Though there were recipe versions which made smaller quantities, and variants with additional healthful ingredients such as Flaxseed, I chose this version from BreadNet back in June because I had half a quart of buttermilk that had just passed its “use-by” date.  I had a bit of trouble mixing the ingredients up because I simply don’t have mixing bowls quite big enough to hold everything.  I ended up mixing the batter ingredients and adding the flakes last, which made the flakes crispier than intended, I’m sure.  The muffins themselves came out with a light batter matrix, crispy embedded flakes, and a somewhat insipid taste. Though my mother ate one in the spirit of adventure, I ended up eating the vast majority of ‘em for my breakfasts (after about a week they were getting pretty dried out and even more insipid-tasting) because nobody else would touch ‘em.  I made two dozen because the largest plastic container I could lay my hands on at the time could only hold half the batter.  The flakes will be soggier, though no less insipid-tasting (I had used Post, not Kellog’s Raisin Bran) when I make the second batch.  The instructions on the recipe, thankfully, say that the raw batter from this particular recipe will keep for two months in the fridge, which is good, because right now New York is in the middle of a massive heat wave and (to a sigh of relief from my family) I am not cooking again anytime soon.  I have also been dealing with a sick cat and the necessity of getting food & medicine into her.
I’d like to try this recipe for raisin bran muffins sometime; I think the cloves, molasses, etc. might add something.

Coconut Coffee Cake

Filling

1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sugar

Cake

1/4 pound butter (do not substitute)
1 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
1/2 pint sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (measure, then sift)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
In a small bowl mix filling ingredients - coconut, chocolate chips, walnuts and sugar. Set aside.

With an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar; add eggs and beat well. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well.

Dear Jeanne,

I love this cake, but a cup of oil is a lot. Can you make it just as delicious with less oil?

— Jo Ann, Dallas

STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 box white cake mix

3 tablespoons flour

1 box strawberry gelatin

½ cup water

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed

ICING:

¼ pound butter or margarine

1-pound box powdered sugar

Strawberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 F. With an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, flour, gelatin, water and oil. Beat well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and strawberries. Divide the batter between 2 or 3 round layer pans. Bake 25-30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the icing ingredients, adding as many strawberries as needed to make the icing spreadable.

Makes 12 servings.

Dear Jo Ann,

This is a delicious and beautiful pink cake. I find that reducing the fat in cake mixes works very well, and the strawberries added to this one really add a lot of flavor, moistness and color. If you wish to reduce the amount of icing, use only two layers of cake and put the icing only on the tops, not on the sides. This method adds plenty of icing, and looks very nice. Adding fresh berries on top of the cake or on the serving plate adds extra nutrition and beauty.

LIGHT STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 box white or yellow cake mix

1 small (4 servings) package sugar-free strawberry gelatin

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup strawberries, thawed if frozen, pureed if fresh

½ cup water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 egg whites

FROSTING:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

Strawberries and juice to moisten (about 2 tablespoons)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray 2 cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust lightly with flour. Set aside.

Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin and flour in a large bowl, and mix together. In another bowl, combine the strawberries, the water and the vegetable oil. Pour wet ingredients all at once over dry ingredients and combine. Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating after each addition. This should take several minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool on a rack.

For frosting: In a large bowl, mix together the butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar and beat well. Add the strawberries a little at a time until the icing is a good spreading consistency.

Place the first layer rounded side (top) down on a serving plate. Spread with about ½ cup of icing. Put the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread it with another half-cup of the icing. Spread the rest of the icing on the sides if using, then refrigerate.

Makes 12 servings.

Each serving contains approximately:

Original Recipe: 623 calories; 31 gm fat; 83 mg cholesterol; 296 mg sodium; 84 gm carbohydrates; 5 gm protein; 1 gm fiber.

Revised Recipe: 311 calories; 8 gm fat; 6 mg cholesterol; 289 mg sodium; 57 gm carbohydrates; 4 gm protein; 1 gm fiber.

For more information, go to jeannejones.com. Send your recipe for revision to: Cook It Light (Pocono Record), P.O. Box 1212, La Jolla, CA 92038. Please include a stamped (63 cents), self-addressed envelope.

Tea Cookies w/real tea (”Amai’s tea sweets”)

Tea Cookies
(adapted with very minor variations from Lovescool/Amai Tea & Bake House)
3/4 C (2.25 oz) confectioners sugar
5 oz unsalted butter (5/8 C, or 1 and 1/4 stick), straight from the fridge, cut into 1 tbsp slices
1 3/4 C (8.5 oz) all-purpose flour
3 large egg yolks (save the whites to make tuiles or macarons)
1 1/2 tbsp ground tea of your choosing
1 C granulated sugar (for coating)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, mix the sugar and ground tea together. Add the butter and continue mixing until smooth and pale.

Add the flour and mix until well combined.

Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.

Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm - the original recipe calls for at least 30 minutes, but with our fridge we prefer to let dough chill for at least a couple of hours before rolling it out.

Which is what you’re doing next, of course - rolling it out. To about 1/2″ thick, which will feel surprisingly thick to those of us more used to rolling out pie crusts.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the dough with small cookie cutters of whatever shape you like. Ours were about 1″ diameter.

Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.

Place the sugar-coated cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheets, about 1″ apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating from top to bottom and back to front halfway through the baking time. When they are done, they will be slightly golden around the edges.

There was only one problem: I didn’t really like how they tasted! I’m planning to fob ‘em off on my womens’ club meeting….

Orange French Toast online version

The Tropical Tart Recipe