We previously featured this recipe for brownies from my Grammie Hennie, and as part of our YouTube channel, we made a video about it. They are so easy, the batter comes together in 15 minutes and they bake for around 20 minutes. Plus get a glimpse of my daughter making them in grade 6, and our “Treat Patrol” in the video. Please enjoy the video, and like & subscribe on YouTube if you want more content like this.
Brownies (Grammie Hennie)
1/2 cup butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
Melt together
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Beat together
1/2 cup flour
Vanilla or peppermint extract
Nuts optional
Mix all together, bake in 8×8 pan 25 minutes at 350
Quite possibly the easiest gingerbread cookies you will ever make, easy enough my daughter made them by herself at age seven. All I did was help with a little guidance. We enjoy gingerbread cookies that are colorful and joyful, even though traditional gingerbread is decorated only with white icing. Everyone likes what they like! These cookies are also eggless, so that makes them allergy friendly, and if you made them with shortening in place of butter, they could be vegan. Please enjoy the video, like and subscribe if you want more content from us on YouTube.
Merry Christmas & happy holidays to you!
Gingerbread Cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, soft 1/2 cup brown sugar packed 1/2 cup dark molasses 3 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp ground cloves 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup water
Blend butter & sugar until creamy. Beat in molasses. Sift flour with soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and salt, then add to butter mixture with 1/4 cup water. If too stiff ad a little more water.
Lightly knead dough until smooth and divide into three parts. Wrap two parts in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Grease the bottom of a cookie sheet, then roll out dough to just less than 1/4″ – thinner will be too crisp. Bake at 350 for 8 – 10 minutes.
If you’ve followed this site for any length of time, you know I started with just 134 of my grandmother’s recipe cards, but over the years have expanded through borrowing from friends and buying stashes of recipe cards online and through local antique & thrift shops. I prefer handwritten recipe cards and the ones that are more stained, the better because it means they were used. Sometimes I felt a bit sad when a great stash of recipe cards wound up on eBay because it meant they had lost meaning to the original family. Maybe someone digitized them all, or maybe the kids and grandkids just didn’t cook, or who knows what reason led to them being put up for sale. I always like to imagine the original home cook writing her recipe cards and carefully curating her collection over a lifetime.
I found one in the stash recently called Father’s Favorite Cake and it sounded really good, so we tried it out. The white cake, chocolate icing and coconut cream filling all sounded amazing together! While the original recipe for the white cake was a bit dry, another challenge was that the recipe for coconut cream filling was missing. I was able to find the recipe card for the Hungarian chocolate icing, so at least one of the three components was present, and of course the concept.
We decided to substitute Mother’s White Cake from my great grandmother as a tried-and-true white cake recipe, and I created a coconut cream filling. When we put the three components together, it turned out a moist and luscious cake with a sweet but not too sweet filling and a decadent chocolate icing that was so easy to make.
Even though there are really three recipes to this cake, I promise it isn’t difficult to make. I hope you will try out our Mounds Bar Cake for your next family dinner, maybe even for the father in your family, and perhaps it will turn out to be one of your favorite cakes to enjoy for years to come.
And please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, click the like button and the bell icon to be notified when we post a new video. We are trying to build our channel so look out for more great content coming soon. We are considering some of the most popular recipes on this site, and also some of the more interesting recipe cards to be found in my collection. If you like Facebook, you can follow us there, and we are now on Instagram. I think my husband even created us a TicToc!
Mounds Bar Cake
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 cup water
2 3/4 cups flour
3 heaping tsp Baking Powder
Whites of 4 eggs, beaten stiff – fold in
Cream butter and sugar, then add salt & vanilla. Add dry & wet alternately, beating hard. Divide into 2 9” cake pans that were sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.
Split the cakes and level the tops. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in freezer while you make the filling and icing.
Coconut Cream Filling
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 t vanilla
1 1/4 t coconut flavoring
8 oz cream cheese – soft
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 c shredded coconut
Whip together whipping cream, vanilla and coconut flavoring until peaks form. In another bowl, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Combine whipped cream and cream cheese mixtures, then add coconut flakes. Beat until smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until time to use.
