Chocolate Wacky Cake (No Eggs, No Dairy, No Clean-up!)

Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan!

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Chocolate Wacky Cake was the first “scratch” cake I ever baked all by myself. (I think I was eight.) So named because it requires no eggs, no milk, no butter, and is mixed directly in the pan, Wacky Cake is a surprisingly moist, delicious chocolate cake that is easy enough for a child to make.

Wacky Cake is dead simple to make, but the origins of the recipe – also known as Crazy Cake, War Cake, Depression Cake, Magic Cake, and even 3-Hole Cake – are somewhat murky.

Wacky Cake is a recipe created for difficult times, passed down from one generation of frugal bakers to the next. There are references to similar cake recipes dating back over a hundred years; clear back to World War I, when War Cake could be found in a 1918 Food Administration Department pamphlet entitled “War Economy in Food,” under “Recipes for Conservation Sweets.”

After The War to End All Wars ended in 1918, Crazy Cake recipes made their way into 1930’s Depression Era kitchens, when budgets were tight, and milk, eggs, and butter were luxuries. Still later, mothers on the home front during World War II relied on this unusual cake recipe as a way to deal with wartime shortages, when milk and eggs were scarce, and other staples (like sugar and coffee) were rationed and in short supply.

Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make. It is mixed in one pan with a fork. The trick to this cake is the three-hole method of mixing that allows the vinegar and baking soda to combine at the last moment and act as a leavening agent.

Six Simple Steps for Chocolate Wacky Cake

Start your cake now, and it will be ready to eat in less than an hour!

[Actual amounts can be found in the recipe card below]

Sift together the dry ingredients into a greased 8×8 (or 9×9) cake pan.
Form three wells in the sifted mix.
Fill the depressions with [1] Oil, [2] Vanilla, and [3] Vinegar.
Flood the pan with 1 cup of water.
Stir with a fork until thoroughly mixed. (Check the corners! I use a spoon to do the initial mixing, and finish by whisking it with a fork.)
Bake in a 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes.

That’s literally all there this to it. If you work super slow, you might need 15 minutes to mix it up.

BONUS POINTS: No raw eggs in this batter! Go ahead and let the kids lick the fork!

So what does Wacky Cake taste like? It is an exceptionally moist, delicious chocolate snack cake. Surprisingly so, in fact. It’s perhaps not as quite as rich as a true, butter-filled Devil’s Food Cake, but it will definitely satisfy those chocolate cake cravings.

For 1970’s Kids Only: Remember Betty Crocker’s Snackin’ Cakes? Wacky Cake is a lot like those little cakes as far as texture goes, and it tastes something like a Hostess Cupcake without the cream filling, only a little softer and richer.

5 from 5 votes

Chocolate Wacky Cake

Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert, Sweets

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, chocolate, Dairy-free, eggless, vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

Ingredients

1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F [177°C].
Spray an 8x8 pan (or 9x9) with cooking spray.
Sift together dry ingredients into the pan.
Flatten the sifted dry ingredeints and form three depressions in the top - one large and two small.
Pour oil into the large depression, vanilla into the second depression, and vinegar into the third.
Pour water over the whole thing.
Stir with spoon or fork until thoroughly mixed. Be sure to check the corners.
The cake batter will produce bubbles on the top of the cake. Gently tamp the cake pan on the countertop once or twice to release gas.
Bake at 350°F [177°C] for 25-30 minutes, until the top springs back when touched.
Allow cake to cool. Wacky Cake can be served as is, or with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, or iced with your favorite frosting.

Notes

Be sure to use natural cocoa if possible, and not Dutch-pressed (which is also sometimes called European-style or alkalized). Dutch-pressed cocoa is washed with a solution of potassium carbonate which lessens its acidity, and Wacky Cake depends on that acidity to strengthen the gluten and help the cake rise.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup.
Check it out for more great recipes!

Looking for a good STEAM activity? Consider Wacky Cake as a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of baking soda and vinegar outside a volcano! (Whoohoo kitchen science!)

P.S. If you love baking cakes, be sure to try my scratch-made Triple-layer Strawberry Cake. It’s amazing!

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of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Creamy Fresh Strawberry Crêpes {with Basic Vanilla Crêpe Recipe}

February 23 By Renée ♥ 16 Comments

These easy-to-make Fresh Strawberry Crepes are light, creamy, and perfect for everything from an elegant brunch to a lazy summer back porch afternoon.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

If Freshalicious was a real word, and that word was in a real dictionary (Urban Dictionary does not count), these Fresh Strawberry Crêpes would be the picture they would use to illustrate it!

Despite their “fancy” vibe, Fresh Strawberry Crepes are super easy to make, and most of the work can be done ahead of time. These light, airy crepes are perfect for special occasions: birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Mid-Summer Back-Porch Sittin’ Day (I may have made that one up).

I was so tickled when one of my daughter’s made Strawberry Crepes for me for Mother’s Day brunch a few years ago! In her version, she used plain whipped cream on the top, plus a little chocolate syrup for flare.

The only real challenge these creamy Fresh Strawberry Crêpes present is one of self-control: just try to not eat all the fresh strawberry cream before you assemble the crêpes!

Creamy Fresh Strawberry Crêpes

Fresh Strawberry Crème Crêpes are fresh, creamy, and so easy to make!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time35 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Breakfast or Brunch, Dessert

Keyword: brunch, mothers day, strawberries,, strawberry crepes

Servings: crepes

Calories: 249kcal

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

Crepe Pan
Crepe Turner (or Spatula)
Stand Mixer
Blender

Ingredients

2 pints Strawberries hulled and sliced, divided
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 batch Basic Sweet Vanilla Crêpes (These can be made ahead of time.)

Instructions

In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup of the sliced strawberries with about 1/4 cup heavy cream. Set aside. (The remaining sliced strawberries will be used inside and on top of the crepes.

To make Strawberry Crème:

With an electric mixer, whip the remaining 1 3/4 cups heavy cream until it begins to form soft peaks.
Mix in the sugar until stiff peaks begin to form.
Turn mixture on LOW and stir in pureed strawberries.
Refrigerate strawberry crème until you are ready to assemble crêpes.

Assembling the Crêpes

Fill prepared crêpes with strawberry crème and strawberries, fold and garnish with same.

Notes

Nutritional Information includes amounts from Sweet Vanilla Crepe Recipe.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Cooking the Crêpes

A well-seasoned crêpe pan is the optimal tool for cooking crepes: the sides are short, making flipping a breeze, and bottom is heavy, ensuring consistent heat and even cooking.

If you don’t have a crêpe pan, be sure to use a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan. The size of your pan will determine how big your crepes turn out: seven or eight inches is standard.

Crepes can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to two months.

Basic Sweet Vanilla Crêpes {Recipe}

This versatile sweet vanilla crepe recipe is perfect for all your dessert crepes ideas!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Resting Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 25 mins

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Course: Breakfast, Breakfast or Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: crepes

Servings: crepes

Calories: 137kcal

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk* see note
3 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups flour sifted

Simple fillings or toppings for sweet crêpes include:

A dusting of powdered sugar and a sprinkling of fresh lemon juice
Fresh fruits or berries
Whipped cream
Jam or jelly

Instructions

Put milk, eggs, melted butter, sugar, and salt in blender and process to combine. Add flour and process until smooth.
Allow crepe mixture to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.

Prepare Crepes

Heat a crêpe pan (or an 8- or 9-inch non-stick sauté pan) over medium-low heat. It is important to find the right temperature for crêpes. When done, crêpes should be very lightly golden.
Start your pan on medium low and work from there.
If you are worried about your crêpes sticking, rub a little coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil over the surface with a paper towel. Remove any visible oil before proceeding.
Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup crêpe batter into the middle of the heated pan. Immediately swirl it around to create a thin flat crepe that reaches just slightly up the sides of the pan.
(I usually lift it off the burner for this step: it makes it much easier to manipulate the pan.)
Cook for about 1 minute.
The crêpe is ready to flip when the edges are just beginning to turn brown and the batter in the middle is no longer glossy or wet looking.
Using a large, thin rubber spatula, loosen the edges, and then gently flip the crepe. Allow it to cook an additional 30 seconds to a minute.
If you are making another crêpe, don’t let the pan set empty on the burner for more than a few seconds or it will get too hot.
Carefully lift edge of crepe with a spatula to test for doneness. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over; cook 30 seconds on other side.

