There is nothing better than a pan of cinnamon rolls hot from the oven.  There is also nothing that is more of a pain in the patootie to make from scratch than a pan of cinnamon rolls.

These yummy pull aparts are a variation of the famous monkey bread that has been around for years.  It was always baked in a bundt or angel food pan and it was really difficult to get cooked in the center without having the edges burn.  I had many doughy centers in the past with those cinnamon pull aparts and knew there had to be a better way.

Well there is!  Forget the bundt pan forget the angel food pan and bake them in a 9x13 pan.  Pure genius. These are so easy, so gooey, so good, grab the kids, have them help and you will have a pan of rolls to put in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning.

Ingredients:

24 Rhodes White Dinner Rolls, dough thawed to room temperature
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1.5 sticks butter, melted
1.5 Tbsp cinnamon

 Icing:

Sift powdered sugar, stir in cream, and vanilla, then drizzle over pan of inverted hot rolls.

 1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Steps:

Cut each roll in half with a pair of kitchen shears. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. If the rolls are still partially frozen I've found they're easier to cut.

Roll each roll piece first in butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Place pieces, touching,  in a 9x 13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Just put remainder of the pieces on top to form an additional layer.  Pour remaining butter and sugar over the top of the rolls. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap.

Let rise for 30 minutes.  I don't do this, I put in the oven overnight to bake the next morning.

This famous recipe has 685,000+ views on Jan CAN Cook, so I thought it should be revisited.  It's a wonderful recipe that I first posted in 2009.  Here it is once again in it's entirety.

Heads up coconut lovers, this pie is amazing, totally decadent, and the coconut crust is absolutely awesome.  The crust takes it from ordinary to sublime.

Back in August of 2002, I emailed the L.A. Food Times regarding a recipe that I had gotten from their S.O.S. site and lost.  We made it several times and it was one of those special to-die-for recipes, so I was not a happy camper when I misplaced the recipe.

After writing to them, they reposted the recipe for me in their food column, I came across it again today and wanted to put it on Jan CAN Cook before I lost it again.  If you want a truly wonderful dessert, forget about the calories and make this.  It’s really special.

~ jan

DEAR SOS: About five or six years ago you printed a recipe for Lawry's Coconut Pie. It had a coconut crust and was to die for. 

JAN 

DEAR JAN: This is a great pie for those who fail at making pie crusts. This crust is really simple, consisting of melted butter and coconut pressed into a pie plate. 

Lawry's Coconut Banana Cream Pie 

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours chilling 

COCONUT PIE SHELL 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, plus more for pie plate 
3 cups sweetened flake coconut 

Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. 

Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the coconut flakes, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. They should be golden brown. Press the coconut firmly and evenly in the pan to form a shell. Chill the crust 30 minutes before filling. 

PIE FILLING 

4 egg yolks 

3/4 cup sugar, divided 

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup flour 

3 cups half-and-half, divided 

Yellow food coloring 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 bananas 

1 cup whipping cream 

1 tablespoon powdered sugar 

Combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cornstarch, salt and flour in a small bowl. Gradually add 1 cup of the half-and-half. 

Combine the remaining 2 cups half-and-half and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a 3-quart saucepan and bring just to boil over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook and stir until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens, about 1 minute. 

Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 drops of food coloring and the vanilla. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool. 

Slice the bananas into the pie shell. Pour the filling into the shell. 

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon in dollops or pipe with a pastry bag around the edge of the pie. Chill 2 hours before slicing. 

6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 563 calories; 427 mg sodium; 182 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.62 grams fiber.

Update:  So many of you have found your way to this recipe via Pinterest, I appreciate all of the Pins, and hope you all enjoy this incredible pie.  I've received a few emails from people saying it was hard to cut through the crust, the only thing I can think of is that perhaps you are pressing the coconut into the pie pan, too firmly.  The majority of people seem to have no trouble with this, so I hope bit of information helps others who are going to bake this wonderful pie.  The response to it has been so positive, this is truly a one of a kind recipe.

 Arriving at Donatelli’s in White Bear Lake, patrons are greeted by 41 years of rich history. You can see it on the walls, decorated with images of the Pink Panther (or the Italian Panther as he is referred to at Donatelli’s), on the faces on the longtime staff and in the intimate booths—tucked snugly against the walls, dimmed lights hanging over them to create the mood. 

Most of us can't visit this legendary restaurant, but what we can do is duplicate their famous meat sauce in our own kitchen.

I made this recipe for Christmas 2021 and it was so good that I can't make it again.  Seriously, I have no willpower, ZERO willpower, I could eat the entire batch in a day, yes, it's that good!

I've struggled forever, trying to find the perfect peanut butter fudge recipe, and The View From Great Island, a wonderful blog site that I visit often, nailed it.  It's just perfection, don't change a thing, this will be your forever peanut fudge recipe, I promise it will.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup creamy peanut butter, I use Jif. Note: I do not recommend using 'natural' peanut butter.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb confectioner's sugar, about 3 1/2 cups

Directions

Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Note: you can use a 9×9 pan, or even a loaf pan.

Using a heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter and peanut butter together over medium heat. Stir constantly to get the mixture well combined.

Turn the heat down to low and stir in the vanilla and salt.

Fold in the sugar with a silicone spatula or spoon. Make sure to get all the sugar incorporated and the fudge nice and smooth. The low heat will help this process.

When the fudge is smooth transfer to your prepared pan and spread out evenly with an offset spatula.

Let chill for at least 2 hours before slicing into small squares. If you have lined your pan with parchment paper or foil you can gently lift it out for neater slicing.

Fudge can be stored at room temperature, or in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.

