.

INGREDIENTS (Yield approximately 60)

2 cups butter

2 cups sugar (granulated white)

2 cups brown sugar (dark brown)

4 eggs (large—use 5 if medium)

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups flour (sift before measuring)

5 cups rolled oats (oatmeal), powdered finely.

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

24 oz chocolate chips (being a purist, I prefer Toll House morsels)

8 oz chocolate bar, finely grated.

3 cups chopped nuts (I prefer walnuts, but you can use your favorite type.)

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F.

(2) Cream together the butter and the sugars.

(3) Sift together flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and shredded chocolate bar.

(4) Add eggs and vanilla to creamed sugar and butter, then mix all ingredients together.

(5) Mix chocolate chips and nuts into mixture.

(6) Drop by onto ungreased cookie sheet in small drops.

(7) Bake 6 minutes or until done.

NOTES

A blender works very well to powder the oats and the chocolate bar. The blender chops the oatmeal finer than a food processor. The powdered chocolate bar should melt at the touch of your fingers. I prefer my cookies just barely done, so that they remain chewy. If you want to send your taste buds into heaven, butter the cookies as they come out of the oven (still hot), and eat them still warm with a glass of cold milk.

Note that cocoa is not the same thing as a shredded chocolate bar. Note also that oatmeal is not the same thing as quick-cooking oats or instant oatmeal. Oatmeal means "rolled oats," such as Quaker oats.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 30 minutes. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Sam Spitzner

Illinois Bell, Chicago, Illinois

Email address: ihnp4!ilunix!sks

Snail address: 225 W. Randolph, HQ17B, Chicago, Il. 60606

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

STEVE'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

CHOC-CHIP-2 — Rich, thick, crunchy chocolate chip cookies

INGREDIENTS (makes 2 dozen)

½ pound butter (2 sticks)

1½ cups dark brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 lb chocolate chips

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F.

(2) Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until creamy. Spend some time and make sure it is well mixed.

(3) Add eggs and vanilla, and mix well.

(4) Add flour and soda, again mixing well.

(5) Add chocolate chips. If it doesn't look like enough, then add some more.

(6) Make big, thick cookies, big enough so that you get only 2 dozen of them out of this recipe. Put them on a lightly-greased baking sheet.

(7) Put the cookies in the oven, close the door quickly, and turn the heat down to 350º F. Bake for 10 minutes.

NOTES

The use of real ingredients instead of imitation ingredients cannot be overemphasized. Chocolate-flavored chips, margarine, vanilla flavoring, and other such atrocities will completely destroy this recipe. I use Challenge butter and Ghirardelli chocolate.

RATING

Difficulty: easy if you have a machine that can cream sugar and butter, moderate otherwise. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking, 10 minutes cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Steve Bjork (the Atomic Penguin)

Stanford University, Computer Science Department

Bjork@SCORE.STANFORD.EDU

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

CHOCOLATE BROWN SUGAR COOKIES

CHOC-CHIP-3 — Chocolate chip cookies with honey and brown sugar

INGREDIENTS (Makes about 3 dozen)

½ cup brown sugar

½ lb butter

1/3 cup honey

1 large egg

½ tsp vanilla extract

1.1 cups flour (glass measuring cup filled to the top)

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F. Cream together the butter and the brown sugar, add egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add honey.

(2) Measure flour and baking soda (I usually just mix the soda in with the flour.)

(3) Add flour and soda to batter a little at a time, and mix.

(4) Add chocolate chips.

(5) Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes at 375º F.

NOTES

For those of you who like your cookies warm! I always make up only enough to eat, and store the batter in the fridge. You can substitute margarine for the butter if you want.

RATING

Difficulty: easy, though creaming butter and sugar without a food processor is tedious. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes cooking and cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Karen Curran

Digital Equipment Corporation

decwrl!rhea!euclid!curran curran@euclid.DEC

(EUCLID::CURRAN on DEC VMS systems)

Relay-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site decwrl.DEC.COM

Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site decwrl.DEC.COM

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIES

CHOC-CHIP-4 — Cookies like what Mom should have made

There is no substitute for chocolate-chip cookies, warm out of the oven, washed down with cold milk. This is Mom's recipe, and Mom's Mom's recipe. This is also Nestlé's "Toll House" recipe, and the Joy of Cooking "Chocolate-Chip Drop Cookies" recipe, etc, which is no coincidence. This is the default recipe. This is not Mrs. Field's recipe. If you want Mrs. Field's, use a shopping mall; if you want simple, elegant, timeless chocolate-chip cookies, use this recipe.

INGREDIENTS (12 big cookies)

1 cup+2 Tbsp flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup butter, softened (1 stick)

6 Tbsp white sugar

6 Tbsp brown sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

6 oz Nestle's chocolate chips (1 package).

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F. Sift flour, salt, baking soda together in a small bowl.