Notes

Flipping Crepes

I usually don't use the spatula to do the actual flipping. I flip the crepe by lifting the edges with the spatula, then I peel it up carefully with my fingers and I flip it over in one fluid motion. If you use this method, be sure to keep you fingers off the hot pan!

Refrigerating Crepe Batter

DO NOT SKIP the refrigeration step.

Refrigerating the batter after it’s been mixed relaxes the gluten, resulting in light, airy crêpes.

Refrigerating and/or Freezing Cooked Crepes

If you wish to store your crepes in the refrigerator, place a stack of cooked, cooled crepes inside a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag.
Crepes may be refrigerated for up to a week, and can be frozen for up to two months.
To defrost frozen crepes, place them in the refrigerator.
Reheat single crepes in a hot, dry pan for a few seconds, or reheat stacks of defrosted crepes in the microwave at 15 seconds intervals.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Flipping Crêpes

Crêpes are ready to flip when the edges are just beginning to turn brown and the batter in the middle is no longer glossy or wet looking. Usually about a minute to a minute and a half.

Use a rubber spatula to loosen the edges, and then gently flip the crêpe. Allow it to cook an additional 30 seconds to a minute.

I usually don’t use the spatula to do the actual flipping. I flip the crêpe by lifting the edges with the spatula, then I peel it up carefully with my fingers and I flip it over in one fluid motion. If you use this method, be sure to keep you fingers off the hot pan!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Updated Feb. 23.2020. Originally posted June 9, 2014.

Winning Girl Scout Cookie Recipes (+Tips for Hosting a Kids’ Bake-off)

February 12 By Renée ♥ 15 Comments

The top three winning Girl Scout Cookie Recipes from our local Cookie Bake-off, plus lots of tips for hosting your own Girl Scout Cookie bake-off.

Sweet & Salty S’mores Cupcakes, plus two kinds of Thin Mint Cupcakes!

I didn’t start out to be a Girl Scout leader. I was, am, and will always be a Camp Fire kid at heart, but when my oldest entered Kindergarten a few decades ago, Girl Scouting was it where we lived, so that’s what we did. Five Girl Scout daughters, four troops, and twenty years later, I finally hung up my Leader hat… but I kept my Volunteer hat. (Always will.)

That’s how we all ended up at a Girl Scout Cookie Baking Competition a few cookie seasons ago. Competition in event was open to any Girl Scout from our community.

Girl Scouts is such an iconic organization that it’s easy to overlook how daring an idea it was for founder Juliette Gordon Low to gather those first 18 girls in that troop in Savannah, Georgia. It was 1912, after all, and women wouldn’t earn the right to vote for another eight years.” — Anna Maria Chavez

ExciteMint Fudge, S’mores Nutella Cheesecake, and Do-Si-Do Brownie Pops

How to Host a Girl Scout Cookie Bake-off

PLUS Top Winning Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

Samoa Cheesecake Bars [Judges’ Ultimate Winner]
Strawberry Thin Mint Cookie Delight [People’s Choice]
Toffeetastic Butterscotch Mud Pie [My Personal Choice!]

Four Important Questions to consider when hosting a Bake-off.

1. What is kind of Bake-off will it be?

Specifically, what is the bake-off challenge?

In the case of our bake-off, the specific challenge was to create a dessert using at least one variety of Girl Scout cookie as a primary ingredient.

Who can enter?

Our bake-off was open to any registered Girl Scout.

Can contestants have more than one entry?

Can a contestant enter more than one recipe? If there are multiple categories that a contestant is eligible for, can they win with more than one entry?

Is this an individual competition, or can contestants work in teams?

Must recipes be fully cooked at home, or must they be completed at the competition?

Is there a theme or primary ingredient?

We had both a theme and a primary ingredient: Desserts and Girl Scout Cookies.

How much of each recipe must a contestant provide on the day of the contest?

Each girl who entered this bake-off was asked to provide two batches of their recipe: one for Judges to observe for appearance, presentation, etc., and a second for tasting by judges and event goers. After the judges had made their determination, the first batch was offered up for tasting by the crowd as well.

Tiny Lemon Trefoil Cakes

2. Who decides who wins?

Will you have a panel of Judges? Do the attendees get a vote?

For our Girl Scout Cookie Bake-off, the hosting troop assembled a panel of five judges. Because of my long history with the hosting troop, I was asked to be a Judge. However, I’ve been trying to cut back on sugar lately, so at the last minute I handed that esteemed privileged over to Mr B.

(Passing the Judge’s torch to Mr B ended up being a good move for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it allowed me time to walk around and take pictures of all the sweet entries. It also saved me from the imminent tummy ache that would plague him for the rest of the day.)

PRO TIP: Mr. B’s had one vital tip for would-be Girl Scout Cookie Bake-off judges: Drink water. Lots and lots of water.

This is, unfortunately, a lesson he learned the hard way. Even though he and the rest of the judges were very careful to eat only a very small tasting from each entry, because he neglected to drink enough water, he spent most of the day following the competition with a very uncomfortable tummy ache.

This Mini-Martha-in-training even matched her dress to her entry – “Naomi’s Tagalong Storm Cake.”

3. How will winners be decided?

It is important to clearly define the points and systems upon which the entires will be judged ahead of time.

If you are hosting a bake-off, you will need to figure out how the winners will be picked. I won’t try to tell you how to run your circus, but this is the system that was used for our Cookie Bake-off, and it seemed to work pretty smoothly.

Judges

Each Judge was given a clipboard, pencil, and instruction sheet outlining a scoring system for assigning points to each point system for scoring each entry.

Each contestant was assigned a number for judging.

Entries were judged on three elements:

Taste
Presentation
Use of Girl Scout Cookies

Submissions were judged in each of these categories on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest.

“The Judges”

Competition was divided into three Divisions, based on age. Three overall winners were then chosen from the winners of each age bracket. An Ultimate Winner was then chosen from the Division winners, for a total of ten winners.

While I wandered from table to table taking pictures, Mr B spent his time hunching over his clipboard, carefully evaluating each tasty bite that was brought to him by his assigned assistant. Together with his fellow judges, he crunched, munched, nibbled, and savored samples from each of the nearly twenty entries.

Judging a bake-off is a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

Mr B and I are both big Chopped fans, and I wasn’t surprised that this influenced his role as a judge in the competition. When Taste and Presentation scores were too close to make a call, Use of Cookie(s) tipped the scales.

We found ourselves judging not only what[the girls] made, but their use of the cookie as well. Did they get the ingredients in? Could you taste those ingredients? That made it interesting. It also made it challenging for us, because we challenged ourselves to see if the cookies came through in each dish, or if they were just sprinkled on top.” ~ Mr B

Cups set up for “Peoples’ Choice” voting

Event Attendees

Each attendee was given a number of tickets (5). Voting boxes with the name of one recipe was placed on a central table. Attendees circulated, trying samples of each recipe and then placing their tickets in the boxes representing the recipes they liked most. The recipe that received the most tickets won the People’s Choice Award.

4. What kind of recognition and/or prizes will you award?

You can award anything from a handshake to a certificate to gift cards donated by the community. What I noticed as the prizes were award was, especially with regard to the younger kiddos, bragging rights were worth more than just about anything.

Additional Considerations for Hosting a Bake-off

This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list; there are plenty of additional considerations to make, including location and facility set-up, announcement of the contest, timing, and so forth. However, if you can get all these questions answered, you’ll be off to a great start!

Now, on to the winning recipes in our Girl Scout Cookie Bake-off!

Judges Choice {The Ultimate Winner}

At the end of the day, it was the ooey gooey decadence of these Samoa Cheesecake Bars that won out. (Personally, I think using the term “bar” to describe this dessert is probably a bit of a stretch, but then again, who says you can’t eat cookies with a spoon?)

