Cherry cobbler...

As I've harvested and pitted cherries, I've been enjoying thinking about how I will use them in the upcoming months.

That said, after freezing 6 bags with 2 cups each before the cherries on the tree appear to have finally passed their peak this year, I will happily let the birds enjoy what's left on the branches.  Pitting these small tart cherries is quite a chore - especially with my hand issues.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed making (and we thoroughly enjoyed eating) a simple cherry cobbler last weekend.   It's a pretty standard recipe found in lots of places online, but here it is in case you're interested.  Next time I'm going to follow the suggestions for doubling the recipe (or I suppose, I could just use a smaller baking dish) for a thicker cobbler.

It was the first dessert I've had in over three months.  

And I do believe it was worth breaking my sugar fast for.  

I certainly have no regrets!

I'm curious if you like cherries and if so, what do you like to do with them?

Some yummy (and somewhat healthier) banana bread...

With my husband back home this week (after his spending time at his mother's last week) I'm back to cooking like it matters. Yeah, I know it matters all the time, but when I get some time alone I live like I don't really believe that.

Anyway...

Knowing hubs would enjoy some banana bread, I decided today was the day to bake like it matters.

While I normally use some amount of whole wheat flour when making most baked goods these days, I can never remember if I should use hard or soft whole wheat flour in something like banana bread, so I googled it.  When I did, this recipe popped up (from Heavenly Homemakers).

I'm not a big fan of honey, in general, but I was intrigued that the recipe above only calls for 1/3 cup of  honey instead of the 1 cup of sugar the recipe I normally use calls for.   Honey and sugar have a similar Glycemic Index, but if I'm only using a third of cup of honey that's a significantly lower GI overall for this recipe than my normal one, so I figured it was a recipe worth trying.

It was significantly less sweet than what we're accustomed to, but both DH and I thought it tasted good.  Not dessert good (which my regular banana bread is), but for a healthy alternative?  Yeah!  It was okay.

Okay enough that I decided to make a second loaf.  But when I got out my cell phone (where I had originally pulled up the recipe) I had somehow lost the page.  And I couldn't find it again no matter what I looked up (forgetting what I had googled when I found the recipe).

BUT...  googling "banana bread with whole wheat flour and honey, I came across this Healthy Banana Bread recipe and even though it called for coconut oil rather than butter, and it had cinnamon and water, and it didn't have baking powder, I decided it was close enough.  

I made the second recipe, waited for it to bake then cool enough to remove from the pan for a taste test.  Even with the cinnamon in it, it pretty much tasted like the first loaf I had made.  (Edited to add...  tonight, hubs said it tasted "apple-y".  I think it was the cinnamon he was tasting and apple-y was the best he could come up with to describe it.)  It was a bit moister (than the first recipe) - even though I cooked it a tad long and it browned a bit too much on the bottom.  

But, still...  it held the same "Yeah!  It's okay" appeal.  And since (at the time) the second recipe was still on my phone I decided to print that one out to keep.

And that's when I realized I had forgotten to add vanilla.  It's also worth noting I substituted 1/4 cup of sour milk for hot water.   And I used some unbleached flour from my cupboard in place of a bit of the whole wheat flour.  I used a cup or more of walnuts ('cuz I always add more nuts than any recipe calls for), and I added some ground flax seed (probably close to 1/4 cup).

About this time, I also remembered what search terms I used when I found the first recipe above (which is why I can link to it here, and I have since printed that one out, too).

Honestly, the above recipes are both keepers, in my opinion.  I'm going to experiment with using olive oil instead of coconut oil, and next time I make it I'm going to actually measure the ground flax seed and walnuts.  If I manage to do all that so that I'm confident of my adaptations, I'll type it up and share it. 

Meanwhile,  if you're open to trying a not-very-sweet banana bread, I highly recommend the two recipes linked to above with a slight preference for the second one.   

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst..."   John 6:35

Chocolate Crackles & Moments with Ruth...

Yesterday I was called to work with Ruth and we made some Chocolate Crackle cookies.  

Chocolate Crackles are cookies I've made for years, but have no idea where the recipe came from.  For some reason the recipe rarely gets pulled out of my recipe file except for Christmas time, so I've come to think of them as Christmas cookies.   

So that makes now a perfect time for me to share the recipe!

These cookies are fudgy and pretty enough to be kind of sophisticated, but the powdered sugar makes them fun and playful.  

Truth be told, while I love me some chocolate, I'm not really a chocolate cookie fan, but these are yummy.  Let me rephrase that.  These are melt-in-your-mouth yummy!