(2) In another bowl, mix butter with two sugars, vanilla and egg until smooth. gradually mix dry stuff in with butter mixture. Mix in chocolate chips.

(3) Put blobs of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375º F for 8–10 minutes.

NOTES

Important: double all proportions above (always make 2× as much of these as the recipe calls for). Let's face it: small is beautiful, but big cookies are better than small ones. All the printed recipes call for teeny cookies, dropped by teaspoonsful onto cookie sheets (yield 50). My "blobs of dough" are golf-ball sized, which makes healthy 3–4 inch cookies. I invariably make these on the spur of the moment, and so usually nuke the butter in a microwave to soften it up. I also occasionally cheat and soften up the butter/sugar mixture a tad in the oven.

Try adding walnuts, macadamias, white chocolate, orange peel, butterscotch chips, or mint—all these are welcome variations. But keep it simple.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 20 minutes. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Mike Hawley, ucbvax!dagobah!mike

The Droid Works, San Rafael, California

CHOCOLATE CRACKLES

CHOC-CRACKLES — A traditional Australian sweet snack

Mention this recipe to an Australian abroad and he will instantly get homesick.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6)

8 oz copha

8 oz icing sugar

3½ Tbsp cocoa

5 cups Rice Bubbles

½ cup sultanas (optional)

PROCEDURE

(1) Combine sifted icing sugar, cocoa, rice bubbles, and optional sultanas.

(2) Melt copha and add to ingredients and mix thoroughly.

(3) Spoon into paper cups and allow to set.

NOTES

Rice Bubbles are called Rice Krispies in North America. Icing sugar is confectioner's sugar. Sultanas are like raisins. Copha, it would appear, is utterly unavailable outside Australia. It is a partially-solidified shortening made of coconut oil.

RATING

Difficulty: easy if you can get the ingredients. Time: 5 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooling. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Michael Gigante

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne Vic., Australia

UUCP :...!seismo!munnari!cidam.oz!mg

ARPA :mg%cidam.oz@seismo.css.gov

CSNET:mg%cidam.oz@australia

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

PASSOVER CHOCOLATE NUT TORTE

CHOC-NUT-TORTE — Rich chocolate dessert for Passover

This is the only Passover dessert I've ever tasted that is good enough to be making during the rest of the year as well (when you can use corn starch instead of the potato starch).

INGREDIENTS (Serves 12\'9616)

TORTE

6 oz butter or margarine

¾ cup sugar

7 eggs, separated

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup unblanched almonds, finely ground

½ tsp baking powder

¼ cup unblanched almonds, chopped

ICING

4 eggs, lightly beaten

½ tsp potato starch

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

4 oz margarine, softened

½ cup almonds, finely ground

PROCEDURE

(1) Cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and creamy.

(2) Beat in the yolks, one at a time.

(3) Blend in the chocolate, and gently fold in the ground almonds mixed with the baking powder.

(4) Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then fold into the mixture.

(5) Pour into a well-greased 10–inch springform pan. Bake about 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 350º F degrees.

(6) Allow to cool, then frost thickly with the icing and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix together the eggs, sugar and potato starch in the top of a double boiler. Heat over boiling water, stirring, until mixture thickens. Do not boil the mixture, and beware of "scrambled eggs"!

(2) Cool, then stir in the chocolate.

(3) Gradually beat in the butter, one tablespoon at a time.

(4) Fold in the nuts until the mixture is thick enough to spread.

NOTES

If you don't have a springform pan for Passover, use an aluminum disposable cake pan and just strip off the sides when the cake has cooled.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 30 minutes preparation, 30 minutes baking, 5 minutes frosting. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Tovah Hollander

UCLA Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Los Angeles, California USA

ihnp4!sdcrdcf,seismo!hao!cepu!tovah

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHOCOLATE PANCAKES

CHOC-PANCAKES — Brownies in a skillet

This recipe is based on a "chocolate turtle" recipe by Mae Rabenius from a cookbook produced by Faith United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

INGREDIENTS (40 pieces)

¾ cup margarine

¾ cup cocoa

2 cups flour

1½ cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

½ tsp salt

½ cup butter cream frosting

PROCEDURE

(1) Melt the margarine and mix with the cocoa.

(2) In a small bowl, mix flour and salt.

(3) In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Then add sugar, vanilla, and beat well.

(4) Add flour and margarine mixture to this and blend thoroughly.

(5) Heat skillet to medium low. Drop small clumps (1 Tbsp) and cook like pancakes: about 1½ minutes on one side, ½ minute on the other, then turn over again and remove after a few seconds.

(6) Freeze. When relatively hard, coat one side with buttercream frosting.

