The Ponderosa Lodge B&B: Recipes

Here you will find some of our most requested recipes. Our guests have enjoyed these and we hope you will too. You may view them online, or click on the title to download a pdf for printing. If you have any questions about the recipes, or have stayed here and don't see your favorite recipe, feel free to contact us.

Apple Coffee Cake

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the butter and egg until light, then stir in the milk. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix with a few light strokes just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Stir in the apples. Spread the batter into the cake pan.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; mix well and sprinkle evenly over the batter. If you don't like it very sweet, use half of the topping and save the rest for the next batch. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm, or allow to cool, and cover until ready to serve.

Yield: Makes 16 squares

Aunt Yvonne's Famous Triple Chocolate Brownies

6 oz. fine-quality bittersweet chocolate chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In metal bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt bitersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate with butter, stirring til mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool til lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and vanilla and add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the salt and flour just til combined, then add chocolate chips.

Pour batter into well-buttered and floured 13 x 9 inch baking pan, smooth the top and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or til tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Let cool completely in pan on rack and cut into 24 bars. Yield: 24 brownies

Banana, Honey, Nut Bread

8 tablespoons butter, plus some for greasing the pan
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 -1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Mix together the dry ingredients. Cream the butter and beat in the eggs and bananas. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients; do not mix more than necessary. Gently stir in the vanilla and nuts.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until nicely browned. A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread will come out fairly clean when it is done, but because of the bananas this bread will remain moister than most. Do not overcook. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Spicy Pumpkin Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 tbsps molasses
4 eggs
2/3 cups orange juice
2 cups pumpkin puree

Sift the first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. In a second large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until light. Add orange juice and pumpkin puree and mix well.

Add pumpkin mix to dry ingredients, stirring well with wooden spoon to thoroughly combine. Spoon into two large or three small buttered loaf pans.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto racks to cool.