Recipes

There’s nothing like blessing someone with a dish of homemade food! Check back often for recipes to use for church pot lucks or outreach ministries. Catch funny and poignant stories about food in history and in Karen’s daily life. I’ll also share recipes from the past and how those dishes weave into my historical fiction.

January 26, 2016 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Karen’s Recipe File: Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Here’s my all-time comfort dessert – Hot Fudge Pudding Cake.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is an old fashioned dessert my mom used to make that has become a classic right along with Snickerdooles, Rice Pudding and cheesecake. My daughters prefer this to anything else for their birthdays. I love it so much, I’m willing to suffer the pain from my allergy to chocolate. Believe me, it is a dish that isn’t much to look at but the taste is beyond awesome.

It has to be eaten within ten minutes of coming out of the oven so it isn’t the greatest potluck or company dish. It can be warmed up the next day but isn’t quite the same. On the other hand, this is so wonderful some of us will eat it warm, cold, lefteover—should it last so long. Some, like my husband, want to adorn it with whipped cream or ice cream? Die hards like I and my daughters don’t want to minimize the awesome taste or waste time getting out the extra. Just give us a bowl of the good stuff.

So, the best way to serve Hot Fudge Pudding Cake? Invite some girlfriends over who need a chocolate fix and serve it straight out of the oven. Be sure to have the coffee or hot tea prepared beforehand. Another serving suggestion? Half the recipe and eat it in secret. But let’s face it. Chocolate is twice as yummy if you can share it with someone else.

If this recipe needs any improvement, try using dark chocolate cocoa. Oh my!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp shortening, melted
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1-3/4 cups hot water

Blend flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and the 2 Tbsp cocoa in bowl. Stir in milk and shortening. Blend in nuts. Spread in greased square 9×9 pan. Mix brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa together; sprinkle over cake mixture. Pour hot water over entire batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. During baking, cake mixture will rise to the top and chocolate sauce will settle to the bottom. Cut into squares; invert each square onto dessert plate; spoon sauce over top. Or, invert entire pudding on platter. Serve warm. Can serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream but why would you want to do that?

December 16, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Coconut Cream Pie

Mmm-mmm. Coconut cream pie.

I posted this picture of a coconut cream pie I was making for a church dinner on Facebook and was amazed at how many friends responded with “That’s my favorite.”

I made this pie and a lemon meringue pie for a dinner I was hosting for the elders of our church and their wives, and our staff. It was my Christmas gift to them with a heartfelt thanks for all they do and all they are.

Church leaders bear more burdens than the average pew sitter will ever know. There is worry over the church budget and security issues. Each week, leadership looks over the congregation and knows the confidential hurt and pain so many face. Then there’s the constant line of complaints – some legitimate and some so paltry, leaders don’t know if they should laugh or cry—but each must be taken seriously because it’s important to that dear brother or sister.

So, yeah, a pasta dinner with homemade rolls, Seven Layer Salad, and 2 pies seems like a small way to say thank you to such an awesome group of men and women. But I’ll tell you this. It means the world to them to have folks come alongside them and say, “Thank you for what you do. I’m praying for you and you are doing a good job.”

Here’s my recipe for Coconut Cream Pie. One person asked if it was more than coconut sprinkled in vanilla pudding. Sorry to say, that’s what my recipe is, but I’ve found the secret to a good coconut cream pie is to make a homemade pudding base, be generous with the coconut, and buy a fresh bag of a good quality name brand coconut.

Maybe you can share your results with your church staff or lay leadership.

COCONUT CREAM PIE

1 10-inch single crust pie shell, baked
1/3 c sugar or artificial sweetener
¼ c cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 ½ cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp margarine
1 1/3 cup coconut.
3 eggs separated
¼ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar (can use artificial sweetener but I’d mix half sugar/half A.S. because Splenda makes the meringue turn a strange color)

In a heavy sauce pan, mix the 1/3 c sugar and cornstarch. Add milk slowly and mix well. Stir over medium heat, until mixture reaches a boil. Separate eggs; beat egg yolks in bowl. Add about ½ cup of the hot pudding mixture to the egg yolks, a tablespoon at a time, beating well, each time. Add egg mixture into pudding mixture. Allow to oil , stirring constantly 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add margarine, vanilla, and 1 cup flaked coconut. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add cream of tartar and sugar; beat to stiff peak. Pour pudding mixture into pie shell. Top with meringue, sealing to edges. Sprinkle 1/3 cup coconut on top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, watching carefully and rotating pie if needed.

Sometimes I cheat and use a box of Cook and Serve pudding if I’m running short on time. Sugar Free Cook and Serve Vanilla pudding will work too—if you can find it in your local store.

What’s your favorite way to bless your church leadership?

What’s your favorite food gift at Christmas?

December 2, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Christmas Cookie Decorating Tips

Here’s my five decorating tips for making stress-free Christmas Cookies.

I woke up this morning, ready to mail a Christmas present to a friend. I found the box for the present. I found the shipping box. Ah! There’s room on the side of the shipping box. Just the right space for a package of cookies.

I had just bought a cool canister of sprinkles from Aldi’s. I’ll make iced sugar cookies. This would be a good time to make Great-Grandma Flossy’s Drop Sugar Cookies. I haven’t made those in years. I could ice them and decorate them and . . .