NOTES

One side of the pancakes may burn. It doesn't particularly affect the taste, and if you frost this side, no one will even know. It's not necessary to cook the pancakes completely; if the middle looks somewhat gooey, don't fret: it will soon harden.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes to cook, 10 minutes to frost. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Duane Morse

International Anasazi, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona

noao!mot!anasazi!duane

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHESS PIE

CHOC-PIE-1 — A rich chocolate pie

I got this recipe from a 1983 calendar. It's tried and true and delicious. It's also very simple to make. I usually double the recipe, since one pie never seems to last long enough. Maybe that makes it a double double chocolate pie.

INGREDIENTS (1 pie)

½ cup butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

¼ cup creme de cacao liqueur

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1½ tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1 baked pie shell

Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream (optional)

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F. In a medium saucepan over low heat melt butter and chocolate. Remove from heat.

(2) Blend in sugar, eggs, liqueur, flour, vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth.

(3) Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.

(4) Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

NOTES

I've made it using chocolate almond liqueur instead of creme de cacao. It came out OK, and had a hint of a nutty flavor in the background.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking and cooling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jeff Frontz

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

jhfrontz@violet.waterloo.edu attunix,clyde!watmath!jhfrontz

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

AUNTY BETTY'S BOMBE

CHOC-PUDDING-1 — A high-cholesterol chocolate dessert

This recipe comes from a friend's aunt. It always seems to taste wonderful no matter how sloppily I measure things.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4–6)

2 cups double cream

1/3 cup sugar

4 Tbsp water

6 oz plain chocolate

3 egg yolks

PROCEDURE

(1) Whisk ½ of the cream until stiff and spread it around the edges of a large bowl. Freeze for ½ to 1 hour.

(2) Dissolve the sugar in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes until syrupy. Meanwhile, break chocolate into blender or warm bowl.

(3) Pour the hot sugar syrup onto the chocolate and blend or whisk until the chocolate has all melted. Add the egg yolks and mix the whole lot thoroughly.

(4) Whisk the remaining cream into soft peaks and fold gently into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the centre of the frozen cream and freeze for several hours until solid. Cover when fully frozen.

NOTES

Although the recipe "serves 4–6," two people will happily eat the whole thing. The outside is frozen solid, so you may find a fork useful for breaking your portion into pieces without showering fellow diners with fragments. It could be served in small portions, but don't count on having any left over.

Double cream has more than 45% butterfat. It is difficult to find cream in North America that is richer than whipping cream, which is typically 32% butterfat. If you can find heavy cream it is likely to be 36%. Use the richest cream you can find.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 20 minutes preparation, 3 hours cooling. Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

William Roberts

Department of Computer Science & Statistics

Queen Mary College

University of London, UK

liam@qmc-cs.UUCP

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

CHOC-PUDDING-2 — chocolate bread pudding with cinnamon

This recipe originally came from Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate by Barbara Myers. I have modified it somewhat.

INGREDIENTS (4–6 servings)

6 oz semisweet or white chocolate, melted

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1½ cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2½ cups bread cubes (small, firm, and fresh)

PROCEDURE

(1) Butter four 1-cup ramekins or six custard cups and place them on a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 400º F.

(2) Combine the melted chocolate, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

(3) Stir the milk in slowly and then add the eggs. Beat the entire mixture with a whisk until well blended.

(4) Stir in the bread cubes and let them soak for a few minutes. Beat the pudding with a whisk again. The bread cubes should fall apart somewhat.

(5) Divide the pudding between the ramekins or custard cups and put them, cookie sheet and all, into the oven.

(6) Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges look done (spongey, like a cake) and the middle is just under done.

(7) Cool for 15 minutes and serve or cool completely, wrap, and store in the refrigerator. They will keep for 3 to 4 days, at least, if refrigerated. The puddings can be warmed in a microwave oven at medium power.

NOTES

The original recipe has half as much cinnamon and eggs. I added the extra egg to make the pudding slightly custardy.

If you can get them, Guittard's Vanilla Milk Chips do quite well in this recipe in place of the chocolate.

If you use a crusty bread, trim crusts from bread before using. I usually use Pepperidge Farm's white bread and I don't trim. I think the average American white bread is not firm enough. I have used a purchased whole wheat granola bread with quite good results. I think this recipe could easily be altered to include nuts, chopped dates, chopped dried apples, and/or raisins.

For a richer pudding, try using leftover cake instead of bread. Once I even baked a small cake from a mix and chopped that up for this recipe. One layer makes a double batch. (It was a Dutch chocolate cake, how decadent!)

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation and 15 minutes cooking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Suzanne Padgett

Hadron, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, USA

seismo!hadron!suz

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

RIGO JANCSI

CHOC-SLICES — Chocolate cream slices

Serving these will guarantee the success of any endeavor. The name is pronounced, approximately, "rrigo yanshi" (trilled r). This recipe comes from "The Cooking of Vienna's Empire" and is, of course, Hungarian. A friend of mine describes the Hungarians as "the people who taught the Viennese how to bake."