Oooey, Gooey, Samoa Cheesecake “Bars”

Samoa Cheesecake Bars

Prep Time4 hrs

Total Time4 hrs

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Course: Dessert

Author: Alyssa M - Troop 40273

Ingredients

Oreo Crust

20 Oreos
5 tablespoons butter melted

Cheesecake Layer

16 oz. cream cheese softened to room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Coconut Caramel Chocolate Layer

11 oz. package caramels
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 cups coconut toasted
6 crushed Samoa cookies
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 8x8 baking pan by lining it with foil.
With a rolling pin or In a food processor, crush the oreos into a fine crumbs.
Combine the crushed cookies and butter together in a medium bowl. Press cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool completely.
With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
Spread cream cheese mixture over the prepared crust. Bake it for 30-35 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Cool completely, and then refrigerate for an hour.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the caramel and heavy cream in the microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time. Stir and return to microwave until melted and smooth.
Add the toasted coconut and crushed Samoas to the melted caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes.
Spread melted caramel mixture over cheesecake layer. Return to refrigerator and chill for 3 hours.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time until smooth. Drizzle on top of caramel.
Allow to sit for 30 minutes before cutting.

Notes

According to the recipe directions provided at time of the competition, this recipe was adapted from one found on TheRecipeCritic.com.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

The People’s Choice

“It’s really hard to decide on a winner. Maybe we need to try them all again!”

Ultimately, “The People” chose the freshest, lightest, most simple dessert in the contest as their favorite. (Not a bad lesson there, folks.) Strawberry Thin Mint Cookie Delight has only three ingredients and takes less than five minutes to prepare.

People’s Choice Winner – “Strawberry Thin Mint Cookie Delight”

Strawberry Thin Mint Cookie Delight

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Course: Dessert

Author: Daisy M, Brownie Troop #40602

Ingredients

Whipped cream
Strawberries cut up
Girl Scout Thin Mints crumbled

Instructions

Layer ingredients in cup. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

My Personal Choice

Finally, as a lover of all things caramelly and butterscotchy, this Toffeetastic Butterscotch Mud Pie with Shaved Chocolate was my personal favorite entry in the contest. My insider source (i.e., Mr B) tells me that it had a great chance to be the overall winner, but ended up coming in fourth because of poor pudding execution: the texture was just too grainy for the judges’ tastes. Flavor-wise though, it was delicious.

[Note: Granular consistency in homemade butterscotch pudding is a common, tricky challenge. It can be avoided by (a) being patient as you whisk in the cream, (b) tempering the cornstarch mixture, and (c) whisking continually as the mixture reaches a boil. You can make the pudding even smoother by straining the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. For more complete directions about how to make super-smooth butterscotch pudding, check out this great post on TheKitchn.com]

Toffeetastic Butterscotch Mud Pie

Prep Time4 hrs

Total Time4 hrs

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Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Crust

1 box Toffeetastic Girl Scout Cookies
2 Tbls sugar
6 Tbls melted butter

Butterscotch Pudding

4 tbls butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/3 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons vanilla

Topping

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 ounces chocolate shaved

Instructions

Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a food processor or by hand, finely crush your cookie crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter and stir to combine.
Press crumb mixture into a 9" pie pan, and bake in preheated oven for for 8 to 10 minutes, or until warm, fragrant and lightly toasted.
Set aside to cool.

Butterscotch Pudding

In heavy saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar, and salt to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.
In small bowl, stir cornstarch into 1/3 cup of the milk until dissolved. Add egg yolks; beat with whisk until blended.
Into saucepan with brown sugar mixture, pour remaining 2 cups milk, heavy cream and stir to combine. Add the cornstarch mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. When pudding comes to a rolling boil, remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Pour pudding into prepared pie shell. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Topping

Beat heavy cream in a chilled bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
Spread whipped cream over cold pudding-pie and sprinkle with shaved chocolate. Chill until serving time.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Congratulations to all the winners!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Originally published April 11, 2017.

Fortune Cookie Recipe | Takeout Box DIY + FREE Printable Fortunes

January 30 By Renée ♥ 18 Comments

Personalized homemade fortune cookies are a great way to say I Love You. Deliver them in this adorable, easy to make DIY Takeout Box for an extra-special touch! [Free pattern and printables!]

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

No matter how old you are, the moment when you crack open a fortune cookie still holds a little magic, and personalized fortune cookies are a great way to say I Love You! (Or Happy St. Patrick’s Day, or Joyous Arbor Day, or whatever day you want to celebrate.)

This post included everything you need to create personalized homemade fortune cookies, and deliver them in an adorable, easy-to-make Takeout Box!

Chinese Takeout Box DIY
Printable Valentine’s Day Fortunes
Homemade Fortune Cookie Recipe & Instructions

1. How to Make a Chinese Takeout Box

Just print out the handy Chinese Takeout Box Pattern [PDF] and follow the easy instructions.

One box will take the seasoned crafter about 5 minutes (and those with four thumbs about 15 minutes).

Yield: 1 Takeout Box

Chinese Take-out Box DIY

Printable pattern and instructions for an easy-to-make folded Chinese Takeout Box, perfect for gift-giving!

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Estimated Cost 50¢

Materials

Cardstock

Tools

Scissors

Instructions

Print out the Chinese Takeout Box pattern. Be sure to hit “fit for page” before you print.
Trace the pattern onto the back of a piece of heavy scrapbooking paper or cardstock.
Use scissors to cut along the SOLID BLACK lines.
Valley fold along the DOTTED BLUE lines. - In a valley fold, the crease is at the bottom and the paper is folded forward into itself. The paper should form a "V" when you unfold.
Mountain fold along the SOLID ORANGE lines. A mountain fold is the opposite of a valley fold. The paper folds to the opposite side.

Notes

scrapbooking paper and cardstock

2. Printable Personalized Fortune Cookie Fortunes

Personalized fortune cookies are perfect for kids, friends, family, teachers, and anyone else you want to surprise!

Here are plenty of printable fortunes for your sweetheart, plus a page full of blanks for you to personalize!

TIP: Look to your favorite songs for fast fortune-writing.

3. Fortune Cookie Recipe & Instructions

Following the fortune cookie recipe below, it will take about 40 minutes to make 24 cookies. (Add about 15 minutes plus cooling time if you want to dip them in chocolate.)

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Fortune Cookies

Personalized homemade fortune cookies are a great way to say I Love You!

Prep Time35 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Sweet Treat

Keyword: Cookies, Holidays, Valentine's Day

Servings: Cookies

Calories: 60kcal

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

Cookie Sheet
Silpat Mat
Standard Muffin Tin

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter melted
4 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional:

Dipping Chocolate
Sprinkles

Instructions

Before you make the first cookie:

Preheat oven to 375°.
Gather your materials: you will need a cutting board, a coffee mug and a muffin tin.
Print out and cut fortunes. (Be sure to do this before you bake the cookies. You will not have time to do it when they come out of the oven!)

Mixing the batter:

In a blender or mixer, combine egg whites and sugar. Beat for about a minute, and then add flour and salt and beat another 30 seconds. (I do this all in my blender.)
Add melted butter, heavy cream, and vanilla and almond extracts and beat until mixed.

Making the cookies:

Spoon 1 tablespoon of dough onto silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. (I use a Silpat sheet.)
Spread batter with the back of a spoon into a thin 4-5 inch circle. Start by making 2 circles at a time. (I don’t ever do more than 3 at a time.)
Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
Remove from the oven.
Immediately take one cookie and place it on a wooden cutting board. Keep bottom (the side that was "down" while cooking) down.
Place a fortune in the middle of the cookie and fold in half.
Place the middle of the flat side over the edge of a coffee mug.
Pull the corners down to shape.
Immediately place the formed cookie into a muffin cup and allow it to cool completely.
Repeat process until all the batter has been used.

Notes

No matter how crafty you are, plan on a few broken cookies. They are going to happen – accept it. It’s OK though – just dip them in chocolate and enjoy.
Be sure to have everything ready before you put the first cookie in the oven. I know I already said this. I’m saying it again.
Cookies are HOT when the come out of the oven. (Can a get a “Duh”?) You can wear non-cotton gloves if you want, but I find that very cumbersome. Instead, I use my fingernail to peel the cookie off the Silpat sheet, and then handle them gingerly with the tips of my fingers. Either way, you have been warned.
DO NOT try to make more than 3 or 4 cookies at a time, no matter how awesome you are. It won’t work. Really.
If your cookies cool too fast, 15-30 seconds back in the oven will soften them… a little.
Wait until the cookies are completely cool before attempting to dip them. This just makes sense, but some people try to rush the process. Don’t be one of them.
There are many recipes for fortune cookies out there, but in my experience, this is the best one. (It has 25% less sugar than most and the cookies are still plenty sweet, just so you know.)

