Taste of Home and SUPER AUNTIE to the rescue!

Well, there really hasn't been all that much to report on lately. The most recent happening is that my best friend Daughn's little sister (Danae) got married last weekend. So, there have been a LOT of things going on during May leading up to that event. Also the end of school has come and gone... I helped my friend April chaperone a 2nd grade field trip to the Witte Museum here in town, and then the following week I had made a yummy sheet cake for their "2nd grade graduation." I've been doing a LOT of cake baking... Complete with homemade buttercream icing and decorating with piping bags and the whole lot... I'm strongly considering doing cakes as a side-hobby for low prices... probably mostly only for friends/family/church people... etc.

Anyhow, I've also been doing a great deal of cooking and experimenting with recipes new to me. At Christmas my G-ma got me a Taste of Home Cookbook and I have just recently begun making recipes out of it. I had found a recipe for a basic pizza crust, and I had been longing for "real" pizza since I've been dieting (started in Jan. remember... still doing okay... haven't gained anything... haven't really lost a WHOLE lot more, though... but largely because I need to get back in the gym on a more regular basis!!!) Anyhow, I made pizza a couple weeks ago and it was really good... It was a yeast dough... and I haven't worked with active dry yeast all that much... but I knew I wanted to try some other yeast-requiring recipes... so I got extra.

Well, yesterday I got ambitious and had found this recipe for a Raspberry Coffee Cake... it sounded SO good... I had to try it out. The recipe is below.

Raspberry Coffee Cakes:

1 TB active dry yeast
1/3 C. warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1/2 C. warm sour cream (110-115 degrees F)
1/4 C. butter, melted
1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
2-1/4 to 2-1/2 C. All Purpose Flour

Filling:
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. raspberry (or your favorite) jam

Glaze:
1-1/4 C. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 TB milk

1- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt and egg. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.

2-Turn onto a floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. Place in a greased bwol, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. (The cookbook suggests turning your oven onto its lowest setting just for 45-50 seconds and then turning off and shoving your covered dough to rise in there. It worked well for me!)

3- In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth; set aside. Punch dough down (you know that it's ready for this by poking your 1st and 2nd finger into the middle of the risen dough... if the indention stays, it's ready to be punched). Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half.

4- Roll each piece into a 12 in. x 8in. rectangle. Spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Spoon jam lenghtwise over half of the filling. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side with the jam. Pinch seams to seal; tuck ends under.

5- Place loaves seam side down on a greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut shallow slashes across the top of each. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

6- Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cakes.

Yields: 2 loaves (10 slices each)
**Reheating options**
If you make a coffee cake in advance but want fresh-from-the-oven flavor when you serve it to guests, try this trick: Wrap an unfrosted coffee cake in foil. Reheat at 350 degrees for a few minutes or until warm.


Now... during all this fun, I had gotten a call from my brother. He had called a few nights ago to let us know that my sis-in-law's grandpa had passed away. He lived in Utah, and we figured she'd probably be going to the funeral... Rob had called me to see if I... or my Mom and I could come over to Spring, TX to help him with my nephew Conner b/c she wasn't taking him with her. And my brother really needs to work so that he doesn't fall behind on all his paperwork and such. SO... I'm going to be there from tomorrow to Weds. I'm taking the other coffee cake with me for all of us to have for breakfast/dessert... whatever. Anyhow... I will possibly update from there... but will likely wait until my return. Hope everyone has a good weekend.