INGREDIENTS (Makes 35)

CAKE

2 Tbsp butter

flour or cocoa

3 oz unsweetened chocolate

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

pinch salt

½ cup sifted all-purpose flour

FILLING

1½ cups heavy cream

10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into small chunks

4 Tbsp dark rum

1 tsp vanilla extract

GLAZE

1 cup fine granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

7 oz semisweet chocolate, broken or chopped into small chunks

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat the oven to 350º F. With a pastry brush or paper towel, coat an 11×17 inch jelly-roll pan with the butter. This will seem like a lot; be very generous. Sprinkle the flour or cocoa over the butter and shake the pan to coat the butter fully. Tap the edge of the pan on a table to knock out the excess flour.

(2) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.

(3) Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until the whites cling to the beater. Add ¼ cup of the sugar and beat until the whites form stiff, unwavering peaks.

(4) Cream the butter and the other ¼ cup of the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and beat in the egg yolks one at a time.

(5) With a rubber spatula, stir about 1/3 of the beaten eggwhites into the chocolate mixture, then pour the chocolate mixture over the rest of the whites. Sprinkle the flour lightly on top. Gently fold the mixture together until no white streaks remain.

(6) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cake shrinks slightly away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. It will still be very flat. Loosen the cake from the pan with a sharp knife around the sides and turn it out onto a rack to cool. (Put the rack over the pan and flip the whole thing over to keep the cake from breaking.)

PROCEDURE

(1) In a small heavy saucepan, combine the cream and chocolate and stir over medium heat until the chocolate dissolves. Then reduce the heat to very low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a pudding. Pour it into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

(2) When the mixture is very cold, pour in the rum and vanilla and beat with a whisk or beater until the filling is smooth and creamy and forms soft peaks when the beater is lifted. Do not overbeat or you will get butter. (If this should happen, don't despair; chocolate buttercream makes a perfectly fine filling.)

(3) Cut the cake in half to make two layers, each 8½ inches wide. Spead the filling over one layer and set the other layer on top. Smooth out the edges with a spatula. If one of the cake layers should break, use it on the bottom. Refrigerate on a rack for about 1 hour.

PROCEDURE

(1) In a small heavy saucepan, heat the sugar, water, and chocolate over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar and chocolate are dissolved. Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved or you will get a grainy glaze. Cover the pan and let the glaze cool for about 20 minutes.

(2) Set a jelly-roll pan on a table with one short edge propped up. Put the rack with the cake on something else so that it is suspended level over the pan but offset 2 inches, so that you can reach down into the lower pan with a spoon.

(3) Hold the pan with the glaze about 2 inches over the cake and pour the glaze on the cake. Using a large spoon, scoop up the glaze that collects in the jelly-roll pan and put it back on the cake. Keep doing this until the glaze begins to stop flowing smoothly. You should end up with a thick, even layer of glaze on the cake.

(4) Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is firm, 10 to 20 minutes.

(5) Serve by cutting into 35 small equal pieces, 5 in each row across and 7 in each row down. For cutting, use a sharp knife that has been dipped in warm water and wiped off between slices. Keep refrigerated, but for maximum flavor, allow to come to room temperature before serving.

NOTES

Fine granulated sugar is not the same thing as confectioner's sugar. Regular granulated sugar will work ok for the glaze, just make sure it is fully dissolved. You can avoid lots of chopping by using chocolate chips; one cup of chips equals about 6 oz.

RATING

Difficulty: Quite difficult. For experienced dessert cooks only. Time: several hours. Precision: measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Paul Asente

Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA

asente@cascade.stanford.edu

decwrl!cascade.stanford.edu!asente

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

COCO-CHIPS

COCO-CHIPS — A nicely fattening combination of coconut and chocolate chips

This comes from Mom. (She doesn't know where she got it; she memorized it years ago and lost the original recipe.) It's always been a favorite with us kids, and last time I was home she gave me the recipe. It's so simple that even a complete clutz like myself was able to make it perfectly the first time.

INGREDIENTS (One batch)

¼ lb margarine (one stick)

1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

1¼ cups chocolate chips

1¾ cups sweetened condensed milk (1 can)

PROCEDURE

(1) Melt the margarine in a 9×13-inch pan. Combine with graham cracker crumbs and spread evenly on bottom of pan.

(2) Sprinkle coconut evenly over crumbs.

(3) Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over coconut.

(4) Pour condensed milk evenly over everything.

(5) Bake for 30 minutes at 350º F.

(6) Let cool for a bit. Cut into squares and enjoy.

NOTES

Mom insists on using "Borden Eagle Brand" sweetened condensed milk. Don't ask me why.

