Lindi's Famous Chocolate Sheet Cake

I have a lot of fabulous cooks in my family!  And I love each one of them and especially when they share.  Which they always do:)  My cousin Lindi makes a delicious Chocolate Sheet Cake that she is asked to bring to almost all family get togethers.  I caught her the other day coming out of church and asked for this recipe.  And of course she obliged.  And of course I ran right home and made it.  The kids looked at it with longing eyes thinking it was being made for a specific purpose, but no.  It was for their delight and pleasure.  Actually my delight and pleasure, but I shared.

It's a simple recipe, but the results are fantastic.  I think it actually tastes better the next day.  It's fantastic for breakfast:)

Lindi's Famous Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 c. water

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

.

Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa

4-6 T. milk

2 to 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Preparation:

Cake

Grease and flour a 15X10X1-inch silver cookie sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup butter, 1/4 cup cocoa, and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. With an electric hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat chocolate mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, 1/2 cup of buttermilk, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in a 350° oven about 22 to 25 minutes for the 15X10-inch pan or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Pour warm chocolate frosting over the warm cake, spreading evenly. Place cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly before cutting. 

Frosting:

In a medium saucepan combine 1/2 cup butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, and 4-6 tablespoons milk. Bring to a boil, stirring, over medium heat. Remove from heat; add 2 cups confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add more confectioners' sugar or a little milk or more milk, if needed, for a spreadable frosting. Spread the warm frosting over the cake.

Sprinkle 1/2 c. chopped nuts over 1/2 of the frosted sheet cake. 

My Cousin's Are Amazing Cooks

Every Aug. my granny has a little gathering of grandchildren at her pool for the annual Cousin Party.  Doesn't every kid in the world love their cousins to death?  I was telling someone the other day that I have taken my kids on some pretty fantastic trips, but their favorite trips always seem to involve cousins!  There are always 2 big cousin trips each summer and they always involve camping, dirt, bears, Uncle Dave's Hola song, and lots of late nights.  If you ask my kids what they did this summer it will be all about the Garner Reunion with the cousins, and the Clawson Reunion with the cousins.  Are you sensing a common thread here?

Well cousins are amazing.  They teach you all sorts of things.  I learned how to do the "lollipop pop" with my fingers from my cousins and the song "Playing With the Queen Of Hearts".  I learned how to do a 1 1/2 flip off the diving board with my cousin and how to make Cheeser's and Tuna Patties.

So our cousin party last week was dang fun.  Not everyone could attend, so we gossiped about those not there. (Just kidding Emmi!) But I soon realized that I come from a family of amazing cooks.  Grams bought pizza and everyone was asked to bring a little something.  I brought a watermelon-what a cop out, but everyone else hit homeruns!   I walked back to my car with a couple new recipes for my file.  I'll be making both real soon.   I hope you enjoy them- I know I enjoyed every minute being with my cousins!  We need to do that a  little more often.  Thanks Granny for the good time!

Angie's Fruit Salsa

1 cup grapes

1 lb. strawberries

2 Granny Smith Apples w/skin on

3 Pink Lady or Fuji Apples w/skin 

1 orange-juiced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

4 Kiwi

1/2 cup jam-strawberry

Angie took all the fruit and buzzed it in a food processor.  She left it a little chunky, but not too much.  The flavor is dang good.   

Tortilla chips: Take flour tortillas and spray them with pam or butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Cut into wedges and bake @385 until golden brown.  Serve the salsa with the cinnamon sugar chips.  It was divine, and beautiful!

Pooh Cookies

I think these cookies may be one of my favorite things.  I have a cousin that as a kid I absolutely adored.  I still love her!  She was 5 years older than me, but she still played with me and my sister and her two little sisters every day in the summer when we were kids.  We would canoe in my grandpa's pond, ride bikes on the "Roller Coaster", take long walks to the Love Bridge where we would write the name of the boys we loved,   climb every tree at the family park, and run around without combing our hair all summer long.   I learned from my cousin that lemons and rhubarb were delicious with salt, and every Fri. night we'd watch Solid Gold, Love Boat and then scare ourselves to death watching Fantasy Island.   I had the best growing up.

A few of my all time favorite foods like cheesers, and tuna patties were introduces to me by this cousin.  But the one food that always brings a smile to every one's face is Pooh Cookies.  I realize that technically these cookies should be called No Bake cookies, but that is just boring.  They taste 10 times better if you call them Pooh Cookies.   It makes you feel a little scandalous.   All of a sudden plain becomes extra ordinary.  I made these cookies for some Achievement Day girls last week, and the name brought smiles and giggles to every face.  Shock someone the next time you make these cookies.  Call them what you know you've been wanting to call them forever, but you just felt a little too modest, and refined.  Pooh Cookies are perfect!  Thanks Netty and I love you're stinking guts!!  PS you better come to the family reunion!!  I've missed you!

Pooh Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/4 c. corn syrup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cocoa

pinch salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1 c. coconut

In large saucepan, combine sugar, milk, cocoa, salt, and butter and mix well. Bring to a boil and wash down the sides of your pan to get all the sugar crystals.  Stir mixture and bring it to a boil that can't be stirred down for 1 minute. Then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add oatmeal and mix well. Do not use regular or instant oatmeal; quick-cooking oatmeal is essential to the success of this recipe.

Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to let the oatmeal absorb some of the liquid.

Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment lined baking sheets or Silpat sheets. Let cool until you can touch the mixture; then reshape the cookies to make them more a ball shape if you want. Let cool completely; store at room temperature. You can also pour this mixture into a 9" square pan that has been greased with unsalted butter, let cool, then cut into squares.