This was so fun! If you like “Heath” bars, this is a great candy for you… and it’s not hard to make, either, even for a candymaking novice like myself. These are being given as gifts to Mom’s neighbor and mail carrier, who have come to expect treats from me at this time of the year.
Ok, so it’s been almost a year since I have updated my blog… hopefully *some* of you are still out there! It’s been a crazy year for us… full of good, bad, and in between, but always busy!
I thought it would be appropriate to start back up here with a holiday treat I made tonight. Several weeks back, a friend from eGullet gave me a recipe for Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake, which has been a hit the (several) times I have made it since. Today, after reading a request from another eGulletteer for a spiced apple “bread” made with those weird, bright green or red spiced apple rings you buy in a jar at the grocery store, I remembered a cake that someone in Memphis used to make with those apple things. So… I decided to adapt Merstar’s recipe to make what I have renamed Spiced Apple Swirl Cake! To be fair, I couldn’t find those bizarre apple rings at my local Kroger, so I bought a can of apple pie filling (shhh, don’t tell!) and doused it with green food coloring to make it look “authentic.”
I might add that in order to revert to Mer’s cranberry coffee cake, you need only substitute vanilla extract for the rum extract and 1 cup fresh cranberry sauce for the apples, then omit the spices. I was pressed for time, so I just bought apple pie filling; you could easily make your own, or try using the red or green apple rings (smooshed up.) I would highly recommend that you choose EITHER red OR green, however… mixing them together will net you something that will look like your cake is sporting a center of brain matter.
Either variation (except, perhaps, for the brain variation) is suitable for dessert, snack table for a meet-n-greet meeting, or even breakfast. 
Enjoy… and happy holidays!
Here’s the recipe…
I’m not a marshmallow fan, as anyone who’s been here knows. We go through plenty of styrofoam-like blobs at our house, though, because I’m the minority in this regard and because where there’s a bonfire, there must needs be marshmallows — even I know that! I’ve wondered for a while about making them at home, and whether or not they would be more like… well, I dunno… food, perhaps? I came across a recipe and lots of encouragement on one of my favorite food forums, eGullet, and decided to give it a whirl. (more…)
Sometimes, simple is fine. I had a couple of very ripe pears, so decided to make a little treat for Cat and Tishie. I peeled and sliced them (the pears, not Cat and Tishie,) arranged them in an ovenproof skillet, and drizzed them with brown sugar, melted butter, and crumbled Amish bleu cheese. Next came a sprinkle of cracked black pepper, and into the oven under the broiler they went, just until they began to brown a little.
I burned my mouth eating mine; I couldn’t wait until they cooled.
Some days, I’m really glad I have something amounting to routines going on, because otherwise, everything would fall apart. The past few days, it’s been Sinus Hell Week. We had a small group for Spirit Circle last night, which is a good thing, because my brain was fuzzy and dinner was something done on autopilot… which was going to be my excuse, should the dessert experiment go awry, as well!
Amid searing headaches and drainage tummy aches that made me curl up in a ball on the bed until early afternoon, I tried to decide on what to make for dessert. I had several ideas I wanted to try, but in the allergic haze, I couldn’t choose. When at last I dragged myself up and into the kitchen to make a start on something, at least, I was so tired and weak and pitiful (tummy aches will do that to me, even when the headache alone won’t!) that I just didn’t even really care… I’d put them all together, and make it a “Can’t-Decide” cake!
I don’t even really go for too many sweets, but there’s no denying the appeal of doughnuts. I have no idea what possessed me to make some tonight, but Cat and Tishie were *not* complaining. Here’s the play-by-play.