What am I thinking? I hate icing cookies! I don’t do it very well. I’ve got other things to do. Why not? My husband’s taking a vacation day today and I should too. Here we go.

As I iced my cookies, I learned a few things that probably apply to anytime I need to do something new. Here’s my decorating tips for frosting Christmas cookies.

Learn as you go. I haven’t iced sugar cookies in years. I fret over cake frosting. Christmas sugar cookies, like fudge and other holiday specialties, are one of those thing we don’t do often enough to remember what we did the last time. At first, my frosting was too thick. My husband thought I wasn’t putting on enough frosting. The goo of icing running over the sides made him realize why I was being chintzy. Then I thinned the icing too much. The icing dried before Jack could apply the sprinkles. I was icing cookies too quickly for him to keep up.

If he and I had been tense about every cookie being perfect, we would have ended the cookie icing session with a marital spat and un-iced cookies. Instead, we relaxed and talked through how to make each cookie better.

Do it with someone else. I could have done the cookies by myself. I’m sure many bakers do and they’ve got their method down to a fine art. Because of my vision, I knew the sprinkles part would be more frustration than it was worth. So I asked Jack to help me. He’s on vacation; he’s not doing anything. I’m glad I had the excuse of poor vision to get him involved. The job did go faster with two people. Besides it was fun. Just ask him. J

Enjoy the moment. I mean, someone has to destroy the evidence of burnt and broken cookies, and drippy icing. I should have painted Jack’s nose with icing. I could have added red sprinkles and called him Rudolf!

Give yourself a second chance. As I mentioned, I fret over frosting. My recipe was that of my great-grandma Flossy, a soft sugar cookie that I remember loving as a child but the one time I made them as an adult, they were horrible. My girls found the recipe in my file and wondered why I had kept it. I don’t know what compelled me to try them this morning or to put icing on them. I’m the one who chafes at icing anything. But I’m glad I did. It wasn’t that hard and we had fun. Maybe I have matured and learned to relax over the years. I’m the one that has changed. It’s refreshing to try things again that were difficult or scary in a younger season of life.

Risk it! I made the cookies this morning to ship to a friend in Ohio. What was I thinking? An old recipe, icing I don’t feel competent to apply, and shipping iced cookies that might get stale, broken and smooshed in the shipping process.

Why not? It’s Christmas. I love my friend. I love baking. I love spending time with my husband. Aren’t those things more important than perfect cookies? It’s time for me to observe the advice I gave my daughters countless times: the process is more important than the product.

Here’s Great-Grandma Flossy’s recipe for Drop Sugar Cookies. You can figure out your own icing.

Grandma Flossy’s Drop Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon rind
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 cups flour (part whole wheat if desired)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda

Blend together margarine ( used butter), salt, lemon rind (I used a ½ tsp lemon juice instead), and nutmeg. Cream in sugar, add eggs and beat well. Stir in milk. Stir together dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

November 6, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

My Best Brownies

A pan of brownies and a place to escape. That will keep any college student happy.

I used to think brownies were finicky to make, had expensive ingredients, and contained more sugar than the food police allowed. Then a friend gave me this recipe and it’s been my go to recipe for something quick and easy to take to group gatherings.

I should have made these when Marcie invited us to the Barn Dance. Instead, I tried to use up some apples and made applesauce bars that didn’t turn out so well. My brownies would have been the failsafe thing to bring.

Marcie owns this 100-year-old large, airy barn that’s been renovated and updated several times in its long life. Every year, Marcie invites college students from the nearby University campus ministry group to come out for an evening of goodies, hot apple cider, and line dancing. This group of kids is great. They set up, enjoy themselves for the evening, and tear down. A small group even came out a week beforehand to help Marcie move furniture.

Marcie reminds me of Betty. When my daughter attended Ohio State University, Betty invited students from the campus ministry and her Sunday School class to a bonfire at her country home several times. They would roast hot dogs, make s’mores, and sing around the campfire. Other times, Betty would invite a group of college girls out to her home.They would pick apples at a nearby farm then return to Betty’s home where Betty taught them how to make apple pie.

“How old is this Sunday School class?” I asked my daughter.

“Oh Betty’s age.”

I got suspicious. “How old is Betty?”

“Probably in her seventies.” Uh huh. Wow. This is the lady whom, Christine tells me, goes on short term mission trips to Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.

The students loved going out to Betty’s house. It was a relief to get away from the compact, claustrophobic campus into the fresh open air of the country. Mingling with the older people was a good reminder of the real world, a world made up of more generations than just college aged students. As they sat around the fire, the older generation would share their wisdom and advice with the young adults.

How memorable. How meaningful. All it takes is a willing hostess no matter how old she might be, a meeting place, and a couple pans of brownies, some apple cider and maybe a few hot dogs. Or let the kids bring the food. They’ll just be happy you asked them to come.

MY BEST BROWNIES

brownies 2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 10×15 jelly roll pan. Beat the sugar and eggs together. Add butter, flour, cocoa, vanilla, and nuts: beat well. Pour into greased pan, spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges start to pull away. Do NOT overbake! Cool in pan ten minutes; cut into squares and remove from pan.