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

How to Form a Fortune Cookie – A Closer Look

Place a fortune in the middle of a warm cookie and fold in half. Place the middle of the flat side over the edge of a coffee mug. Pull the corners down to shape.

Immediately place the formed fortune cookie into a muffin cup and allow it to cool completely.

PRO TIP: Color code your homemade fortune cookies!

If you choose to dip-n-sprinkle your cookies, you can avoid fortune-awkwardness (like giving your daughter a fortune that says “You are my Knight in Shining Armor“). Just use different sprinkle combinations for your Sweetheart, kids, friends, etc. (If you choose to leave them plain, you’re on your own.)

Valentine’s Day Dinner Idea: Looking for a dinner recipe that says, “I love you’? Shepherd’s Pie is a Valentine’s Day tradition at our house. The epitome of comfort food, it is one way to show the people who mean the most in this world how much they are loved.

💕 Check out this post from the DIY Network for more cute and easy Valentine’s crafts!

I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup.
Check it out for more great recipes!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

This post was originally published February 12, 2015.

Apocalypse Salad { aka Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad }

January 28 By Renée ♥ 12 Comments

Chewy, nutty wheat berries mix with creamy pineapple fluff to make a this delicious Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad. Keep it simple, or add one (or more) of the optional mix-ins. Easy to make and freezer-friendly, it’s perfect for potlucks too!

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

A little over twenty years ago, everyone’s cousin was losing their mind over an impeding world-wide “Y2K” tech meltdown. As far as I’m concerned, this wheat berry salad recipe is the only good thing to come out of the whole brouhaha.

The Millennium Bug, tech experts explained, was a line of faulty code that would cause problems when dealing with dates beyond December 31, 1999. The Y2K glitch had the potential to disrupt anything on the planet with a computer chip, from garage door openers to airplane guidance systems.

Doomsdayers shouted from street corners, warning how life as we know was to end at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve 1999. Even mainstream, moderate media offered public warnings about potential utility and power failures, disruption in ground transportation, and concerns over air travel safety.

The Y2K prophets of doom who envisage global blackouts, world economic recession and planes falling out of the sky may be substantially wide of the mark but even the most sanguine commentators are advising caution when it comes to transport, particularly airline transport.
– The Irish Times, Jan. 22, 1999

During this insanity, all sorts of emergency preparedness events and products popped up around the country; and while there is nothing wrong with being prepared for emergencies, the hysteria surrounding Y2K reached epic proportions.

Preparedness conferences, disaster prep classes, and doomsday survival guides proliferated. Costco sold enormous buckets of freeze-dried foods to stock the shelves of underground bunkers. Television programming, movies, unsettling commercials, and even a Y2K themed Simpsons episode fanned the flames.

As it turned out, midnight on New Year’s Eve 1999 came and went, and we passed into the new millennium* unceremoniously. Almost disappointingly so.

[**Officially, the new millennium began at zero hour, Greenwich Mean Time, on January 1, 2001* (not 2000) according to rules adopted at an international conference held in October 1884. But we can save that discussion for another time.]

Midnight December 31, 1999 came and went, and NOTHING happened. No Thing. Lights stayed on. Water continued to flow. Planes did not fall from the sky. Mutant robot kitchen appliances did not rise up. The world did not plunge into darkness or financial chaos.

For me, the only truly good thing to come from all the Y2K fuss was this amazing Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad recipe.

In the fall of 1999, my husband and I attended a preparedness conference; one primarily focused on long-term food storage and natural disaster planning. We went mostly on a lark, but I have to admit; it was an interesting experience. We were avid campers, and it was fun to see the staggering number of solar ovens and other next-level camping gadgets and gizmos.

Over the course of a few hours, we must have sampled at least a hundred different “food storage-friendly” products. Just when I thought I couldn’t look at even one more dehydrated chili sample, we were greeted by a Montana hard red wheat vendor who offered us each a little paper cup full of a creamy, sweet wheat berry salad. Not a freeze-dried lentil in sight! It was heaven!

We walked out of the conference with two things: a fancy new grain mill and a recipe for wheat berry salad printed on a small slip of paper.

Admittedly, this tasty little concoction has more processed foods on its Ingredient List than I usually like to use, but the end of the world only comes around once, so there you are.

Hence, I give you Apocalypse Salad.

Keep it simple, or make things interesting with one or more tasty mix-ins.

Perfect for Potlucks!

Apocalypse Salad (aka Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad) makes an excellent potluck dish! The recipe makes a large amount and can be made well ahead of time. It lasts for over a week in the fridge, and you can even freeze it!

5 from 4 votes

Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad {With Optional Mix-ins}

Chewy, nutty wheat berries mix with creamy pineapple fluff to make a this delicious Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad. Keep it simple, or add one (or more) of the optional mix-ins. Easy to make and freezer-friendly, it's perfect for potlucks, too!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pineapple, wheat berries

Servings: servings

Calories: 115kcal

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole wheat berries uncooked
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 - 20 oz can crushed pineapple undrained
1 - 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding dry
1 - 8 oz tub Frozen Whipped Topping defrosted

Mix-in Ideas [TOTALLY OPTIONAL]

maraschino cherries drained and sliced
mini marshmallows
pepitos
chocolate chips
coconut
pineapple tidbits

Instructions

How to Cook Wheat Berries

OPTIONAL: Toast the wheat berries first.
Toasting enhances the nutty flavor of the wheat berries.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the wheat berries evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and aromatic.
OPTIONAL: Soak wheat berries overnight.
Soaking shortens the cooking time, but is not critical to cooking.
Place 1 ½ cups of wheat berries in a medium bowl. Cover with enough boiling water so that there is about an inch of water above the wheat berries. Soak overnight.
Three Ways to Cook Wheat Berries
Wheat berries are done when they are tender and chewy. Test for doneness as you cook them.
NOTE: The cooking times for wheat berries in this recipe are based on cooking hard red winter wheat berries. The specific kind of wheat berry you buy, as well as product age, will influence the cooking time.
[1] Slow Cooker Method (This is my preferred method.)
Put presoaked wheat berries in slow cooker and add enough water so that it comes to at least one inch above the wheat berries. Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours, or until chewy and tender.
When done, drain excess liquid. Set aside.
[2] Instant Pot Method:
Combine 1 1/2 cups wheat berries, 4½ cups water, and a pinch of salt in the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid and seal the valve. Set the manual timer for 35 minutes.
When done, do quick release by moving the valve to vent the steam. Let all the steam release.
Drain excess liquid. Set aside.
[3] Stovetop Method:
In a medium saucepan, combine presoaked wheat berries, a pinch of salt, and enough water so that there is at least 1 inch of water on top of the wheat berries.
Bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce heat to medium; cook until tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let steam, covered, 15 minutes.
Test for doneness. Wheat berries should be tender yet chewy. (If they aren't done, just return them to the heat for a little while.)
When done, drain excess liquid.

Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to thoroughly combine pineapple and cream cheese. It does not need to be perfectly creamy; however, any remaining chunks of cream cheese in the mixture should be about the consistency of cottage cheese.
Sprinkle dry vanilla pudding mix over pineapple-cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth. (It will be the consistency of thick school paste.)
Fold in whipped topping.
Stir in cooked wheat berries, mixing until until evenly coated.
Fold in any optional mix-ins.
Serve cold.

Notes

Cooking Wheat Berries: The cooking time for wheat berries in this recipe is based on cooking hard red winter wheat berries. The specific kind of wheat berry you buy, as well as how old it is, will influence the cooking time.

Nutrition estimates do not include mix-ins.

Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad will stay good in the refrigerator for over a week. It can also be frozen.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Adding Mix-ins to Pineapple Wheat Berry Salad [OPTIONAL]

As if it weren’t already delicious enough, if you want to add some additional texture and flavor to your wheat berry salad, you can stir in a cup or so of any one (or more) of these tasty mix-ins.

OPTIONAL: Use any one or a combination of the following mix-ins, or come up with your own idea!

1 CUP TOTAL per batch of Wheat Berry Salad*

maraschino cherries (drained and sliced)
grated coconut
chocolate chips
toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds
pepitos
mini marshmallows

*Obviously, you can add as much of any mix-in as you want. This amount is offered only as a guideline, based on personal preferences.

Interested in learning more about cooking with wheat berries?

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Potluck Recipes & Ideas from GHW

Potluck-Worthy Big Cuban Salad with Spicy Maple-Lemon Cashew Sauce

How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken {Step-by-Step}

The Naked Colonel's Original Recipe Fried Chicken {KFC-Style Skinless Copycat Recipe}

Favorite Layered Taco Salad {Vintage Recipe Redux}

Citrus Pasta Salad with Grapes & Red Walnuts

Best Ever Soft Caramel Corn {Mary’s Sticky Popcorn}

November 24 By Renée ♥ 51 Comments

A treasured family recipe, **Mary’s “Sticky Popcorn“** is the best soft caramel corn recipe ever! It is everything wonderful about homemade caramel popcorn; and despite its nickname, it’s not sticky at all!

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Today I am sharing a very special treat; one my girls grew up calling Sticky Popcorn. This ridiculously easy caramel corn recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make, and will completely turn your idea of caramel corn on its head!

But first, I want to tell you about Mary.

Mary with Cheryl’s daughter, Emily. Emily has kiddos of her own now!

Back when my oldest girls were little (before some were even born), we lived in a cul-de-sac, three doors down from my BFF Cheryl. Next to Cheryl lived a little woman named Mary, age 90ish. Mary lived on her own long past the time when most folks need to have more assistance, and I learned a lot by watching her.

Mary was able to stay independent for so long for two reasons: First, she lived next door to Cheryl and her family. (If you know them, that is all the explanation you need: they are amazing examples of loving and serving their neighbors.) Second, Mary learned to adapt.

My favorite example of Mary’s modifying life to meet her needs was her Christmas tree. Mary kept a fully decked Christmas tree year round. The tree was only about three or four feet tall, and it sat eleven months out of the year in her garage, protected by a white plastic garbage bag tied closed at the top of the tree.

Every December, Mary would ask someone would bring her tree in from the garage, sit it on a little table, and untie the twist-tie that held the bag closed. (One year, I was the someone who got to put up Mary’s tree. I felt so special!)

Once her tree was standing on its little table, Mary would carefully pull down the bag to reveal the tree already hanging with ornaments. Then she arranged the bag around the base like a tree skirt, and stand back to enjoy her beautiful decorations.

When the holidays were over, someone would go over to Mary’s, pull the bag back up to the top and tie it off, and then put her little tree back in the garage until the following Christmas.

Brilliant!

Which brings me back to Sticky Popcorn.

Every Christmas season, Mary would make her soft caramel corn recipe. As the buttery-sweet popcorn cooled, she formed it into popcorn balls, which she later handed out to the neighborhood kids for the holiday.

Normally, I don’t like popcorn balls at all. Never have. They are hard and stick to your teeth, and the popcorn in them is always gross. In fact, the first time one of my girls offered me a bite of Mary’s caramel corn, I turned her down.

But then I noticed that, as she ate it, there was no distinctive crunch-crunch-crunching and side-of–mouth biting going on, like there always was with typical rock-solid popcorn balls. Instead, my daughter was taking neat little bites and chewing them with satisfaction, making her way around the popcorn ball as if she was eating an ice cream cone.

So I snuck a little bite. And another. And then another. (Good thing she was just a toddler, or I would have never gotten away with that many bites!)

I soon discovered that Mary’s popcorn balls were different from any I had ever had, in all the best ways. The caramel was soft and didn’t stick to my teeth; the texture was smooth and buttery; and in addition to being easy to eat, the caramel popcorn itself was absolutely delicious!

As soon as I could, I asked Mary for the recipe and was floored by the simplicity of it – just five ingredients, including the popcorn!

I was soon making Mary’s caramel corn as a family treat almost weekly, although we dispensed with the “popcorn ball” model almost immediately, and almost always just eat it straight form the bowl. This caramel corn recipe – now a family tradition – is everything wonderful about homemade caramel popcorn; and despite it’s nickname, it’s not sticky at all!

Mostly it’s just wonderful.

Mary has been gone for many years now, but every time I make Sticky Popcorn, I think of her. I asked Mary once what the best thing about getting old was, and I will never forget what she said:

By the time you get to be about 80, you can say anything you want to, because no matter what you say, people either think you’re wise or you’re crazy.

So now, my friends, I am passing this little bit of Mary onto you. Enjoy!

How to Make Homemade Soft Caramel Corn
{Step-by-Step}

For ingredients and amounts, please refer to the recipe card below.

How-to Video ↓↓↓

Step-by-Step Directions

Pop popcorn and set aside in extra-large bowl or large roasting pan.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining ingredients.
Stirring constantly, melt butter and heat mixture on medium until it reaches a full, rolling boil. (This is a boil that cannot be stirred down.) Boil 1 minute.
Remove from heat. (If you are want to, you can check the temperature with a candy thermometer. It should read 200° F [94° C].) (Note: This is the first time I have checked the temperature, ever. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, no worries! Just boil it for one minute, and you’ll be golden!)
Immediately remove from heat and pour over popcorn. Stir popcorn with wooden spoon until popcorn is all coated with caramel. You need to do this step very quickly! (NOTE: My caramel got a little too cool because I was stopping the process to take pictures. If you watch the video, you can see that it is already getting stiff when I’m stirring the caramel in. If you do pour the caramel and stir it right away, without stopping in the middle to take a half a million pictures and video, it will stir in very smoothly. )

6. Form into balls if desired. (We always just eat it like popcorn.)

Yield: 32 Cups

Best Ever Soft Caramel Corn

Mary’s Sticky Popcorn is the best soft caramel corn recipe ever! It is quick and easy to make, everything wonderful about homemade caramel popcorn. (And despite its nickname, it’s not sticky at all!)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup unpopped popcorn about 8 quarts popped
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Pop popcorn and set aside in extra-large bowl or roasting pan.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining ingredients.
Stirring constantly, melt butter and heat mixture on medium until it reaches a full, rolling boil. (This is a boil that cannot be stirred down.) Boil 1 minute.
Remove from heat. If you are want to, you can check the temperature with a candy thermometer. It should read 200° F [94° C].
Immediately remove from heat and pour over popcorn. Stir popcorn with wooden spoon until popcorn is all coated with caramel.
Stir and mix to cool. Form into balls if desired.

Notes

To mix my caramel corn, I use a large roasting pan; the kind made for roasting a turkey.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 200Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 31mgSodium 102mgCarbohydrates 25gSugar 25g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only.

So just how good is this caramel corn, anyway?

Mr. B always says he doesn’t much like popcorn. Which must be why the first time I made Sticky Popcorn for him, he ate almost half a batch! All by himself!! Allow me to quote him: “This (nom-nom-nom) popcorn is (nom-nom) really (nom-nom) really (nom-nom-nom) delicious!”

UPDATE: In November 2019, I rewrote this entire post (originally published 12/2013), adding new process photos, more concise directions, and a how-to video. (Thanks for the music, Mr. B!) So of course, I had to make a batch of Mary’s caramel corn recipe for picture-taking purposes, right? Well, guess who ate half the batch by the time I got done editing images?

I’m not naming names, but his name rhymes with Kenny G. 🤣

Seriously, this stuff is really tasty, folks.

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

UPDATE: This post was first published December 10, 2013.

Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}

January 8 By Renée ♥ 44 Comments

This sweet southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with coconut buttercream frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Last summer, I caught an unexpected bug: the Cake Baking Bug! Specifically, a yen to bake up rich, decadent, double- and triple-layer Southern-style cakes. Traditional, old-fashioned, fancy-pants cakes with layers and frosting and everything. No boxes, no preservatives, no shortcuts. Just Cakes. From Scratch.

