FAMILY GATHERINGS AT PROMISE LODGE Recipes

Coconut lovers, rejoice! This dense, buttery cake is so good it needs no frosting (but if you love frosting, go for it!), and it makes a luscious dessert when served with a simple whipped topping and fruit, or ice cream.

1 cup butter at room temperature
½ cup solid vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
8 oz. full-fat cream cheese
7 large eggs
1 T. coconut extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 ½ cups flaked sweetened coconut, pulsed 4-5 times in food processor

Preheat oven to 325º. Spray a 10 inch/12 cup tube or Bundt pan with oil spray. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter, shortening and sugar. Scrape down the sides and mix in the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the eggs alternately with the flour, occasionally scraping down the sides. Blend in the extracts and the pulsed coconut. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for about 85-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Gently loosen the sides and around the center of the pan with a thin knife blade and invert the cake onto a serving plate. Frost, if desired, and store in an airtight container. Freezes well.

Here’s another cake that looks deceptively plain, but it packs a wallop of cinnamon flavor!

For the cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
3.4 oz. box instant vanilla pudding
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 T. ground cinnamon
4 large eggs at room temperature
¾ cup water
¼ cup oil
½ cup buttermilk, milk, or white wine

For the glaze:
1/3 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
3 T. water
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350º and generously grease or spray a tube or Bundt pan. Pour the cake mix, pudding, sugars, and cinnamon into the large bowl of a stand mixer and combine until brown sugar is fully incorporated. Add eggs, water, oil, and milk/wine and mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set cake on a rack while making the sauce:

Put butter, sugar, and water in a sauce pam, whisking over medium heat until boiling. Boil for 1 minute or until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Pour the sauce over the cake and let set and cool completely. Gently loosen sides and center with a thin knife blade (or you can shake the pan to work the cake loose) and invert onto a plate, then invert onto the serving plate so the glazed size is up. Store in an airtight container. Freezes well.

This simple dish is so satisfying that it’s often a main dish at our house rather than an appetizer. I love it best spooned over corn chips or corn “scoops”, and it’s also tasty over baked potatoes! Satisfies your gooey-cheesy-salty cravings—and you can reheat the leftovers in a microwave.

8-oz block of creamed cheese, softened
1 can chili without beans, any size
2 cups shredded cheddar or Colby-jack cheese
10-12 black olives, sliced and blotted dry
½ cup diced red and/or green bell pepper
1 bag corn chips, tortilla chips, etc.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Lightly spray a 9”x9” or 8”x8” glass pan. Spread the cream cheese on the bottom (use a flat spatula or wet your fingertips and press) to cover the bottom of the pan, spread on the chili, then cover entire top with shredded cheese. Sprinkle the olives and bell pepper pieces over the top and bake for 20 minutes, until getting bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes. Serve with the chips.

As soon as I tried this recipe, I had to include it in a book! The peanut butter cookie remains moist and tender, and no matter what flavor of jelly you use, it makes this classic combination a favorite all over again.

10 T. butter, softened
2 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 T. vanilla extract
3 eggs, room temperature
3 ¾ cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup of jelly/jam, your choice of flavor

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add the eggs until blended in. Mix in the flour and baking powder. Cover the dough and chill at least 30 minutes.

When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350º. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and place them on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make a hole: insert the spoon handle about halfway into the ball and rotate it gently to make room for the jelly. Stir the jelly to soften it, spoon it into a pastry tube fitted with a large round tip, and fill the cookies.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, just until the cookies are getting golden around the edges. Cool completely on the pans, and then let set on metal racks until the jelly is set and not sticky anymore. Makes 7-8 dozen. They freeze well stacked with wax paper between layers.