RATING

Difficulty: trivial. Time: 5 minutes preparation, 30 minutes cooking. Precision: No need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

Terry Weissman

DEC Western Software Lab, Palo Alto, Calif., USA

(and mom, Sylvia Weissman, of Orange, Calif., USA)

weissman@decwrl.dec.com ...!decwrl!weissman

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

COFFEE-CAKE-1 — Coffee cake with cinnamon and sour cream

I got this recipe from my mom. She got it, I think, from my godmother. All of us kids in the family make it now. It is an unusual coffee cake, good to have with morning coffee or as an evening dessert. Enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS (Fills 10-inch tube pan)

½ cup shortening

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

2 cups flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream

6 Tbsp butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

PROCEDURE

(1) Prepare a tube pan. I use one with a removable center. Grease the pan and cut a circle of waxed paper to cover the bottom.

(2) Preheat oven to 350º F.

(3) Cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla, thoroughly.

(4) Add eggs—singly—beating well after each addition.

(5) Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda together.

(6) Add flour mixture and sour cream to creamed mixture. Alternate a little of each, blending after each addition.

(7) In separate bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Add nuts and mix well.

(8) Spread ½ of the batter in the tube pan.

(9) Sprinkle ½ of the nut mixture evenly over batter in pan.

(10) Cover with remaining batter.

(11) Sprinkle with remaining nut mixture.

(12) Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes.

NOTES

When the cake cools, run a knife around the side of the pan and remove the inner section. Carefully remove the cake from the base of the pan and remove the waxed paper.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 45 minutes preparation, 50 minutes baking, 10 minutes cooling. Precision: measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Andy Shore

Adobe Systems Incorporated, Palo Alto, California

decwrl!adobe!shore shore@adobe.UUCP

Approved: reid@glacier.ARPA

HOBEE'S COFFEE CAKE

COFFEE-CAKE-2 — Coffee cake from Hobee's Haven restaurant

"Hobee's Haven" here in Silicon Valley (usually just called "Hobee's") serves a lot of brunch food, and as far as I can tell they always include a piece of their coffee cake with each order. Frankly, I don't care for breakfast, nor do I approve of places at which the only kind of tea you can order reeks of orange and cinammon ... but the coffee cake is pretty good. This is their recipe, printed in an advertising flyer for the shopping center they inhabit; it's quite easy.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

CAKE

1½ cups sifted unbleached flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup fresh blueberries, (or other fruit, or nuts such as walnuts), optional

vegetable oil

TOPPING

5 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 Tbsp butter

½ tsp cinammon

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F.

(2) In a large mixing bowl, resift flour with baking power, baking soda, salt, and 1 cup of sugar.

(3) In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.

(4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and beat until smooth.

(5) Oil a 9-inch square baking pan (you can also use an 8 inch square pan, or anything of similar surface area, if you increase the baking time by about 5 minutes).

(6) Spread the batter in the pan. If you are using fruit or nuts, scatter them over the batter and stir a little bit so that they stay in the top layer.

(7) In a small bowl, mix 5 Tbsp sugar with the butter and cinammon with a sturdy fork, until they are blended and resemble cornmeal (i.e., you should have a mixture of fine crumbs, not a smooth mixture).

(8) Sprinkle topping over batter.

(9) Bake for 20–25 minutes, until a clean toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry.

(10) Cool slightly; serve warm or at room temperature. Don't ruin it by serving it with salted butter.

NOTES

All ingredients and bowls should be a room temperature before you start; this is particularly true for the butter.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10–15 minutes preparation, 20–30 minutes baking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Jeffrey Mogul

Digital Equipment Corporation, Palo Alto, California, USA

decwrl!mogul

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

COGNAC COOKIES

COGNAC-COOKIES — A rich chocolate no-bake cookie

A terrific, very rich, no-bake cookie. Adapted from a recipe in the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.

INGREDIENTS (makes 3–4 dozen)

6 oz chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

2 1/2 cups vanilla wafers crushed fine (a box less some nibbles)

1 cup pecans (Finely chopped). Start with 8–10 oz whole pecans.

1/2 cup sugar (white granulated)

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup cognac (Use the best you can afford—it makes a difference!)

PROCEDURE

(1) Melt chocolate bits. If you have never worked with melted chocolate before, then use a double boiler with the burner set on low.

(2) Crush vanilla wafers very fine (fineness is important).

(3) Chop pecans (again fineness is everything)

(4) Add sugar, corn syrup and cognac (I use 1 nip of cognac and 1/2 nip of rum—works fine and costs less)

(5) Stir in pecans and wafer crumbs. Now you learn why you were supposed to grind them very finely.

(6) By now the mixture should be a smooth paste. Remove from heat and form into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in extra granulated sugar.

NOTES

Store these in an air-tight container; if you are a chocoholic, have someone hide them from you. They are best if you allow them to age and mellow.

RATING

Difficulty: Moderate to hard (melted chocolate is tricky, and rolling the mixture into balls takes practice). Time: 30–60 minutes or more, depending on how deftly you can roll the balls. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Cheers

Theresa Campbell ...!harvard!bunny!tbc0

- or - tbc0@gte-labs.csnet

AMAZING COOKIES

COOKIES-PB — Simple peanut-butter cookies

These are very simple peanut-butter cookies. They turn out a little moist, but are yummy.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 batch)

1 cup peanut-butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

PROCEDURE

(1) Beat the egg. Don't let your neighbours find out, though.

