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In Sweet Gesture, Readers Share Cookies And Cake

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By JEFF HOUCK, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 28, 2007

Millie Cooper of Land O' Lakes wrote last week that she wanted to make a treat that had 6 cups of Rice Krispies, peanut butter, syrup and/or sugar and then was coated with melted chocolate chips. She couldn't recall the name.

Tammy Saxe sent a Chocolate Scotcheroo recipe she found on AllRecipes.com. Phyllis Lines of Tampa, Claudine Jenkins of Brandon and Barbara Reese of Sun City Center e-mailed similar recipes.

G. Murphy had written in search of a Tribune oatmeal cake recipe that ran in the 1970s or '80s. The cake came with a recipe for icing that contained brown sugar.

Betty Murdock of Lake Placid sent a recipe. "I got it out of a small-town newspaper in Marcellus, Mich., about 10 years ago. It has been very popular with friends and family."

Linda Wiersum of Bartow, Mary Repetto of Brooksville, Phyllis Burroughs of Spring Hill, Helen Farrar of Ridge Manor, Vivian Fessenden of Lutz and Beth Wyckoff in Plant City sent in similar versions.

Marlene Quigley sent one as well that her sister makes that was identical, except that it was called Porridge Cake. Gene Chaltry, who spends most of the year motoring around the country with her husband in a recreational vehicle, sent a version from their current parking place in Avon Park.
Recipe Requests
Carolyn Vlasic of Riverview writes, "Christmas is around the corner and I decided that I wanted to bake cookies for friends. I have a cookie press that makes those cute, little, shaped butter cookies that kids like to cover with colored sugar. I'm sure it belonged to my grandmother at one time, but I haven't used it for anything except to pipe cheese spread into celery for 40 years. It seems that I remember as a child that there was a recipe with it for making the cookie dough. Of course, I no longer have the recipe. Do any of your readers have that recipe?"

Gertrude McWilliams in Valrico writes, "I hope one of your readers has the recipe for Dilly Bread." The recipe she wants does not have yeast in it and is just mixed and baked, with no kneading or only minimal rising.

In exchange, McWilliams sent a Corned Beef Party Loaf recipe she clipped from The Boston Globe in the early 1960s that "is great for potlucks." It's for Pat Calafell of Tampa, who wanted a Texas brisket recipe.

CHOCOLATE SCOTCHEROOS

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and corn syrup, and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter. Mix in the rice cereal until evenly coated. Press the mixture into the prepared pan.

In a glass bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips, stirring occasionally until smooth and well-blended. Spread over the top of the bars. Chill until set, then cut into bars.
OATMEAL CAKE
1 cup oatmeal

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:

6 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup coconut

Combine oatmeal and water and set aside to cool. Mix sugars oil, cinnamon, eggs, vanilla and salt. Blend into the oatmeal. Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix and put into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

For topping: Mix butter and sugar together until smooth. Add vanilla and then milk. When smooth, add nuts and coconut. Spread over cake. Put under broiler until coconut is toasted but not burned.

Note: It is not necessary to cool the cake before putting on the topping.

CORNED BEEF PARTY LOAF

1 can corned beef, chilled

2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (see note)

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cups diced celery

2 packages lemon gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 cup low-fat mayonnaise

1 teaspoon horseradish

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

Chop corned beef and eggs. Add chopped onion and celery, and lightly stir. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, and pour over mixture. Lastly, mix together mayonnaise, horseradish and vinegar; add to corned beef-egg mixture and mix again. Put into 7-by-9-inch glass pan or bread loaf pan, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, use spatula to loosen sides, then turn upside down on a bed of lettuce.

Note: I also slice one of the eggs and lay several slices on bottom of the pan for decoration before pouring mixture over it; the rest of the eggs are added to the mixture. Also, I usually place grape tomatoes, olives and slices of red pepper around the loaf on top of the lettuce for decoration.

Looking for a recipe? Have one to share? Write to Jeff Houck, The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 191, Tampa FL 33601, or jhouck@tampatrib.com. Recipes are not tested.

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