Scotch-a-roos

This is an interesting recipe because I called Baking Diva Barb to get it. She read it to me over the phone. Some time later when we were in Kitchen Stadium and I was making Scotch-a-roos she asked me why I put the peanut butter in with the sugar and corn syrup to boil. I told her it was because she told me too. She said that she didn't tell me to do it that way. A happy accident, but we think they have a much better texture when they are put together this way.

Scotch-a-roos (Helen’s version)

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 1/3 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter. Bring to a boil. Pour over Rice Krispies in a large bowl and mix. Put in a buttered 13” x 9” pan. Melt butterscotch and chocolate chips in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Spread the melted chips over the Rice Krispy bars and let them cool.

Gerry Schaal's Gingersnaps

Sam is in Kitchen Stadium as we speak stirring up a batch of his Mom's famous Gingersnaps. My sister, Barb, and I call my kitchen 'Kitchen Stadium' when we are doing marathon baking projects. Some of our best times together have been spending time in Kitchen Stadium baking round-the-clock to get ready for some of the big Bach family parties. Our creations are so successful that sometimes we have to make ourselves some more when we get home because everybody enjoyed them 'so quickly'. In the last 24 hours Sam and I have made Chocolate Snappers, Choclate Chip Cookies, Scotch-a-roos, and now Gingersnaps. We were assigned to bring the sweets to a party and we are bringing them.

Gerry Schaal's Gingersnaps

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine

1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup oil
¼ cup molasses
1 egg

Add
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg I talked to Gerry and she said pinch equals about 1/8 teaspoon.
Pinch allspice
Pinch salt

Knead well. Make dough balls and roll them in sugar. Press them down with a fork. Makes about 45 cookies. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes at 3750

Chocolate Snappers

Chocolate Snappers

Sam made these today. This is a recipe that he makes better than I do. I did test a few to make sure that it is still true. The house has the heavenly fragrance of warm chocolate cinnamon. This recipe came from Baking Diva Barb’s high school friend Patty Moore and has been a family favorite since she got it in the 1970s.

1 ¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup corn syrup
½ cup cocoa

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all the ingredients together. Make into tablespoon-sized balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (I recommend that you use baking parchment) and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to stand on baking sheet a few minutes before you move them off to a cooling rack. Makes 3 dozen cookies. This recipe doubles well.

Helen's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

To me, food is like wine and music. You get the initial flavor when you first taste it, then you feel the texture and full flavor, and finally you get the finish, the final notes of flavor. I really liked Harriet Church's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake, but I could taste the oil in it. I am of the school that once you use butter you can't go back. For the love of scientific experimentation, I decided to substitute the oil with butter. The texture came out a little heavier but the taste is divine. I frosted it with my Chocolate Butterscotch Pan Frosting. I didn't post a picture. It looks very much like the Deep Dark Cohcolate Cake except for being a little denser and darker.

Helen's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S European Style Cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup (1 stick) melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 3500F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. In a large mixer bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, butter and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes. Remove from mixer; stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 8 to 10 servings.

Chcoclate Butterscotch Pan Frosting

Since it is too cold and wet to play out in the garden I have been playing the the kitchen. I call it scientific experimentation. Sam always agrees to test my 'experiments' to further scientific advancement. I love chocolate. He loves butterscotch. Harriet Church's Chocolate Pan Frosting has an exquisite taste and fudge-like consistency. I decided to try to 'kick it up a notch' so I doubled the cocoa and added a cup of Nestles Butterscotch chips with marvelous results. You could put this stuff in a pan alone as fudge but it takes a great chocolate cake and knocks it off the charts. I love this stuff!

Chocolate Butterscotch Pan Frosting
Yield: Frosting for (13 x 9 x 2 cake)

6 tablespoons butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup butterscotch chips
3 to 3 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat, 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder, milk and butterscotch chips. Cook another minute, stirring, until mixture thickens and just begins to come to a boil. Remove pan from heat. Stir in vanilla and 2 cups of powdered sugar. Stir until you have a smooth mixture with a nice gloss. Then more powdered sugar and milk if needed, until frosting is thickened and smooth and the consistency of hot fudge sauce. Ladle warm frosting liberally over cooled cake. Frosting will harden as it cools. Work quickly; this frosting goes on best while still warm.

Gingerbread Liberation Army - The GLA

You were probably wondering who those Gingerbread People were that were holding up the cookbook to show Grandma Bach's handwritten chocolate cake recipe. These little guys occupy a place of honor on my cookbook and recipe shelves. They are not holiday decorations. They are there all year. My sisters and I have a thing we call "when bad mail happens to good people" which usually means that one of us is sending a prank to another sister. I liked my GLA guys so much that I thought that my sister should also have a set. I boxed them up and sent them off to her with the letter below.

September 30, 2003

From: GLA HQ

To: Baking Diva Barb

Dear Barbara:

Your activities have been monitored closely for the past 3 years. You have gained a worldwide reputation as “The Baking Diva”. Our organization has been exploring the possibilities of placing a cell in the Twin Cities area. With your renowned reputation we feel your apartment is the perfect cover story location for our activities. The advance scouts are arriving in this package. You will recognize them as “your peeps.” Remember that the oven, freezer, and sink are off limits to them and should only be used if your apartment (our cell) is being attacked by counterinsurgents. Do not discuss this correspondence with anyone or the oven, freezer, or sink will not be off limits to you . . . .


Tast E. Cooke
Supreme Commander
Gingerbread People Liberation Army. (GLA)

Harriet Church’s Chocolate Pan Frosting

Yield: Frosting for (2-layer cake)

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup whole milk
5 to 5 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat, 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder and milk. Cook another minute, stirring, until mixture thickens and just begins to come to a boil. Remove pan from heat. Stir in vanilla and 5 cups of powdered sugar, then more if needed, until frosting is thickened and smooth and the consistency of hot fudge sauce.

Ladle warm frosting liberally over cooled cake. Frosting will harden as it cools. Work quickly; this frosting goes on best while still warm.

Per serving (based on 16 servings): 257 calories; 9g fat (32 % of calories from fat); 5.5g saturated fat; 23mg cholesterol; 1g protein; 43g carbohydrate; 41g sugar; 1g fiber; 5mg sodium; 15mg calcium; 55mg potassium.

This recipe is easy to make. I put on the Deep Dark Chocolate Cake. You can see the picutres there. It has a nice gloss.