I have no idea where this cake-baking urge came from. To begin with, I’m not particularly a cake person: sure, I’ll take a piece if it’s offered, but cake is way down on my list of preferred indulgences. Also, I’m about as Southern as Santa Claus. But mostly, I’ve always considered myself to be more of a Cook than a Baker.

From my perspective, bakers are, of necessity, meticulous, methodical recipe-followers who measure everything with the slice of a knife. Bakers are good at following rules. Me: not so much. I tend to measure with my hands and throw in extra ingredients and leave out others, and bend a recipe until it comes out the other side as something altogether different than it was when it started. I mean, I can follow recipe if I really want to, but I rarely want to.

Then Mr B and I traveled to Tennessee this August (for the second time in a year) and I returned to Oregon all full of cake dreams and determined to make triple-layer strawberry cake from scratch before fall arrived.

Which I did.

And it was Fabulous.

After working through the recipe for that first cake, I was hooked. Because while I’m may not be big on measuring and rule-following, I relish a good challenge – and developing a cake recipe that truly sings (and can be successfully replicated by others) is an honest challenge. Now I have a whole list of cakes to learn, tinker with, and roll out on the blog over the next few years!

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

After successfully perfecting my strawberry cake, I decided that a coconut cake needed to be next on the docket. Why? Because coconut is one of my all-time favorite flavors. Plus, it’s white and fluffy like snow, and eating a cake in winter that looks like snow is kind of like seasonal eating, right? And also, coconut cake was Elvis’ favorite, and Elvis’ birthday is today [January 8th], and I can’t think of a better reason than that to make it a January tradition.

(If you’re not an Elvis fan, feel free to celebrate David Bowie’s birthday today instead.)

[ATTENTION : LIVING MUSIC LEGENDS – If you are currently a living Legend of Rock & Roll and/or a standing member of the Grand Ole Opry and would like to have a delicious scratch cake dedicated to you on this blog, please Tweet me up! Seriously. {Tom Scholz, I’ll be waiting… Also, Peter Frampton: not. even. kidding.} 😉 ]

I took what I learned about the cake batter science from my Strawberry Cake and ended up with this Amazing Coconut Cake. As in, delicate, tender, melt-in-your-mouth Amazing. As in, loaded with coconut flavor and light as a cloud Amazing. If you are a coconut lover, you are going to Love it!

Cake Batter Science

I think the real key to this coconut cake is how and when you introduce the meringue to the rest of the cake batter. Most recipes similar to this one have you make the meringue, take it to medium or stiff peaks, and set it aside while you make the rest of the cake batter. However, I’ve learned that you get a discernibly lighter cake if you mix up the batter before you whip up the meringue.

Meringue is basically a mixture of proteins and water. Air whisked into the egg white becomes trapped and surrounded by a network of proteins, and adding sugar stabilizes this protein network. Making the meringue after the batter allows you to gently fold it in immediately after whipping it up. This way, the meringue’s protein network doesn’t have time to start breaking down or setting up, and more teeny tiny meringue bubbles make their way into your cake, ultimately making it lighter.

5 from 15 votes

Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting

This sweet southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with coconut buttercream frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time25 mins

Cooling time1 hr 15 mins

Total Time2 hrs 40 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Southern

Keyword: cake, coconut

Servings: servings

Calories: 456kcal

Author: Renée | The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

Ingredients

Coconut Cake [3 Layers]

3 cups cake flour measure AFTER sifting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar divided
3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk (NOT coconut cream!)

Coconut Buttercream Frosting

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
2-3 teaspoons coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups powdered sugar sifted
5-6 tablespoons coconut milk
2 cups flaked, sweetened coconut

Instructions

Cake Layers

Position oven rack in the center (or just below center) of the oven.
Preheat oven to 350°F [175°C].
Grease and flour three round cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper for easy release and clean-up.
NOTE: 8" or 9" cake pans will work for this cake. (They must, however, all be the same size!)
Measure sifted cake flour, baking powder, and salt; sift together three times. Set aside.
Combine sour cream and coconut milk in a small bowl and set aside.
Using an electric mixer with a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add coconut extract and mix to combine. Add flour mixture alternately with coconut milk and sour cream mixture, beating after each addition. Remove bowl from mixer and set aside.
[DO NOT begin this step until you have completed the previous step.] In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar gradually, beating until meringue will hold soft peaks.
[Do this step by hand. Do not use a mixer.] Carefully fold beaten egg whites into batter.
Pour batter evenly into the three prepared cake pans.
Bake layers in preheated oven: 22-25 for 9" cake pans / 25-30 minutes for 8" cake pans - or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.
(If your oven cooks unevenly, carefully rotate pans on rack at the 15-minute mark.)
Allow cakes to cool in their pans over wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully tap out onto wire rack to cool completely. Wrap and chill layers in refrigerator for at least an hour (or up to a week if you need to).

Coconut Frosting

Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add coconut and vanilla extracts and salt and mix to thoroughly combine.
Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition.
Add coconut milk, one tablespoon at a time time, beating on medium-high until fully incorporated.

Cake Assembly

Once the cake is completely chilled, trim the layers.
Spread the top of the bottom layer of cake with frosting. Add the middle layer and frost top. Add the top layer.
Apply a crumb coat to the entire cake. (A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that covers the top and sides of a cake.) Return the cake to the refrigerator for another 15 minutes.
Frost the entire cake with a generous layer of frosting. Sprinkle flaked coconut over top and sides of cake before the frosting sets.

Notes

VERY IMPORTANT: Sift the flour, and THEN measure it! (If you're wondering why, try measuring it first, sifting it, and then measuring again.)

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Bake your life easier: Line your cake pans with parchment paper!

Ingredient Notes

FLOUR – **It is vital that you use cake flour for this coconut cake!**

Cake flour is a finely milled, delicate flour that results in a fine crumb and a good rise. The primary difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour [AP] is that cake flour has slightly less protein, which translates to less gluten in your cake, which means you will have a more tender cake. My personal cake flour preference is Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Cake Flour. And I cannot stress this enough: when it comes to flour in baking, sift THEN measure.

If you really don’t want to buy cake flour just for this cake, try this easy Cake Flour Substitute: For each cup of cake flour, measure out 1 cup of flour, then remove 2 tablespoons from the cup. Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and sift together.

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

Swiss Chews {Flourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies}

December 6 By Renée ♥ 23 Comments

Classic Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (or Swiss Chews as Mom always called them) are crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside, and perfect for the holidays!

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.

~ Charles Schultz

Crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are amazingly simple to make, and taste absolutely decadent: (I also have it on good authority that they are one of Santa’s favorite treats!)

^{This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

Back when I was small, every year around the first of December my mom would get together with her friend Betty and bake. Betty would always come up with a few new cookie ideas for them to try, but no matter what else they baked, the holy trinity of Christmas cookies at our house was Joe Froggers (a spicy, rum-infused molasses cookie), Chocolate Thumbprints, and Swiss Chews, more commonly known as Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

I always knew my mother’s chocolate crinkle cookies were better than anyone else’s, but for a long time, I didn’t know why. I guess I just supposed everyone thinks their mother’s cookies are the best.

It wasn’t until I started comparing chocolate crinkle cookies recipes that I figured out what made Mom’s cookies so unique. Unlike most recipes, Mom’s cookie recipe didn’t require any flour. It uses ground walnuts for structure instead – making these little sweethearts completely gluten-free. (You’re welcome, my gluten-free friends.)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookie dough balls, rolled and ready for the oven

5 from 1 vote

Swiss Chews {Flourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies}

Crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside, and perfect for the holidays!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Refrigeration Time2 hrs

Total Time40 mins

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Course: Cookies

Cuisine: Yummy

Servings:

Calories: 58kcal

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder optional
1 tsp kosher salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 eggs separated
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar for rolling prepared dough in

Instructions

Preheat oven to 340° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat.