Fried chicken legs without the guilt?  Bring it on...

I make these often and they're seriously yummy, easy to prepare with ingredients you have in your kitchen, well, maybe you don't have smoked paprika, it's good stuff, just put it on your grocery list 😀 

 

I've been making Texas Sheet Cake since the 70's when my mother gave me the recipe because all of her friends were making it and raving about it.  Well, our family loved it too and even now, it's our favorite, and one of the easiest cakes to make, no mixer required.

When Pioneer Woman started talking about it, I was just shaking my head, thinking, umhmmmm, I know all about this, I could recite the recipe by heart.  So naturally I had to compare her recipe with mine, and here's how it stacks up. 

• Bake in a 9x13 pan, because we like thick cake, not thin.  It takes it 30-35 minutes to bake
• Use a whisk to combine ingredients, easier than stirring and does a thorough job
• The more chocolate the better,  so I increased the cocoa to 6 tablespoons in the cake
• I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• I also add more pecans, a lot more to the frosting, at least a cup.  If you're going to make this, make it over the top delicious by being generous with your nuts. 
• Use an entire box of sifted powdered sugar 
• Decrease the vanilla to 1 teaspoon
• Add 1 cup of coconut to the frosting

Her recipe is below, the tweaks above is how I've made it forever.

 

If there is one cake that you should make in your lifetime, this is it!  Ina Garten's famous Beatty's Chocolate Cake dates back to 2006.  It's worth the trouble, the flavors are amazing, the hint of mocha just take it over the top.  It’s very moist without being dense or heavy, and has just the right balance of sweetness with rich chocolate flavor. I can see why this is a beloved recipe, 

What a great cake to make for a special occasion, a birthday, a holiday or just because you want to bake something amazing...

Recipe reprinted from Ina Garten's Website
Copyright 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved

 

Some recipes are just perfection, and this brownie recipe from Katherine Hepburn, first published in  the August edition of Better Homes and Gardens is perfection...

Since then it has been consistently a favorite of food editors, bloggers, cooks and kids, too, because it is so simple to make.

But first, a little trivia about the great lady herself, often imitated but never duplicated, Katherine Hepburn...

Fact 1
Katharine Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Fact 2
Katharine loved to play tennis and golf and was also an amateur artist. Some of her oil paintings were auctioned off in 2004.

Fact 3
Headstrong and spirited, Hepburn refused to conform to society’s expectations of women and she did whatever she thought was right.

Fact 4

This talented performer has won four academy awards for best actress in a film. Her first award was for her role in Morning Glory in 1933. It would take another 34 years before she would win another Academy award. The other movies for which she won Oscar awards as best actress were “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”, “On Golden Pond” and “The Lion In Winter”.

Fact 5

Katharine Hepburn starred in her final film role in 1994 in the movie Love Affair.

Fact 6

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were long time companions. Hepburn and Tracy starred together in many films throughout her career.

Fact 7

In 1932 this performer was paid $1,500 a week for her appearances on Broadway. At this time this sum of money was unheard of for young actresses.

Fact 8

She was a natural redhed and as a child, Katharine cut her hair off, wore boys’ clothes and made people call her Jimmy.

Fact 9

She was 96 years old when she died on June 29, 2003. She died at her old family home in Connecticut. She was buried in her family plot at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford.

Fact 10

Before her demise she requested to be buried with no memorial service. Her wishes were upheld but to honor her long time film career and the impact she had on films, the lights of Broadway were dimmed for one minute during her burial service.

And now for that famous brownie recipe....

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

* 1 stick butter

* 2 eggs

* 1 cup granulated sugar

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

* 1 cup broken up walnut or pecan pieces (for better flavor, toast the nuts at 350 F for about 5 minutes)

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Pinch salt

Preparation

* Preheat oven to 325F.

* Grease an 8-inch-square pan. (Line it with aluminum foil, overhanging on all sides.)  I used parchment paper instead of foil to make a saddle, spraying both the pan and the parchment paper with cooking spray so they won't stick.

* Melt butter in a saucepan with cocoa and stir until smooth.

* Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

* Whisk in eggs, one at a time.

* Stir in vanilla.

* In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt.

* Add to the cocoa-butter mixture. Stir until just combined.

* Pour into prepared pan and bake 30-40 minutes. (Do not overbake: Center should still be a little gooey.)

* Let cool completely before cutting into squares. If foil lining is used, lift from pan and cut into 16 squares on a cutting board.

Don't make this in a 9" pan, the brownies will be too thin, and if you bake in a loaf pan, they will be too thick.  You really do need an 8" pan for these.  If you don't have one, Nordic Ware makes a really nice commercial one, their quality is always excellent.  

If you have any interest,  here's a link to Amazon for you.

Whether you have a chronic cough, flu, sinus congestion or Covid, whatever cough you have, this homemade cough syrup will seriously make you feel good. It's all that whiskey and yummy peppermint flavor.  

This is family tested and approved.  A shot before bedtime and you will quit coughing and sleep like a baby.

Fill a small mason jar with broken peppermint candy, you can use a food processor, blender or a rolling pin to beat candy into submission.

-Add 1 generous tablespoon of Honey.

-Squeeze 1/2 lemon over the peppermint candy

-Pour Bourbon over ingredients until jar is full.  Paw-Paw recommends  Wild Turkey Bourbon (101 proof) but any whiskey will work...

-Screw on Lid.

-Wait until fully dissolved (you can shake jar occasionally to help dissolve faster).  If it doesn't dissolve fully, just strain it and pour it back into the pint jar...

-Fill a shot glass with the concoction and drink until that cough goes away...

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