(2) Mix everything together.

(3) Preheat oven to 325º F.

(4) Place blobs of cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet in the size you like, and flatten with a fork to make the traditional peanut-butter cookie pattern.

(5) Put in oven and bake for 8–10 minutes.

NOTES

These cookies are a bit moist, so don't worry about that. Don't burn them; they don't taste good when they're burnt.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 5 minutes preparation, 10 minutes baking. Precision: Measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Andrew Scott Beals

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Computation Research Group

Livermore, California, U.S.A.

bandy@lll-crg.arpa

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

GRANDMA MACKAY'S CRANBERRY BREAD

CRANB-BREAD-1 — A festive cranberry orange nut-bread

My grandmother MacKay clipped this recipe from the 1951 edition of the Pillsbury Bake-Off competition recipes, and we've made it a family tradition ever since. From time to time my mother and I have both tried to improve on the recipe, but it appears that the recipe is already perfect; every variation we have ever tried has been disappointing by comparison. When I was a boy, before the invention of the food processor, making this bread required cutting the cranberries in half by hand, with a knife, and the person who brought 4 loaves of cranberry bread to the family Thanksgiving meal was more welcome than the person who brought the turkey. Now, between Baker's Secret loaf pans and Cuisinart slicer blades, you can knock out 8 perfect loaves of the stuff while watching one episode of Sesame Street. My grandmother still cuts each cranberry in half with a paring knife, and hers still tastes better than mine.

INGREDIENTS (2 small loaves)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

¾ cup orange juice (juice of one large orange)

1 Tbsp grated orange peel (grated peel of one large orange)

2 Tbsp shortening

1 egg, beaten

1 cup cranberries, halved or chopped

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped.

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 350º F.

(2) Grease the bottom, but not the sides, of two small loaf pans.

(3) In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Blend very well.

(4) Mix together the orange juice, orange peel, melted shortening, and beaten egg.

(5) Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Mix only enough to blend uniformly. Mix in the cranberries and the nuts; stir gently.

(6) Pour the mixture into the loaf pans. Push it to the corners, leaving the center slightly hollow.

(7) Bake about an hour at 350º F. The loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

(8) Cool completely before cutting. Do not try to serve warm.

NOTES

It takes practice to know when to stop mixing the dough. If you mix too much, the bread gets a chewy texture to it, whereas it should have a very crumbly consistency, like a muffin or cornbread. It really makes a difference in the texture of this bread to use a shortening that is solid at room temperature, like Crisco. It really makes a difference in the flavor to use fresh orange-peel and not powdered. I prefer walnuts to pecans.

It might seem sensible to try to use the same orange for the peel and the juice, but it is really more trouble than it is worth to try to peel a juiced orange or juice a peeled orange. I usually use two oranges, and eat the one that I took the peel from.

This bread keeps well in the freezer. Specifically, it keeps from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It also survives quite well being mailed by parcel post from Indiana to Maryland.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 10 minutes preparation if you have a food processor, 2 hours baking and cooling. Precision: Measure carefully.

CONTRIBUTOR

Brian Reid

DEC Western Research Laboratory, Palo Alto, California, USA

reid@decwrl.DEC.COM -or- ihnp4,ucbvax,decvax,sun,pyramid!decwrl!reid

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

CRANBERY-APPLE COOKIES

CRANB-COOKIES — Moist cookies with cranberries, apples, and cinnamon

Many years ago one of my brothers complained to me that he didn't like cookies much, that they were always too dry and pasty. I came up with this recipe for him. He still doesn't like cookies, but the recipe has made its way to various other people to become a favorite.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 4 dozen)

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup milk

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 tsp grated orange rind

1½ cups apples, pared and chopped

1 cup cranberries, chopped

PROCEDURE

(1) Preheat oven to 375º F.

(2) Cream butter and sugars; beat in egg and milk.

(3) Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir into butter mixture until well-blended.

(4) Stir in orange rind, apple, and cranberries. drop onto baking sheets.

(5) Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375º F.

NOTES

Don't store these in a cookie jar: they will get too mushy.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 15 minutes preparation, 15 minutes baking. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Lucille Glassman

DEC Systems Research Center, Palo Alto, California, USA

glassman@src.dec.com decvax,ucbvax,cbosgd,ihnp4!decwrl!glassman

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

CURRIED FRUIT

CURRIED-FRUIT — Baked fruit with curry sauce and nuts

This dish can be served as a desert, alone, or on top of ice cream or pound cake (or both!). But, our favorite way of serving it is as a side dish at brunch on Christmas day. As long as I can remember, Mom has had this dish, along with an egg/cheese casserole, bacon, and muffins for Christmas brunch. It is especially easy since you make it a day ahead of time.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 8–12)

4–5 lb fruit (pears, peaches, pineapple, apricot, etc.)

