Tag: Sugar

You should bake this

I have it on good authority (my mom) that this is one of the best cakes you will ever bake.  She has just baked it and called me to tell me to bake it right away.  I have one in the oven, because, as we all know, I’m a very obedient daughter.  Of course I hung up the phone and started mixing! Mama said to!

I’m baking 2 small loaf cakes because I’m taking one to a friend who just had surgery. Everyone knows cake is the best medicine when you are recovering from surgery.  That, and my great-grandma’s sausage-rice casserole.  That’ll cure anything that’s wrong with you.

Brown sugar cake

Now that I've baked the cake and had a teensy-tiny sample, I can tell you it is soooo good. There's a rich, buttery taste to it.  I am thinking it would be great served on a cool fall morning with some tea or coffee.

Next time I make it I may add some diced apple and/or cinnamon.

But it is definitely worth a try.

Brown Sugar Cake

  • 1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
  • 1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2/3 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
  • 2/3 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup  Oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup  chopped PLANTERS Pecans
  • 2 tsp. Powdered sugar
  1.  HEAT oven to 350ºF.
  2. BEAT first 6 ingredients with mixer 3 min. or until well blended. Add brown sugar and nuts; mix well.
  3. POUR into 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray.
  4. BAKE 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto wire rack. Remove pan; cool cake completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

I also added about 2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar to the cake pan after I’d sprayed it with non-stick spray and before I poured the cake in. Next time, I may get crazy and add some to the cake, too.

*Click on the cake name to get a printable copy of the recipe. 🙂

Oh, and I'll be sitting over there in the corner in a diabetic coma after my little taste. If you need me, just nudge me.

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What do monkeys eat for breakfast?

Have you ever wondered what monkeys eat for breakfast?

I don’t mean the monkeys you’ll find at the zoo.

I mean the monkeys you’ll find if you visit my house!

Curious?

Well, most, days, the monkeys have exciting things like Carnation Instant Breakfast served with side of toast or pop tarts.

But on Fridays, we mix things up a bit. SuperMan is off on Fridays, so I have a little more time in the mornings. Less rush-rush-rush and more nurture-the-family time.

So, I make things like this

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Yep, you guessed it!

Monkey Bread!

The kids were not sure they were going to like it – Little Bit was afraid there were monkeys in the bread. Big Girl said it didn’t sound good.

But they LOVED it.

And SuperMan (after telling me I was ruining his diet) ate some, too.

Even Mr. Droopy-Pants had a taste.

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And I sent them all away for the day, full of sugar and carbs and bouncing off the walls.

I’m sure their teachers appreciated it.

I’m such a good mom.

If you’d like to indulge in a little sugary goodness one morning, here’s the recipe.  I am most definitely not a morning person and this wasn’t painful to make, even though it was five-stinkin’-thirty in the morning.  I’ll do it again for sure. It was worth the effort.

Monkey Bread

It’s what monkeys eat for breakfast!

2 packages Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
1 cup sugar (I used 1/4 c Splenda 1/2 c sugar)
2 tbs ground cinnamon (I just dump a bunch in)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup, packed, brown sugar (I used 1/2 c Splenda/brown sugar blend)
1 tsp vanilla

OPTIONAL:
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c raisins
(the monkeys at my house don’t like raisins or walnuts)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease 9 or 10 inch tube/Bundt pan.
    Note: if you use a tube pan with a removable bottom, put a cookie sheet on the oven rack below it to catch any drips of the caramel sauce that may seep through and be careful when you dump the bread from the pan.
  3. In a gallon zip lock bag, mix the sugar & cinnamon.
  4. Cut the biscuits into quarters and drop them into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
    (I cut mine into sixths because the Grands are such big biscuits)
  5. Shake to coat and then drop the coated biscuit pieces into the tube pan.
  6. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in the pan.
    If you are using nuts/raisins, don’t forget to sprinkle them in as you are adding the biscuits to the pan.
  7. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together.
  8. Add the vanilla.
  9. Let it simmer for about a minute.
  10. Pour over the biscuits.
  11. Bake at 350 for 35 – 40 minutes.
  12. When you take the bread out of the pan, let is sit for a few minutes to allow the caramel to set.
  13. Turn out onto a large plate and let your hungry monkeys pull it apart (carefully) and enjoy!

Print the recipe here