Anna’s Spice Cookies made from a cake mix

Anna Gugler made these cookies for a gathering at the Gugler farm. Barry managed to eat most of them. She delivered another batch and he took the advice she added to her recipe card . . . “After they have cooled, eat as many as you can hold.”

Chock-full of spices, these flavorful cookies are quick to mix up and bake.

Anna’s Spice Cookies made from a cake mix  Yield: 3 1/2 dozen

1 spice cake mix (cake mixes generally vary in size from 15.25 oz. to 16.5 oz.)

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger & nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon each ground cloves & mace (no mace, use a little more nutmeg; mace is the outer covering found on nutmeg)

1. Mix all ingredients. Chill
2. Roll into balls.
3. Place on sprayed cookie sheet. Flatten with the bottom of a sugared glass. 
4. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 9 minutes. 
5. Cool. After they have cooled, eat as many as you can hold.

Cake Mix Cookies - Spicy Butterscotch

I have a friend that makes Cake Mix Cookies and experiments with lots of flavor combos . . . but I had never tried them. Ran across a jar of homemade spice cake mix that needed to be used + had some butterscotch chips . . . so now I can say I've make Cake Mix Cookies. So easy and tasty, too. Barry just had one before he delivered them to Neighbor to Neighbor earlier this week. (At least I think he only ate one!)

Found a basic recipe for Cake Mix Cookies @ Taste &Tell Blog and have included it below. However you may may to check out their interesting flavor combos titled “Cake Mix Cookies – 12 Ways!”

            

 Cake Mix Cookies - Spicy Butterscotch   Makes 3 dozen smaller sized cookies

1 cake mix*—dry ingredients only (I used a homemade spice cake mix) 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup mix ins (I used butterscotch chips but other options could include coconut, chocolate chips, chopped candy bars, etc.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with a silicon liner or parchment paper
2. In a bowl, mix together the cake mix, vegetable oil and eggs until combined. Stir in the mix ins.
   
3. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, at least 2” apart; I flattened them slightly with a fork. Bake just until the cookies are set in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.
   

* Cake mix sizes vary from 15.25 oz. to 18.25 oz. According to the info at Taste & Tell blog—they all seem to work just fine. You won’t need to adapt the other ingredients.

Recipe without photos . . .

Cake Mix Cookies - Spicy Butterscotch   Makes 3 dozen smaller sized cookies

1 cake mix*—dry ingredients only (I used a homemade spice cake mix) 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup mix ins (I used butterscotch chips but other options could include coconut, chocolate chips, chopped candy bars, etc.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with a silicon liner or parchment paper
2. In a bowl, mix together the cake mix, vegetable oil and eggs until combined. Stir in the mix ins.
3. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, at least 2” apart; I flattened them slightly with a fork.Bake just until the cookies are set in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

* Cake mix sizes vary from 15.25 oz. to 18.25 oz. According to the info at Taste & Tell blog—they all seem to work just fine. You won’t need to adapt the other ingredients.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Snacking Cake

Warm cake with a dollop of
ice cream & a sprig
of chocolate mint.

No matter how often I check the zucchini, there is always a giant one hiding in an out-of- the-way place! However, those big ones are great in baked good — simply wash, cut into quarters, cut away all the seeds, shred, and then use for zucchini pancakes or any number of zucchini-based recipes, including this new one . . .

  

Dark Chocolate  Zucchini Snacking Cake Yield: one 8” square cake

⅔ cup packed brown sugar 

1 stick (½ cup) butter softened 

1 egg

½ cup plain Greek yogurt 

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 

⅓ cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa 

½  teaspoon baking soda 

½  teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup shredded zucchini 

½ cup real dark chocolate chips 

½ cup chopped walnuts

Frosting

½  cup dark chocolate chips 

½  cup butterscotch baking chips

1. Heat oven to 350º. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with pan release; set aside.
2. Combine brown sugar and butter in bowl; beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 
   
3. Add egg, yogurt and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed.
   
4. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in bowl.
5. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
   
6. Stir in zucchini, ½  cup chocolate chip and chopped walnuts.
   
7. Pour into prepared pan.
   
8. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
9. Frosting: Combine 1/2 cup chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in 1-quart saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, 4–5 minutes or until smooth.
10. Spread over cake.
    