12 cherries

¾ cup light brown sugar

3 tsp curry powder

1/3 cup melted butter

¾ cup blanched, slivered almonds

PROCEDURE

(1) Add sugar and curry powder to melted butter and mix well.

(2) Drain all fruit well. Arrange fruit and nuts in layers in casserole dish. There should be enough fruit to fill the dish about three-quarters full.

(3) Pour butter mixture over fruit.

(4) Bake at 325º F for one hour.

(5) Refrigerate overnight. Reheat at 350º F until hot before serving (about 10–15 minutes).

NOTES

I use standard American "curry powder". Any other that you want to use should be ok. Adjust the amount of curry powder to your taste, or use cinnamon if you really don't like the flavor of curry.

Use your imagination in choosing the fruits to go in it. Cherries and almonds are a must, but the rest is up to you. We use canned fruit, but fresh would be good too.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 10 minutes preparation, 1 hour baking, overnight cooling. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Katherine Rives Albitz

Hewlett-Packard, Network Software R&D Lab, Fort Collins, Colorado USA

hpfcla!hpcnof!k_albitz@hplabs.hp.com

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

FLAN

FLAN — A rich Mexican custard

This recipe comes from the Delicias Culinarias cookbook that I brought from Mexico.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

PROCEDURE

(1) In a small kettle, heat 3 Tbsp of sugar with 1 tsp of water until the mixture turns brown. Pour the mixture into 4 gelatin molds. Move the molds around so that the mixture coats the interior. Set aside.

(2) Mix the eggs, sugar, milk, and the vanilla extract.

(3) Pour the mixture into the molds. Put the molds over a deep pan with water (double boiler or bain marie technique) for 1 hr in a 350º F oven. Keep the water in the pan at the same level by adding boiling water.

(4) Cool and put it in the refrigerator. Unmold the flan before serving.

NOTES

You can substitute liquor for some of the milk to make the flan richer. Personally, I use 1 cup of milk and 1 cup rompope (Mexican eggnog). Be careful when coating glass molds as they can break because of the sudden change in temperatures. You have to do it fast as the mixture hardens very quickly.

RATING

Difficulty: moderate. Time: 2½ hours Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

I. Arieh Cimet

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

ihnp4,chinet!nucsrl!cimeti

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

FRANGO MINT PIE

FRANGO-PIE — Decadent chocolate mint pie

One of the things that is memorable about Marshall Field's department store in Chicago is their "Frango chocolate mints." This pie captures the flavor perfectly. I got the recipe from Malcolm Slaney, who "found it in a cookbook when [he was] attending Kayak School in Oregon."

INGREDIENTS (Makes one pie)

1 cup butter

2 cups confectioners sugar (sifted)

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

4 eggs

¾ tsp peppermint extract

2 tsp vanilla extract

10 vanilla wafers, crushed

PROCEDURE

(1) Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

(2) In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Add to the butter-sugar mixture and beat thoroughly.

(3) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg, until well blended.

(4) Fold in the peppermint and vanilla.

(5) Line the pie tin with the vanilla wafer crumbs (buttering the pie tin makes them stick to the side a little better). Pour in the filling.

(6) Refrigerate for two hours.

NOTES

This recipe fills a shallow 8 inch pie tin; add 50% to everything to fill a 9 inch pie tin. If you're not very good at pie crusts (I'm not), feel free to use a pre-formed graham cracker crust. The chocolate and mint flavors predominate, no matter what crust you use.

This is serious decadence! The first time I made this, I stopped several times in disbelief of just what I was doing. Enjoy!

RATING

Difficulty: moderate (melting chocolate is tricky). Time: 30 minutes preparation, several hours chilling. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Chris Kent

Western Research Laboratory, Digital Equipment Corp., Palo Alto, Calif., USA

kent@decwrl.dec.com -or- decwrl!kent

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

OLD WORLD FRUIT CAKE

FRUIT-CAKE-2 — A traditional European-style fruit cake

Although fruitcakes have a bad reputation, this one is *excellent*. My mother has been making it for years. She originally got the recipe from a friend, but has since adapted it to suit her fans. (She gets requests for it all year long.)

INGREDIENTS (1 large fruitcake)

CAKE

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

½ tsp mace

½ tsp nutmeg

½ cup melted butter

2 eggs

¾ cup black coffee (cold)

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup raisins

1 cup mixed fruit

1 cup dates

¼ cup rum or brandy

GLAZE

4 Tbsp butter

½ cup rum or brandy

½ cup sugar

PROCEDURE

(1) Mix the melted butter, eggs, rum and coffee together.

(2) Add brown sugar and mix well.

(3) Add rest of dry ingredients and place in a buttered loaf pan.

(4) Bake at 300º F for 2 hours or until done (it will separate from the sides of the pan).

(5) Make glaze when almost completely baked: Melt (do not boil) butter. Add rum and sugar. Stir by hand.

