Happy Monday, everyone! :) Ahh, it’s a fresh morning, a new week, and God’s ever-present mercies abound! This song is on my heart this morning. I have for you today…nothing less than a fabulous cake recipe!

So here’s a little background: Mom and I have been on a serious quest for good from-scratch cake recipes. And they’re hard to find – especially vanilla (we’re actually still working on that one). BUT we have found a delicious chocolate cake recipe, and that’s what I’ll share with you today!

There’s something fancy and delightful about a layer cake. They are so pretty, and just the thing for a birthday, company dessert, or celebration of any kind. Actually, the cake in the picture above was from when we celebrated Austin completing his hunter safety class, and passed the test to be a qualified hunter! We are looking forward to the turkeys and other things he’ll bring home! :)

But back to the cake…it’s perfectly sweet, perfectly moist, perfectly delicious, and a breeze to make! No whipping egg whites or anything like that. It will stay moist even after being kept in the fridge for several days…if it last that long! :)

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cups milk
½ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup double strength coffee, freshly brewed OR boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heavily grease and flour two round baking pans (9 or 10 inch). Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for two minutes. Stir in the boiling water (the batter will be very thin). Distribute evenly between two prepared pans.

Bake for 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, and then flip onto wire racks and cool completely.

Frost with chocolate frosting:

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
2/3 to ¾ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon vanilla
about ¼ cup milk

Beat butter until fluffy; add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Frost your cake! :) Enjoy!

Now I have a question for you – as I mentioned earlier, I’ve had little success with finding a good from-scratch white cake recipe. I would be most grateful if you could help me out, and perhaps share a recipe (link) that has worked well for you!

Have a great and godly day!
~Brookie

Hello everyone! It’s quite a wet, rainy, Saturday afternoon here in southern Missouri. Things are starting to look greener already with the much-needed rain!

Cookies are so nice to make on a rainy day. I don’t know why, but they just are. Here is a wonderful cookie recipe that I recently “rediscovered” in one of our cookbooks.

I like adding oats to cookies not only because they provide nutrition, but they also help whole wheat cookies to puff up and hold their shape instead of spreading out as flat as a pancake. So turn on some soothing music, put on an apron, and give these delicious cookies a try – I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup coconut oil
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/3 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

– Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

– In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Beat entire mixture very well on medium speed, about a minute.

– Add in the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Form into 1-inch balls, and bake at 350 for 9 – 10 minutes for chewy cookies (or a bit longer for crispy cookies), until the edges are barely golden. Let sit on trays for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Enjoy with a glass of milk or a cup of tea! :)

The drink for this month is quite an interesting beverage. It is totally my creation. We once had a few grapefruits that had been sitting out for a while, and were needing to be used. I didn’t want to waste them, so after obtaining Mom’s permission, I used them to concoct a yummy drink in our blender. The grapefruit adds a tart kick, but this drink is still sweet and very refreshing. You will definitely want to strain it before drinking.

In your blender, put 1/2 cup water, 2 large grapefruits, 1/3 – 1/2 cup sugar, and 10 ice cubes. Blend on high for 1 minute. Pour through a strainer and enjoy! :)

Have a lovely Friday!
~Brookie