Jammers for June's Secret Recipe Club

 Now just to be clear I am not talking about the kind of jammers that you wear to bed.  I'm talking about the kind that you eat.  That's right Jammers are cookies!  I had never heard of such a cookie until I was browsing through Fran's Favs for a recipe to make for my June 

Secret Recipe Club choice.  Imagine my delight when I came across such a cookie recipe!  I love the idea of a tender shortbread crust with a layer of sweet jam and then a sprinkling of brown sugar crumble all coming together to create a cookie.  Magic!

I was just as delighted to be assigned Fran's wonderful blog as I was to find this recipe for Jammers.  Her blog is completely packed with mouth watering recipes.  Honestly, it was very hard to chose just one recipe to make from her blog.  I really look forward to making her Carrot Cake -which looks like the moistest carrot cake I have seen in a LONG time! - and then the Coffee and Donuts Cake she created is out-of-this-world adorably yummy looking!  Such talent that gal Fran has!  I have a special little soft spot for Fran because she too originates from New England as a Bostonian.  Hooray for Boston!  I live just under 2 hours away from Boston in Southern NH. Let's meet up Fran next time you visit Boston.  I would love to meet you in person! :-)

Fran suggested using either english muffin rings or whoopie pie molds to make these cookies.  Muffin top molds would also work well for these cookies.  I used my whoopie pie mold to make my Jammers.  Yup, I really enjoy saying that word - "Jammers"...sorry that was just a side note. :-)

Jammers

(recipe from Fran's Favs)

Shortbread Dough Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

Jam of your choice - I used Strawberry and Peach-Mango

Brown Sugar Crumble Topping Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Beat butter until smooth in a large bowl.  Add in sugars, cinnamon and salt and beat all together until well blended, about 1 minute.  Mixture will be smooth and velvety, not fluffy and airy.

2. Add in egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix on low speed.  Beat until mixture is homogeneous.

3. Add in flour all at once.  Cover mixer with a clean dish towel to protect yourself from any flying flour.  Pulse mixer on low speed a couple of times to incorporate flour into batter.  Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds more - just enough for the dough to look uniformly moist.  The dough will have the consistency of play-doh - soft, moist and clumpy.

4. In the mold of your choice (whoopie or muffin top molds or english muffin rings) fill each cup with dough and flatten with your fingers.  The dough should be slightly lower than the top of the pan.  Chill mold or rings in freezer for about 15 minutes until dough firms up.

5. Make streusel while dough is chilling.....

Melt butter in small saucepan on stove or in microwave.  Add to melted butter the remaining streusel ingredients all at once.  Stir all together with a fork to form coarse crumbs.  Cover streusel and set aside until ready to use.  The crumbs will harden a litthe as the mixture cools off.

6. Spread a couple of teaspoons of jam on top of chilled shortbreads.  Sprinkle with streusel....

Pop pan in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until edges of cookies are light brown.  Larger molds will take longer.  Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from molds.  Allow cookies to cool completely before serving.

Share these cookies with those that you adore, cherish and love.  They are some special cookies. Above and beyond d'lish!

Happy Jammers Baking!

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Calling all bundt cake lovers! Yooo-hooo!  Yes, I am reaching out to those of you that enjoy the beauty and simplicity of a good ole fashioned bundt cake. And this bundt cake recipe is to die for yummy-licious, this I can promise you.  Ripe bananas, shredded coconut, pineapple chunks along with toasted pecans all make up this lovely cake. 

 

 

And of course a lovely glaze to make the whole cake just perfect is also part of this recipe.

My theory behind the name of this cake is that hummingbirds love all of these sweet ingredients that make up this cake. What do you think?

Grab a bowl, your apron, a couple of ripe bananas and fire up your oven. It's Hummingbird Bundt Cake time! 
Hummingbird Bundt Cake
(recipe slightly adapted from myrecipes.com)

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
2 cups flour
2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cup mashed bananas (about 4 large bananas)
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple (I used chunk pineapple and just cut the chunks into 1/3's as I like my pineapple pieces to be bigger than the "crushed" pineapple)
1/2 cup shredded coconut


Glaze ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed and softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp milk


 Directions:

1.  Grease and flour 14 cup bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake pecans in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant - stir half-way through.

2. In a large bowl stir together flour and next 4 ingredients.  Add in eggs and next 4 ingredients - stir all together until dry ingredients are moistened.  

3. Sprinkle 1 cup of toasted pecans into prepared bundt pan.  Spoon cake batter over nuts.

4. Bake cake (at 350 degrees F.) for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan and cooling completely.

5. Prepare glaze by beating cream cheese and sifted powdered sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add in vanilla extract and then 1 Tbsp of milk.  Beat all together. Add in more milk to your preference of consistency.  Pour glaze over cooled cake and sprinkle with remaining chopped and toasted pecans.

Serve with happiness!

Happy Hummingbird Bundt Cake Baking!