When I told Ruth what I had brought to make she didn't look overly interested.  Sympathizing, I asked her if she liked chocolate cookies, and as politely as she could she told me she wasn't really a fan.  I knew trying to convince her with words wasn't worth trying to do, so I didn't.

But I did ask her if she'd like to join me in making some anyway, and she obliged.

Some words of warning:  I added a tad too much water (like maybe 1/2 - 1 tsp too much) and these ended up being very messy to roll into balls, and they flattened more when cooling than they normally do.  While they were still delicious, I recommend following the recipe exactly.  Let me repeat that in case you weren't paying attention...  Follow the recipe exactly.

Get ready to hang onto your hat, 'cuz these are the quickest and easiest cookies you'll ever mix up and bake.


Chocolate Crackles
 ~makes approx. 2 dozen


1 Devils Food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
1 Tbs. water

Mix all ingredients together (the dough will be thick like cookie dough), roll into balls, then roll balls into powder sugar (coat them well).  Place 2-3 inches apart on cookie sheet.  (3 inches is best)

Bake at 375୦ F for exactly 8 minutes (they will look like they're not quite baked enough).  Pull them out and let sit on cookie sheet for a minute or two (just until you can slip a flipper under them without messing them up).  Transfer cookies to cooling rack or paper towels to finish cooling.

Enjoy!  


We played some checkers while we waited on the baking cookies.

Ruth was way ahead of me at this point in the game. 

Below is a picture of some Chocolate Crackles  I had made over the weekend, this is how these lovely delectables should look when they're finished:

But even a bit flattened, they were still chewy and delicious.  

And Ruth liked them!   

I wasn't the least bit surprised.  😊

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Cream Cheese and Chocolate Marble Brownies...

I've become a fan of combining cream cheese and chocolate brownies in one yummy dessert.  I became a fan when I found a recipe on the box of a brownie mix once upon a time.  Having in my possession a brownie mix that didn't have such a recipe, I went online to see if I could find a recipe for just the cream cheese filling.

Oh my!  Did I ever find recipes!  I thought it would be hard to choose, but after perusing several sites, I concluded that the basic recipe is so common that it probably falls into the category of common knowledge.   Who knew?!?   

Most that I came across were identical, or any differences I found were insignificant.   Except for this recipe.   This one looked interesting because it added butter, and seriously... isn't everything better with butter?  That said, I was in disbelief that only 3 oz. of cream cheese would make an adequate filling.  So I took the knowledge I'd gleaned from other recipes and came up with a slight variation of the above recipe.

First, if you're making brownies from scratch, I suggest using any number of the recipes you can find online.  I can't vouch for any in particular as I have my own simple, but fine, from-scratch brownie recipe that I sometimes use, but I wanted something that I could use with a box mix.  'Cause sometimes a mix is just fine. 😉

Okay...  so if you want to add cheesecake to pretty much any box-mix brownie, I think this should work for you:

First, make the cheesecake batter by combining the following and mix until fairly smooth:

  8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  1/4 cup granulated sugar
  1 large egg
  1  tsp. vanilla extract
  2 Tbs. butter, softened  (do not use margarine)
  1 Tbs. flour

Then, in another bowl, make the box mix as directed.  For the brownie pictured, I used a Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Brownie mix, but I actually prefer Aldi's Baker's Corner Fudge Brownie mix.  Cheap and yummy.

Okay...  whatever brownie mix you use, pour most of the brownie mixture into a buttered 9x13 glass baking dish.  I didn't measure, but I left maybe a cup, cup and a half of the brownie mixture in the bowl to use later.  

Spread the brownie mixture evenly in the baking dish.

Then, with a large spoon, dollop the cheesecake mixture on top of the brownie mixture.  Depending on how thick the brownie mixture is, you may be able to spread the cheesecake mixture a bit.  But don't be a perfectionist about this.

Then pour, or scrape out (with a spatula) the rest of the brownie mix over and around the cream cheese mixture.

With a knife, cut through the whole mixture, snaking back and forth through the cheesecake and brownie mixtures to sort of combine them into swirls.  I like to snake the knife horizontally and then vertically to really spread that cheesecake around, being careful to not over-mix the two mixtures.  Again, don't be a perfectionist.  Cream cheese marble brownies are like folk art.  Every piece looks a little different, and each taste is it's own kind of delicious.

Follow the baking instructions on the box.    When done baking, let cool completely before cutting (if you can).  Then enjoy! 

These don't last long enough at our house to go bad, but if you want to keep them longer than a couple of days, I suggest refrigerating or possibly even freezing. 

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