Spanish Bar Cake

A&P's Spanish Bar Cake, I fondly remember them. Sadly I haven't had one in years but I had a craving so I searched for a recipe and made an attempt at recreating it. The cake turned out okay but it wasn't the cake I remember. I didn't have cloves so I used extra allspice which could have been part of why it wasn't the same. The frosting however was nothing like the original. I'm pretty sure the frosting on the original was cream cheese but I thought I'd try the one that was with the recipe I found.

I would still consider making this again even if it's not right it's still a nice raisin cake. I would use a different frosting though.

I found the recipe here.
















A&P Spanish Bar Cake
4 cups water
2 cups raisins
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
2 eggs, beaten

Add water to raisins and simmer for 10 minutes. Add shortening and allow to cool. Sift together spices and flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Add cooled raisin mixture and blend well. Add beaten eggs and nuts and stir well. Place into a 9-by-13-inch pan in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 minutes, or until tester comes our clean. It can also be baked in a jelly roll pan for 25 minutes.
Frost when cool.

Frosting:
1/3 cup shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk or cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat till smooth and creamy.

Mac and Cheese - Fail!

I have been wanting macaroni salad for a few days and decided to make some last night. I had already started cooking the pasta when I realized I didn't have all the stuff to make it, one day perhaps I will learn to get all the ingredients together before I start cooking. So I figured since the noodles were already cooked I would make some macaroni and cheese. I had a recipe bookmarked to try and I followed the instructions except I used a cup of mozzarella and the rest cheddar. I don't know what happened but the texture of the sauce was gritty. Was it the mozzarella? Should I have cooked the flour longer? Total failure :-(

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

 Wow, I haven't posted anything here since February. I intend to try and blog more often starting with this recipe for White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies. They weren't perfect but they were very good. I used sweetened Craisins and I thought they were a little too sweet and didn't have enough flavor. I would look for unsweetened cranberries next time. I also think a little orange zest would liven these cookies up. I ate most of these my self and I'd make them again.

Here's the recipe as written at the blog linked above

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries (if using unsweetened dried cranberries increase white sugar to 1/2 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 18 cookies if using a medium sized scoop