Hawaiian Cake

This cake is sooo yummy! To think I had it in my recipe box and had only made it once in ten years! I decided to resurrect it and it will now me made much more often. Emma says this is now her favorite cake. Obviously, since we had to force her to save some for others in the family. She is usually not like that at all. Tee-hee! Must be that good, and definitely tastes even better the next day.

Hawaiian Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
1 envelope whipped topping mix*
1 pkg. (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted

Prepare and bake the cake according to package directions, using a greased 9"x13" baking pan. Cool. In a bowl, whisk together milk and pudding mix; let stand to thicken. Stir in pineapple. Spread over cake. Prepare whipped topping mix according to package directions; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in 1 cup whipped topping. Fold in remaining topping. Spread over pudding. Sprinkle with coconut (I serve it on the side since some people don't care for coconut.) Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

*Note that it might be easier to just buy Cool Whip, but the Whipped Topping Mix does make a difference. I thought of changing it at first and realized it was used instead of Cool Whip for a reason. I'm glad I stuck with the original.

Brownies

I love baking. I love baking from scratch. I like knowing everything that is going into what I make and I don't like a lot of the chemicals that come from boxes. HOWEVER, I must admit...I prefer box brownies to scratch. There, I said it.

Sometimes we get a craving for brownies, but I don't have a box on hand. I have tried many brownie recipes trying to find one that will at least satisfy me the way a Betty Crocker box brownie does. It's been tough, but I think I have found a close facimile. It's pretty doggone good. The even better thing...my family likes them, especially Anthony. The real test will be if my friend Laura likes them. She shares my box brownie love. Enjoy.

Brownies
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and water. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until brownies set up and toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

Okay, I just took a batch of these out of the oven as I was posting this and I have a little to add. Literally. They need even more chocolate. I'd either increase the chocolate chips by 1/2 cup originally, or toss them in at the end before putting into the pan. Wow, these are yummy! Anthony said, "Don't ever give me store bought again. These are so good!"

Best Ever Scones

This is a great first recipe with which to start the recipe ball rolling. I originally got this recipe from Allrecipes.com; however, I have doctored it up to our family's liking and I have to say that they are pretty fabulous! No credit to me; God gave me the doctoring wisdom.

The original recipe, Grandma Johnson's Sc*nes (no relation), was given five stars out of over 1,000 reviews, so that is pretty doggone good. BUT, the original called for just raisins and that's just plain boring. I have never even made it with the raisins, but instead jam packed it with frozen raspberries. The result? Bliss. I've also tried blueberry; wonderful! Cherries, not so great because I used canned and I just could not get enough liquid out of them to keep from making a gooey mess. That is not to say frozen cherries would not work.

Today I had a request from my mother for her favorite version, Pumpkin. She loves these. She absolutely loves them and sadly, I just don't make them enough.
I will give you the original recipe and you can make adjustments as needed based on my variations at the bottom.

Big suggestion, by the way; use parchment paper or silicone pan liners.

Scones

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet if not using parchment.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the raisins.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

Icing:
The original doesn't call for icing, but we like it.
Use about 1-2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp. of butter and a Tbsp. or two of milk. Mix it up well with a wisk. If it's too watery, add more powdered sugar and/or butter. If it's too thick, add a splash of milk. It's not rocket science, you just play with it until it works.

You can also substitute orange juice for milk, too. Maybe cranberry orange scones? Oh, that sounds good. With some crushed pecans on top?? That will be a variation for next time.

Variations:
Fruit versions: Add whatever kind of frozen fruit you want. I use at least 1 1/2 cups of frozen raspberries. For blueberries use a cup or add more to your liking. Don't use canned fruit.

Pumpkin: Add 1 cup of pureed pumpkin and cut back sour cream to about 1/2-3/4 cup. The pumpkin makes it very moist. Add 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice or more to your liking. Taste the batter. If the spice is weak, add more. (You can also buy already spiced canned pumpkin and omit adding the spice).