Other recipes that use grated zucchini: 

Chocolate Zucchini Snacking Cake (another snacking cake variation)
Chocolate Chip-Walnut Zucchini Bundt Cake

Grand Prize Zucchini Bread
Reinvented Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Muffins w/ cinnamon-sugar topping

Zucchini Muffins (healthier version)

Garden (zucchini) Fritters
Zucchini Pancakes

Recipe without photos . . .

Dark Chocolate  Zucchini Snacking Cake Yield: one 8” square cake

⅔ cup packed brown sugar 

1 stick (½ cup) butter softened 

1 egg

½ cup plain Greek yogurt 

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 

⅓ cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa 

½  teaspoon baking soda 

½  teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup shredded zucchini 

½ cup real dark chocolate chips 

½ cup chopped walnuts

Frosting

½  cup dark chocolate chips 

½  cup butterscotch baking chips

1. Heat oven to 350º. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with pan release; set aside.
2. Combine brown sugar and butter in bowl; beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 
3. Add egg, yogurt and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed.
4. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in bowl.
5. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
6. Stir in zucchini, ½  cup chocolate chip and chopped walnuts.
7. Pour into prepared pan.
8. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
9. Frosting: Combine 1/2 cup chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in 1-quart saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, 4–5 minutes or until smooth.
10. Spread over cake.

1950’s Eisenhower White House Era Menu – 1st Course Salad

      We recently planned and prepared a 1950s Eisenhower era themed menu. It was inspired by original State Menus on file at the Eisenhower Library, Abilene, KS. Many of the recipes came directly from Francois Rysavy’s cookbook, White House Chef. For the entire menu, click on MENU or use the MENU tab at the top of this page.

     Rysavy attests that a green salad with Green Goddess dressing was the President’s favorite salad and so it was a common addition to both formal and informal menus. Following the typical French style, salads were generally served after the entrée course on formal occasions in the White House.  But adhering to American tradition, we used it as a first course.

   I must admit that I was a little skeptical about using anchovy paste but the salad dressing was delicious.

    Following the White House tradition, we served the salad with Cheese Straws – these were available on a plate at the table so guests could help themselves.

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) anchovy paste (available in squeeze tubes)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup, chopped green onions

1/4 cup tarragon vinegar (couldn’t find it locally so I just steeped dried tarragon leaves in white vinegar overnight, then strained the leaves out)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (fresh lemon juice really adds to the taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

1.     Whisk together all ingredients.

2.     Refrigerate until ready to serve and pour over favorite salad or greens. (After adding the dressing, we garnished it with chopped chives.)

The “Ultimate” Rice Krispie Treat: Scotch-A-Roos

   Gooey, full or peanut butter and topped with chocolate -- it's hard to eat just one! My mom made these quite often when we were growing up so I consider them to be dessert comfort food.

Scotch-A-Roos     Makes a 13” x 9” pan

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

6 cups Rice Krispies or other crisp rice cereal

1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (6 oz.) pkg. butterscotch chips

1.  Mix peanut butter, syrup, and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan; bring to a slight boil. Stir until creamy.

2.  Take mixture off the heat and mix with cereal.

3.  Spread mixture in 13” x 9” pan. (See tip for using foil or parchment lined pans – this will allow for easy removal of the bars for cutting.)

4.  Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together on top of stove over low heat (or in a double boiler). Or, microwave -- start with 1 to 2 minutes, then, stirring intermittently, 30-second intervals until melted.

5.  Spread melted chips over cereal mixture.

6.  Refrigerate until chocolate-butterscotch mixture hardens,  about 30 minutes.

7.  Cut into desired size bars – 2” x 2” is standard.