Cookie Dough Prep

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks slightly. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse walnuts until they resemble cracked wheat. [Be careful - if you let them go too long, you'll have walnut butter!] Measure walnuts after chopping. Set aside.
Melt chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave for 40 seconds at a time, stirring after each cycle, until chocolate is completely melted. Allow to cool slightly.
Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. To the beaten egg whites, gradually add brown sugar mixture and then vanilla, beating until thick. Gently fold in walnuts and beaten egg yolks.
Fold the melted chocolate chocolate into the whipped egg-white mixture.
Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours, or overnight. [DO NOT attempt to make cookies until the dough is cold!]

Forming Cookies

Form 1" balls of dough using a small cookie scoop or spoon. (About 2 teaspoons per cookie.) A small cookie scoop works perfect for this.
Pour 1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar into a shallow bowl or plate. Rolls cookie dough balls in powdered sugar. Place cookie balls on prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. (You do not need to press the cookie balls down.)
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. (If you make your cookies larger, you may need to bake them for an addition 2-3 minutes.) Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Notes

Walnuts should be chopped very fine, but not beyond recognition - about the same consistency as cracked wheat.

Nutrition

Calories: 58kcal

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Swiss Chews are free of added fats. No oil. No butter. (Trust me on this: they don’t need it.) Which brings me to this little extra holiday bonus: these deliciously fudgy bites of heaven have only about 58 calories per cookie! Can you believe it‽ Now you have no excuse: go make a batch or three today!

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to Pin and Print this recipe!

P.S. I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great Christmas recipes!

^{Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!}

The Best Triple-layer Strawberry Cake {from Scratch}

September 10 By Renée ♥ 45 Comments

Perfect for any occasion, this Southern Triple-layer Strawberry Cake (made from scratch – no boxed cake mix!) is a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh, bright strawberry buttercream frosting.

^{This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

For me, baking is often about memories. Sometimes I bake memories for people I love: pineapple-upside down cake when we go camping, peach cobbler in August, pumpkin pie for my mother’s birthday. Other times, baking is a path that takes me back in time.

Recently, Mr B and I traveled to Tennessee, where we had the honor of attending the Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony for one of his best friends from his Navy days. If you’ve never attended the retirement rites of a senior military officer, I highly recommend it. It may very well renew (or redeem) your faith in both our country and the people who protect it. (And if the flag passing ceremony of Olde Glory doesn’t move you to tears, I don’t know what will.)

After the formal ceremonies concluded, we were ushered into a reception room filled with sailors decked out in their full dress whites, along with families and friends. My eyes roamed from one small cluster to the next; to the smiling faces, the convivial conversations, the warm embraces.

In the middle of the reception room was a long refreshment table with two large, beautifully decorated cakes on either end. Centered between them sat a modest, unpretentious pale pink layer cake.

A memory flickered.

That pink cake. My mother always told me that Southerners love their cakes. I plated a small piece and took a bite.

In an instant, I was four…maybe five, sitting on my stool at my Pop’s yellow chrome and formica kitchen table. I don’t know the occasion, but I remember that cake. Smooth, sweet, pink, and perfectly strawberry.

It tasted like summer.

Standing in that reception room in Tennessee, I had not tasted strawberry cake in fifty years, but as that single bite melted on my tongue, it was yesterday.

When Mr B and I returned home to Oregon, I set about baking myself a memory.

Perfecting a recipe for a Strawberry Cake from scratch wasn’t easy. Nearly every recipe source I could find required a boxed cake mix, and I was intent on baking a cake *from scratch.*

In my quest, I consulted at least fifteen different recipes, cookbooks, and bakers’ websites before I finally felt confident about my game plan. However, once I got the ratios for everything right (the sugar levels were especially tricky) and recognized that those whipped egg whites make all the difference, it all fell into place.

I couldn’t be happier with the outcome!

This Strawberry Cake is far and away easier to make than you might imagine; and in my opinion, working with the triple layers is easier than two thicker layers. My recipe for Strawberry Cake from scratch results in a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh strawberry buttercream frosting. You are going to love it!!!

Frosting Philosophy

There are two basic schools of thought about frosting: (1) the cake is a necessary conveyance for getting as much frosting as possible into your mouth; and (2) the cake is the star, and frosting is, well… frosting. It is for sealing the cake and adding additional texture and sweetness, but don’t go all crazy and let it overpower the cake.

I belong to the second, “less-is-more” group. You may notice that, in the images here, there is only enough frosting between the layers to hold them together, and that the outer frosting isn’t spread on very heavily. For my tastes, this amount of frosting provides the perfect balance for this cake.

If, however, you lean toward the first, “the-more-frosting-the-better” group, be assured that you will not run short of strawberry frosting with this recipe. I had well over a cup leftover when this cake was done. (Hello, late-night frosting-n-graham-crackers!)

5 from 15 votes

Triple-layer Strawberry Cake with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Strawberry Cake

Servings: servings

Author: Renée ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Strawberry Puree

8 ounces fresh hulled strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar

Strawberry Cake

4 egg whites room temperature
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour VERY Important: Sift, THEN measure.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 3/8 cups white sugar
1 3-ounce pkg Strawberry flavored Jell-O®
1 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1 cup milk 2% or whole
1/2 cup fresh strawberry puree
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Strawberry Frosting

6 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
1/3 cup strawberry puree
1 tablespoon strawberry jam or 1/2 tsp. strawberry extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Make Strawberry Puree

Combine fresh strawberries and two tablespoons of sugar in a blender. Pulse until strawberries are reduced to a pulp. DO NOT blend until smooth. (You will use 1/2 cup of the puree for the cake. Reserve the remaining puree to use in the frosting.) Set aside and allow to macerate further while you perform next few steps.

Make the Cake Layers

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
Whip eggs whites until they form medium peaks. Set aside.
Combine sifted flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Whisk together milk, strawberry puree, lemon zest, and vanilla. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, dry strawberry Jell-O®, and salt. Beat in eggs yolks one at a time.
Stir flour mixture into batter alternately with strawberry-milk mixture.
Gently fold in whipped egg whites.
Pour batter evenly into the three prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.
Allow cakes to cool in their pans over wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Carefully tap out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Make Strawberry Frosting

Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until light and fluffy.
With mixer on low, add powdered sugar to the whipped butter alternately with 1/3 cup pureed strawberries. Combine thoroughly into a soft, creamy mixture that will hold its shape. Cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, or until it has firmed up slightly.

Assemble the Cake

Spread the top of the bottom layer of cake with frosting. Add the middle layer and refrigerate again until the frosting has firmed up a bit. Add the top layer and frost sides and top of cake.
Decorate with fresh strawberries if desired.

Notes

VERY IMPORTANT: Sift the flour, and THEN measure it! (If you're wondering why, try measuring it first, sifting it, and then measuring again.)

Cake freezes well.

If you are spreading the frosting on thick, you may want to refrigerate the cake after you apply the frosting between each layer until the frosting has firmed just a bit; about 10-15 minutes for each layer. (If you are frosting it thin, you probably won't need to do this.)

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

The BEST Strawberry Cake Ever (from scratch - no boxed mix!) with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting 🍓 You are going to love it! #strawberries #cakes #baking Click To Tweet

Cakes are Persnickety, and Ingredients Matter

Flour: It’s important to use cake flour for this cake. Cake flour is a finely milled, delicate flour that results in a fine crumb and a good rise. The primary difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour [AP] is that cake flour has slightly less protein, which translates to less gluten in your cake, which means you will have a more tender cake. My personal cake flour preference is Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Cake Flour. And I cannot stress this enough: when it comes to flour in baking, sift THEN measure.

Jell-O®: Y’all know that I try to avoid the boxes, but this recipe just doesn’t fly without Jell-O®. If possible, avoid using off-brand gelatin: the strawberry flavor in them usually tastes like cheap kids’ candy.

Strawberries: Fresh and frozen will both work.

Egg White Whipping Stages

Soft peaks barely hold their shape, and flop over as soon as the beaters are lifted.
Medium peaks can hold their shape, but the peak curls over when the beaters are lifted.
Stiff peaks stand straight up when the beaters are lifted.

Bake your life easier: Line your cake pans with parchment paper!

**Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to** PIN and print this recipe!

P.S. Did I mention how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new cake pans!?! I finally took the plunge and bought three – count ’em: 3 – matching 9″ cake pans. As in, they are all the same size, shape, and weight! As in, I can put them all in the oven at the same time and take them out at the same time because they all bake evenly!! Aaahh! I was so excited to get them that I completely cleaned out my baking shelf so that they would have a cozy new place to hang out when they aren’t in use. (For those of you who regularly bake a lot of cakes, this might sound ridiculous, but this is the first time in my life that I’ve ever had more than two cake pans that match exactly, and I am going to celebrate it! Whoohoo!) If you are thinking of buying a new set of cake pans, check these out; they are the ones I have now.

I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great recipes!

Pennington Farms Blackberry Buckle

February 9 By Renée ♥ 11 Comments

Pennington Farms Blackberry Buckle – the recipe for which they have generously shared with us -is just one of the many delicious treats you can find at Pennington Gardens in Oregon’s Applegate Valley.

If you ever find yourself traveling through southern Oregon’s beautiful Applegate Valley between Medford and Grants Pass, Pennington Farms is one stop you must plan to make. I fell in love with the place the first time I visited.

^{My visit to Pennington Farms was included as part of a Travel Oregon press trip. As always, all opinions and images are my own. This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.}

“Once there was a boy named Sam who grew up in the surf and sand
To the mainland he headed on the journey of his life
And ended up finding his wife.
The couple got married and had quite a clan
Sam said, “Let’s leave the city for simpler life”
So to the farm the headed hand-in-hand.”

So begins the saga of Pennington Farms, which welcomes visitors as soon as they step through the bakery door.

Open year-round, a visit to Pennington Farms recalls a simpler time, filled with ripe, juicy berries fresh from the vine and scratch-made baked goods like your grandma used to make.

Founded by the Sam and Cathy Pennington back in the mid-‘90s, this 90-acre family-run farm now grows between 38-50 varieties of berries each year, including many hard-to-find heirloom varieties. As stewards of the land, the Pennington family is committed to a farming philosophy that relies on organic, biodynamic methods, with a goal of working in harmony with the earth’s natural rhythm.

The Country Bakery at Pennington Farms is a delight for the senses and aromatherapy for the soul. Beautiful scratch-made pastries, pies, and cookies, homemade jams and syrups. Surfboards from a former life decorate the walls and seasonal berries line the shelves. Good vibes abound.

Pennington Farms focuses on cultivating harder-to-grow heirloom berries, which typically produce fewer, smaller berries that must be picked by hand. The trade-off for this extra labor is an intensity of true berry flavor that, according to Cathy Pennington, newer hybrid varieties simply don’t deliver.

How to Enjoy Berry Season Year-round

Berry season is fleeting and fresh berries off the vine have a very short shelf life; nevertheless, with just a minimum of effort you can have berries year-round.

When you bring fresh berries home, cull them and immediately discard any moldy or overripe berries.
Put the remaining berries, unwashed, into a container lined with paper towels to absorb any moisture.
Do not wash berries until just before eating, and then only briefly in cold water.
To freeze berries, distribute dry berries in a single layer on a clean cookie sheet and put them in the freezer until frozen. Remove from freezer just long enough to pour into a plastic freezer container or sealable freezer bag and return them to the freezer immediately. Berries can be frozen for up to one year.
When baking with frozen berries, do not thaw before using.

5 from 1 vote

Pennington Farms Blackberry Buckle

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

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Course: Dessert

Servings:

Author: Pennington Farms, Grants Pass, OR

Ingredients

Batter:

2 cups flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

Topping:

½ cup flour
½ cup sugar
¼ cup butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter on high until pale and fluffy. Add sugar and continue mixing until they are thoroughly creamed. Beat in egg.
With mixer on low, add flour mixture and milk to creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating between the two and beating until smooth.
Spoon batter into prepared pan. Evenly distribute berries over top.

Topping

In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar, and then cut in butter with a pastry blender, fork (or your fingers) until the mixture resembles oatmeal. Sprinkle over berries.
Bake in preheat oven 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm, preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

To get to Pennington Farms, take the “long way” between Grants Pass and Medford on the Jacksonville-Williams Highway [Oregon Route 238]. The Pennington Farms bakery and farm market are open almost year round, and their products are available at the farmers’ markets in Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass, as well as specialty shops throughout the area.

Pennington Farms
11341 Williams Hwy
Grants Pass, OR 97527
541.846.0550
pnnngtnj@aol.com

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of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

^{Disclosure: My visit to Pennington Farms was included as part of a Travel Oregon press trip. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!}

Southern Oregon Travel & Food on GHW

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Four Scenic Stops on the Applegate Valley Wine Trail

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McCully House Inn - Jacksonville, Oregon {Plus a Ghost Story!}

Relax, unwind, and take a trip back through Oregon history – at the McCully House in beautiful Jacksonville, Oregon. {Plus a Ghost Story!}

Pennington Farms Blackberry Buckle

Pennington Farms Blackberry Buckle – the recipe for which they have generously shared with us -is just one of the many delicious treats you can find at Pennington Gardens in Oregon’s Applegate Valley.

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Lillie Belle Farms chocolates can be found at the unique crossroads of Music and Chocolate – and that is where the magic happens.

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Chocolate Wacky Cake is the easiest scratch cake you will ever make! (No eggs, no milk, no butter, no clean-up.) Made exclusively with pantry staples, this surprisingly moist, delicious snack cake mixes up in a jiffy, right in the pan!

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Six Simple Steps for Chocolate Wacky Cake

Chocolate Wacky Cake

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup. Check it out for more great recipes!

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These easy-to-make Fresh Strawberry Crepes are light, creamy, and perfect for everything from an elegant brunch to a lazy summer back porch afternoon.

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Creamy Fresh Strawberry Crêpes

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

To make Strawberry Crème:

Assembling the Crêpes

Notes

Nutrition

Cooking the Crêpes

Basic Sweet Vanilla Crêpes {Recipe}

Equipment

Ingredients

Simple fillings or toppings for sweet crêpes include:

Instructions

Prepare Crepes

Notes

Nutrition

Flipping Crêpes

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The top three winning Girl Scout Cookie Recipes from our local Cookie Bake-off, plus lots of tips for hosting your own Girl Scout Cookie bake-off.

How to Host a Girl Scout Cookie Bake-off

PLUS Top Winning Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

Four Important Questions to consider when hosting a Bake-off.

1. What is kind of Bake-off will it be?

2. Who decides who wins?

3. How will winners be decided?

Judges

Event Attendees

4. What kind of recognition and/or prizes will you award?

Additional Considerations for Hosting a Bake-off

Judges Choice {The Ultimate Winner}

Samoa Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

Oreo Crust

Cheesecake Layer

Coconut Caramel Chocolate Layer

Instructions

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The People’s Choice

Strawberry Thin Mint Cookie Delight

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My Personal Choice

Toffeetastic Butterscotch Mud Pie

Ingredients

Crust

Butterscotch Pudding

Topping

Instructions

Crust

Butterscotch Pudding

Topping

Congratulations to all the winners!

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Personalized homemade fortune cookies are a great way to say I Love You. Deliver them in this adorable, easy to make DIY Takeout Box for an extra-special touch! [Free pattern and printables!]

This post may contain affiliate links, but don’t worry – they won’t bite.

Chinese Takeout Box DIY

Printable Valentine’s Day Fortunes

Homemade Fortune Cookie Recipe & Instructions

1. How to Make a Chinese Takeout Box

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Notes

2. Printable Personalized Fortune Cookie Fortunes

3. Fortune Cookie Recipe & Instructions

Homemade Fortune Cookies

I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup.
Check it out for more great recipes!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

I’m sharing this recipe on the Weekend Potluck Recipe Linkup.
Check it out for more great recipes!

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

[**Officially, the new millennium began at zero hour, Greenwich Mean Time, on January 1, 2001* (not 2000) according to rules adopted at an international conference held in October 1884. But we can save that discussion for another time.]

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of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this post!

A treasured family recipe, **Mary’s “Sticky Popcorn“** is the best soft caramel corn recipe ever! It is everything wonderful about homemade caramel popcorn; and despite its nickname, it’s not sticky at all!

How to Make Homemade Soft Caramel Corn
{Step-by-Step}