Hungarian Chocolate Icing
6 oz bakers chocolate
3 cups powdered sugar
2 T hot water
6 egg yolks
8 T butter (soft)
Melt chocolate in double boiler. Once melted remove from water and add in powdered sugar and hot water. Mix. Add egg yolks one at a time beating after each. Add butter one tablespoon at a time beating after each.
To assemble the cake, place bottom layer, then a layer of coconut cream filling. Place the second layer and spread chocolate icing. Place the third layer and then a layer of coconut cream filling. Place the fourth layer and then ice the top and sides. Using some of the coconut cream filling write “Hi Dad” on top.
A few years ago we shared a recipe for Apie Cakes and I admit, at that time I didn’t know anything about them. But so many people commented on that original post sharing their great memories of Rosenberry’s Pioneer Market, enjoying Apie Cakes with butter and coffee, and just taking us back to a slower time, I just had to learn more.
I did a little bit of research about Rosenberry’s and Pottstown, PA and found a long history of the market in that little town, plus a rich history of the town dating back to the 1700s. The Pottstown Historical Society can share more of the deeper details for you, but you should know that this town in the Pennsylvania Dutch area played host to a great family run grocery store that was an anchor to the community. Rosenberry’s was noted by site visitors as the place to go after church, to get a job, to meet friends, and buy necessities. And, of course, they sold Apie Cakes.
The great thing about Apie Cakes is they are really easy to make. They are hearty and filling, incredibly satisfying on a school morning or for an afternoon snack. You may also notice that Apie Cakes are made without eggs, making them an allergy friendly option, and if you used shortening it will be dairy free, and some shortenings are even vegan, so it ticks all the boxes for a sweet treat with broad appeal.
You can find a variety of recipes with variations. It all depends on whose grandmother had the recipe and that family’s preferences. Ours is a basic version that is packed with flavor. We hope you’ll try the recipe and enjoy them as much as we do!
Apie Cakes
4 cups flour
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 pound butter, margarine or shortening, room temperature
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup water
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes. Add flour mixture one cup at a time, mixing well each time. Add water. Mix until all combined, the batter will be thick.
Divide between two 8 or 9” ungreased cake pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Ok to cut when still warm.
Hello everyone in recipe land! It’s been a while since I last posted, but we’re back with an amazing new dish! This time though we have more than just the recipe card. I’ve started a YouTube channel companion for the site and will be posting videos drawn from many of the great vintage recipes we have here, and lots of new ones too.
Our inaugural post is for Baked Ziti, one of my personal favorites. We have seven different versions of a “lazy day” or “easy” lasagna bake posted to this site, so there’s no shortage of inspiration. The version I’m making is a family favorite that never lasts long and never lets anyone go hungry. Be sure to check out the video and recipe below. It’s a really good one! Please also subscribe to our Youtube channel so you’ll be updated as we post more delicious (and sometimes not so delicious, but fun) recipes! You can also follow us on Facebook.
Baked Ziti – 350º
One 16 oz package of ziti
2 24 oz jars of Vodka sauce
16 oz Mild Italian sausage
16 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated
2.5 oz Romano cheese, grated
5 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 egg
Optional: 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 350°. Boil pasta, drain and return to pot. Add a little vodka sauce to the pasta, stir and set aside. Cook sausage, drain off grease. Mix Ricotta and egg together until smooth. Pour a little vodka sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish, spread around. Add half the pasta. Add half the mozzarella. Add half the Romano. Add half the Parmesan. Add the sausage. Add the Ricotta. Pour sauce over to cover this layer. Repeat layers until all ingredients have been used. Sprinkle any remaining cheese lightly over the sauce layer. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes, then remove foil and return to the oven 10-15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle parsley if using. Serve.
Here are links to the various versions of “pasta bake” dishes we have on the site
Gram's Recipe Box 