(6) Remove the cake from the oven and pour half of the glaze over it. Let it cool 25 minutes, then turn it over and pour the remaining glaze on the other side.

(7) Notes: Don't use glass pans. This freezes well, if you make more than you can eat; just be sure to wrap it carefully so it doesn't get freezer burn. Warm frozen cake in the oven, not the microwave.

RATING

Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 15 minutes preparation, 2 hours baking, 30 minutes finishing. Precision: measure the ingredients.

CONTRIBUTOR

Seema Chandnani

University of Chicago Computation Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

snix@sphinx.uchicago.edu

Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com

TOO MUCH FRUIT SALAD

FRUIT-SALAD — Generic fresh fruit salad

Many people think of fruit salad as that disgusting stuff that comes in a can made from diced plastic fruit and heavy syrup. This is more like what it is supposed to taste like, although some people might claim that my addition of syrup makes this into fruit cocktail instead of fruit salad. Whatever you call it, it's especially good in the summer. I make it every couple of months (usually in vast quantities, even though there are only two of us, hence the name). It rarely lasts very long, regardless of how much I make.

INGREDIENTS (Makes too much)

1 ripe pineapple

1 ripe melon

1 large grapefruit (preferably pink)

2–3 oranges

11 oz maraschino cherries (1 large jar)

2–3 ripe bananas

2–3 kiwi fruits

1 lb stewed prunes in heavy syrup (1 standard can)

2–3 ripe peaches, sliced (or use 1 lb of stewed apricot halves in heavy syrup)

1 cup apricot nectar

PROCEDURE

(1) Peel and section the grapefruit and oranges. Remove the seeds and membranes. Cut the sections into bite-size pieces and dump into a big non-metallic bowl.

(2) Peel and core the pineapple (making sure to get all the eyes), cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl. A typical whole pineapple is usually too much, so you might want to reserve about 1/3 of the flesh to eat by itself.

(3) Peel and cut the melon, bananas, peaches, and kiwi fruits and add to the bowl. The kiwis should be sliced horizontally (so the seeds make pretty circular patterns).

(4) Add the stewed prunes, syrup and all. This will moisten everything. Add the maraschino cheries and the syrup they came in (check for stems). Add the nectar, making sure there is enough liquid to cover the fruit.

(5) This is the hard part. Put it all in the refrigerator, and don't eat any until tommorow. It really needs to sit overnight for all the colors and flavors to blend together.

NOTES

Some people might object to the use of maraschino cherries—they are processed with sulfur dioxide, which isn't really good for you. I like the way they taste, so I allow myself this one debauch. Unless you can find good-quality fresh fruit, it is better to use canned. This is especially true of pineapple—canned pineapple is not as good as good fresh pineapple, but is much better than a bad fresh one. For the melon, I've used honeydew, canteloupe, and casaba with good results. Watermelon is interesting, but has a very diferent texture from the others. More important than the actual variety is that it is ripe. Unfortunately, New York supermarkets only seem to sell the kind of melon that goes from rock-hard to rotten without passing through ripe. Bananas are best when they are just starting to get brown speckles.

My mother uses orange juice for the liquid, but I prefer nectar. The combination of the prune and cherry syrups give it a nice color. Sometimes I add a bit of lemon juice for tartness. I've experimented with cherry liqueur, but didn't really like the results.

Use whatever fruit you find fresh in the market. The invariant part is the grapefruit, orange, and maraschino cherries.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes preparation, ½ day waiting. Precision: approximate measurement mandatory.

CONTRIBUTOR

Roy Smith

Public Health Research Institute, New York, NY, USA

allegra,cmcl2,philabs!phri!roy

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

FRUIT TART

FRUIT-TART — A quick fruit tart pie

This is just about the ideal way to use up any fresh fruit you have lying around. I got the recipe from my mom.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 pie)

1 pie shell (If you don't make your own, buy the frozen uncooked kind.)

½ cup water

1 cup sugar

2½ Tbsp cornstarch

10 cups sliced fruit

ground cinnamon or nutmeg (to taste)

PROCEDURE

(1) Mash 2 cups of the fruit in a saucepan with the water, sugar, and cornstarch. Add another sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon. Boil until the liquid becomes clear (about two minutes).

(2) Place the remaining fruit in the pie shell, and a sprinkle of the nutmeg or cinnamon.

(3) Pour the hot mixture over the fruit, and let cool for at least two hours.

(4) Serve, with whipped cream or ice cream as desired.

NOTES

Any fresh fruit in season will do; I've made peach, nectarine, and strawberry/banana, all to good effect. Scheduling usually works out well if you make this shortly before serving the meal, and let it cool while you eat.

RATING

Difficulty: easy. Time: 20 minutes preparation, two hours cooling. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

Rich Salz

Mirror Systems, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

mirror!rs

Approved: reid@decwrl.UUCP

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