Peaches and Cream Cake

This recipe is one of those that’s been around forever under one name or another. It was given to me by one of the nurses at work. She’s been making it for years and she said it’s always a hit at her house. I’m glad I got the recipe from her because it was a hit with my family, too, though I did tweak it a little (as always). I increased the peaches, cut down on the sugar, and added vanilla extract. I can tell it’s going to become a favorite at our family get-togethers and at potlucks, too. This one is a definite keeper!

PEACHES AND CREAM CAKE

• 1½ cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 pkgs. (3.4 oz. each) cook & serve vanilla pudding (do not use instant)
• 1 cup milk
• 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 large (29 oz. each) cans sliced peaches
• 2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• ¾ cup sugar
• 6 Tbsp. peach syrup from can
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• cinnamon-sugar, for sprinkling on top (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×13 pyrex glass baking dish.
2. Drain both cans of peaches, reserving 6 tablespoons of syrup for later.
3. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla puddings together.
4. Add milk, butter, and eggs.
5. Beat together with an electric mixer, about 3-4 minutes.
6. Spread in prepared baking dish.
7. Arrange peach slices to cover top of batter.
8. Beat cream cheese in a bowl until smooth.
9. Add sugar, peach syrup, and vanilla, and beat until well-combined.
10. Spoon over peaches, then smooth with a spatula.
11. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over cream cheese mixture.
12. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

NOTE:  To make cinnamon sugar, the ratio is 1/4 cup sugar to 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Store in an airtight container. For this recipe, you’ll probably only sprinkle about a couple of tablespoons or so over the top.

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Halfway There Monkey Bread

The first time I ever heard of monkey bread was from one of our tenants. We had rented out our condo to a couple with a young son. Their first year, I stopped by to drop off a Christmas present for them and commented on how good the place smelled. She told me she had baked some monkey bread earlier. I’d never heard of monkey bread and asked her what it was and she explained to me how she made it using refrigerated biscuit dough.

It sounded so simple and I knew I had biscuit dough in the fridge back at home so I decided to try making monkey bread the way I thought she had explained it to me. The kids loved it! So I made it for them that way every time.

It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned I had evidently remembered only the first half of what she told me! Hence the name “Halfway There Monkey Bread.” Apparently, you were supposed to coat the raw dough with cinnamon sugar, put it in a bundt pan, make a sort of sauce that you poured over it, and then bake it. Sheesh! My take-away from her explanation was totally off. Someday, I’ll post a recipe for “real” monkey bread here. For now, this recipe is so good and the kids still love it so much that I continue to make it for them this way. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

HALFWAY THERE MONKEY BREAD

• 1 can (8 biscuits) refrigerated biscuit dough
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place butter in a rectangular baking pan and put it in the oven to melt the butter. Remove it when the butter is melted.
3. Tear each biscuit into quarters and roll each quarter into a ball.
4. Drop each ball in the melted butter and roll it around so it’s completely coated.
5. Bake the buttered biscuit balls for 12-15 minutes.
6. While biscuit balls are baking, place sugar and cinnamon in an extra-large plastic tub with a lid or in a gallon-size ziploc bag and shake to combine well.
7. When biscuits balls are done, transfer them into the tub with the cinnamon-sugar.
8. Close lid tightly and shake with all you’ve got till each ball is coated with cinnamon-sugar.
9. Pour into a serving bowl and serve warm with a glass of cold milk. Yum!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

I saw a recipe for these roll-ups in a magazine years ago. I don’t remember which magazine it was, but I always remembered them and had it in the back of my mind to try them some day. Well, my Mom was here to visit and I wanted to fix her a cup of coffee and an afternoon snack to go with it so I thought it would be good to try making them today. I couldn’t find the recipe I copied down all those years ago, but I had a general idea of what to do. They turned out really yummy! Definitely one for the family favorite archives!

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE ROLLUPS

• 1 loaf white bread
• 1 pkg. (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup melted butter or margarine (add more as needed)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to  350ºF.
2. Cut crusts off bread and save for later use. (I love making bread pudding with them.)
3. Blend cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth.
4. Spread a little cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.
5. Roll each slice into a log, pressing ends lightly to seal.
6. Pour melted butter into a pie plate.
7. In a second pie plate, combine 1 cup sugar and cinnamon.
8. Roll each log in butter, then in cinnamon-sugar.
9. Arrange on baking sheet.
10. Bake for 16-19 minutes or until light brown.