Living 2 Eat |

Ben,

Dougie bars are the special treat Doug and I would share along the way!

One day, I went to Doug’s office with my mom when he opened a drawer, and there was a whole container full of them!  On the evening of my Homecoming Gala in Pratt, Kansas, Doug presented me with a silver platter of Dougie bars in front of 1500 people.  I was so excited, but they were all eaten by the time the show was over.  I didn’t even get one!

Shortly after giving up the Miss America crown, I went to Pratt to do a few events, including a concert at Pratt Bible Church.  At that time, I was engaged to be married, and as a thank you gift, the church compiled their favorite recipes and put them into a recipe book for me to have as we started our marriage.  On page one was the recipe card for Dougie Bars.  Under “Number of Servings,” it says “one.”

Tara Holland Christensen

Miss America 1997

DOUGIE BARS

1 cup sugar

1 cup Karo light syrup

1 cup creamy peanut butter

6 cups Special K cereal

½ bag chocolate chips

½ bag butterscotch chips

Microwave 1 cup sugar and 1 cup Karo light syrup on high for 2 minutes.

Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter.  Mix together well.

Add 6 cups Special K cereal.  Mix together well and press into 9×13 pan.

Melt ½ - ¾ bag of chocolate chips and ½ - ¾ bag butterscotch chips together. Spread over top. 

Cool and enjoy!

This cake became an instant favorite when it arrived on the scene in the late 1970s. The first recipe for this cake has long been attributed to Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greesnboro, North Carolina, who submitted it to the February, 1978 issue of Southern Living magazine. But Helen Moore, a former food editor at The Charlotte Observer, says that hummingbird cake actually hails from Jamaica, where it is called Doctor Bird cake. She says that recipes for basically the same cake by that name were distributed by the Jamaican Tourism Board in the late 1960s.

There are two major schools of thought as to where the name came from. The first is that the cake is so sweet it could attract hummingbirds; the second is that the cake is so good, people spontaneously begin to hum while eating it. No matter which story is true, this is one of the most delicious of all Southern cakes. The recipe is adapted from Mrs. Wiggins’ original.

Special thanks to Chef Rick’s Southern Cooking for this award winning recipe.

Hummingbird Cake

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-pupose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon soda
• 11/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, Drained (reserve 1/4 cup juice)
• 2 cups chopped pecans, divided
• 2 cups mashed bananas

Grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans; preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, sugar, salt, soda and cinnamon; place into a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add eggs and vegetable oil, stirring with a rubber spatula until dry ingredients are moistened (do not use an electric mixer). Stir in vanilla, pineapple, pineapple juice, 1 cup of the pecans and bananas. Spoon batter into pans.

Bake until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool in pans for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 (16 ounce) boxes powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and butter; using an electric hand mixer, cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy; stir in vanilla. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans.

Yield: one 9-inch layer cake

From the kitchen of Mrs. Valerie A. Smithhart — Vicksburg, Mississippi

Bodacious Buttermilk Pie

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 T. all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Cream butter on high speed of mixer.

 Gradually add sugar, beating well.

Add flour and beat until smooth.

Add eggs and beat until well blended.

Add buttermilk and vanilla; beat well.

Pour filling into pie shell.

Bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

 Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes, or until set.

Cool to room temperature; chill.

From’Our Favorites,’ Unobee Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution

7-Up Pound Cake

3 cups sugar
2 sticks margarine
1/2 cup shortening
5 eggs
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup 7-Up
3 cups sifted flour

Cream sugar, margarine and shortening.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add extracts, lemon juice and salt.

Add flour and 7-Up alternately, beginning and ending with flour.

Pour batter into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees (do not preheat oven) for about 1 hour. Test for doneness.

Cool in pan 10 minutes.

From ‘Divine Tastes’,  Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church

Alice’s Lemon Nut Cake

1 lb. margarine
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 lb. (2 1/2 cups) white raisins
1 lb. (3 1/4 cups) chopped pecans
4 T. (2-oz. bottle) lemon extract

Cream margarine and sugar; add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Sift flour and measure. Sift flour again with salt and baking powder. Coat raisins and nuts with small amount of flour mixture and set aside.

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Add raisins and nuts; mix well. Stir in lemon extract.

Bake in 10-inch tube pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Alternative: Bake in 4 loaf pans for about an hour.

When Ms. Lazenby married in 1967, her former seventh grade math teacher, Mrs. W. A. Carlton, gave her this recipe. According to Ms. Lazenby, this quick and simple one-pan brownie always gets raves.

 Mrs. Carlton’s Caramel Brownies

1 stick butter
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped Georgia pecans
Powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat well. Pour into a greased 8×8-inch baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until firm and lightly brown around the edges. Cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Yield: 9 squares.

Robin Lazenby
Mansfield, Georgia

Mama Darsey’s Family Favorite Chocolate Pudding with Meringue

3 egg yolks
1 ½ cups sugar
4 cups milk (reserve ¼ cups)
16 vanilla wafers, crushed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat egg yolks and 1 ½ cups sugar in top of a large double boiler, Slowly mix in milk.  Stir in crushed vanilla wafers. Place over boiling water. (If you do not have a large double boiler, use a heavy bottom pan and watch it carefully to prevent burning.)

Combine reserved ¼ cup milk with flour and cocoa. Stir to make a paste. Add to egg mixture, stirring to combine. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and pour into a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.

Beat egg whites in a medium bowl. Add remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding.

Bake 15 minutes or until meringue is brown.

Yield:  8 servings.

Mrs. Alice Johnson
Elko, Georgia

Many similar recipes also include 1 cup heavy cream. If the mixture is extremely dry and difficult to mix, add as much cream as needed to be able to combine ingredients and form the mixture into logs.

Mrs. Alice Wilcox
Hazlehurst, Georgia

Nut Roll

1 stick butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) package marshmallows
1 (13.5-ounce) package Graham cracker crumbs
1 (10-ounce) jar Maraschino cherries, chopped
4 cups chopped Georgia pecans

Combine butter and marshmallows in large Dutch oven. Stir over low heat until melted.

Add cracker crumbs, cherries, and pecans and mix well. Pour mixture onto wax paper and roll into logs. Wrap in foil and freeze. Slice to serve.

From the hometown of US President Jimmy Carter… Plains, Georgia… Mrs. Martha Holcombe Wise shares the special recipe from the kitchen of Alice Holcombe.   This recipe uses a staple in every Georgians diet… pecans!  

Alice Holcombe’s Applesauce Cake

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups raisins
2 cups chopped Georgia pecans
4 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add applesauce and beat until blended.

Sift dry ingredients.  Dust the raisins and pecans with a small amount of the flour mixture. Add dry ingredients gradually alternately with hot water; beat until well blended. Add raisins and pecans; blend well. Pour into greased and floured tube pan.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

This incredible recipe is one of Georgia’s finest.  It comes from Mrs. Lauren McMann of Blairsville, Georgia.  No doubt, it will become a favorite of yours after the first bite!

Strawberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 3/4 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sliced strawberries
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl of electric mixer; add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add strawberry and vanilla extract; mix well. Sift flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, mixing until well blended. Fold in sliced strawberries.

Spoon batter into a greased and floured tube pan; bake for 1 ½ hours or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.