Dulcie Flynn — the more grounded of the Flynn Twins — shows off her baking talents at The Hand of Fate Coffee Emporium in Chance, Colorado. In the first book – TAKE A CHANCE – her featured dish was Caramel Apple Bread. Here’s the recipe for that:
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup pecans, divided
For the caramel sauce:
¼ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup butter
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the sour cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla on low speed for a couple of minutes until well blended. Stop the mixer and then add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Continue to beat on low until well combined.
Fold the apples and half the nuts into the batter. Transfer the batter into the greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on top and then press them lightly into the batter. Bake for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. [In high altitudes, you’ll need to bake a little longer].
Cool in the loaf pan for about 20-30 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Caramel sauce:
In a small sauce pan, place the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer for about one minute, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and then drizzle sauce over the bread. Cool completely.
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In SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE, Dulcie is serving up Fresh Baked Cherry Cobbler. Check back for the recipe closer to release time…
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HOLIDAY RECIPES – from the November 2008 contest.
Thanks to ALL the wonderful readers who shared their favorite recipes! Some were even nice enough to share TWO recipes!!
Aunt Virgie’s Pecan Molasses Pie – Melissa Mayhue
Growing up in Texas, pecans were as much a part of what we ate as pinto beans and fried potatoes! It just wasn’t Thanksgiving without the pecan pie! This is an old family recipe. My mother got it from my father’s older sister and, believe me, it is wonderful!
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown Karo syrup
1 cup pecans
1 unbaked pie crust
Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs, flour, salt, vanilla and syrup. Stir well. Add pecans. Pour into crust and bake
1 hour in 350 degree oven.
Corn Casserole – Racheal Roberts
This was my mother in law’s recipe and we enjoyed it often. My mother in law passed away in 2003 – but I still make this dish during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a family favorite.
2 Cans Cream Style Corn
1 package Mexican Cornbread Mix
1 small jar diced Pimento
1/2 – 3/4 cup oil
1 c grated cheese
1 small can green chili’s
1 egg beaten
1 small onion
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Mix all ingredients together and pour in to dish. Back about 45 minutes until firm and brown on top.
Pistachio Pudding – Racheal Roberts
This was my grandmother’s salad. I LOVED IT! After she passed away, I told my twin sister it was now her job to make sure it was served at each holiday meal. And it is! At Easter, you can buy the pastel colored miniature marshmallows – they make it look very SPRING-like!
1 package Pistachio Pudding mix
16 oz crushed pineapple (do not drain)
1 c chopped nuts
1 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
18 maraschino cherries
9 oz cool whip
Mix all ingredients together. Chill overnight.
Easy Super-Bowl Snack Recipe – Deanna Roy
1 lb Velveeta cheese
1 lb hamburger
1 can of Rotel Diced tomatoes and green chili’s
Fry ground beef in a frying pan until fully cooked. Drain grease. In a med-large pot, slice your cheese, drain juice from your can of tomato’s and green chili and add your hamburger and simmer over stove-top until cheese is fully melted.
Get your Tostitos dip chips and you have a super-bowl snack for everyone.
Grilled Banana S’Mores
4 Medium Bananas, peeled and slices in half lengthwise
8 Cinnamon (or whatever you prefer) Graham Crackers, broken in half
2 Cups of Marshmallows
2 or so chocolate bars.
Spray a cold grill rack with non stick spray and preheat to medium. Grill bananas, uncovered, until golden brown. Slice pieces to easily fit on the graham crackers.
Lay chocolate on Graham Cracker. Use grill to roast a marshmallow. Quickly put the marshmallow on top of the chocolate. Cover marshmallow with grilled bananas. Place top Graham cracker. Serve Immediately.
Sauté of Zucchini and Yellow Squash – Justine Hardy
2 Medium Zucchini
2 medium Squash
3 tbsp. of Olive oil
1/2 tsp. of salt
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 tsp. minced marjoram
1 tsp. fresh rosmary leaves
2 tsp. minced fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
Cut Zucchini and Squash in half crosswise, cut those in half again and cut into thin strips.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-to-high heat. Cook Zucchini and Squash until they brown around the edges. Add remaining ingredients and stir together. Serve Immediately.
Potato Candy – Deb Malsberry (My Mom use to make it for us kids each year.)
1/4 boiled potato, mashed
powdered sugar
peanut butter
food coloring
Mash the potato and add the food coloring. Then add powdered sugar til it becomes a dough you can roll out. Roll out the dough and spread with peanut butter. Roll the dough into a log and slice into 1/4 inch pieces. You will be suprised just how much this makes!
Biscotti – Shane Zajac
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Add chocolate chips and mix well.
Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.
Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.
The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.
Frozen Christmas Dessert Recipe – Kimmy Lane
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
1 quart lime sherbet
While whipping the cream, remove sherbet from freezer. In a large mixing bowl whip the cream until stiff. Add the powdered sugar and beat one minute longer. Fold in the chopped nuts and cherries. Spread one half of mixture into bottom of a ring mold. Layer with the sherbet and remaining whipped cream mixture. Place your Christmas dessert recipe into the freezer until frozen and ready to serve.
Apple Dip – Cathie Morton
1 (8 ounce) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1/4 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 sliced apples
Combine all ingredients, except apples, in a large bowl, mixing with a hand mixer until smooth. Serve immediately or chill, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Use sliced apples for dipping.
Whipped Shortbread – Peggy Cooper
1 lb. of butter
1 cup sifted icing sugar
1/2 cup sifted corn starch
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a mixer, whip butter until smooth, add sifted icing sugar, mix, add sifted corn starch, mix, add sifted flour 1 cup at a time, mix and add vanilla. Mix at a high speed (whipping speed) until all well mixed. Spoon on ungreased cookie sheet using a mellon baller ( or teaspoon if no baller.)
Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes. Use your own judgement for your own oven.
Should make about 4 to 8 dozen, depends what you use to scoop them on pan with and how big you make them.
Super Bowl Dip – Ginny Page
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts boiled, drained and shredded or cut in bite size pieces
2 8oz. pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup Texas Pete hot sauce
Heat all together on stove until creamy and bubbly. Serve with tostitos. OK to refrigerate but reheat in microwave or on stove.
Avocado Pie – Caroline Buanteo
2-Ripe Avocados
2-tablespoons of Lemon Juice
1-packet of dry ranch dressing
1/2-cup of mayonnaise
1/2-cup of sour cream
1/2-jar of salsa
1-cup of shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/4-cup of chopped cilantro
Cut avocados in half and scoop out avocados into a bowl. Mash avocados, mix in lemon juice and ranch dressing set aside.
In another bowl mix together the mayo and sour cream set side.
In a pie plate 8″ spread avocado mixture at the bottom. Top with mayo mix. Spread salsa on top of mayo mix. Sprinkle some cilantro all over the salsa and then the shredded jack cheese. Chill in fridge for an hour and enjoy with tortilla chips.
Meat Dish – Joy Isley
Place a round steak in a glass baking dish and pour over it:
1 can Campbell’s Onion Soup
1 can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 can water
Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until fork tender. Serve over cooked rice. Do Not substitute regular mushroom soup for the golden mushroom.
Note from Melissa: I actually tried this. Mmmmmm…. I used mashed potatoes instead of rice. [You know…more calories!] Thanks, Joy… great recipe!