When I was a kid, my mom had one of those spiral-bound cookbooks (the kind a lot of churches used to sell) that was filled with recipes from women who had submitted their best dishes for consideration. There were few photos of finished dishes, and those that were included were in black and white. Gray food…yum.
When I was younger, I tended to avoid these kinds of books because I wanted to see what the finished dish should look like. Now, I like the adventure of finding out for myself!
This week’s recipe is based on one from that kind of cookbook. I found the book in an antique store, and since it was published the year I was born, I had a few issues with it being an “antique”…
I know it doesn’t look like much when it’s finished, but trust me–it’s really yummy.
What you’ll need:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Grease a 9 inch square pan, and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In your mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
Slowly combine the dry mixture into the creamed mixture, and beat just until blended. Fold in the pineapple and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and the coconut, and sprinkle it over the batter.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cut into 9 squares (or four huge ones) and enjoy!
This makes a simple dessert, plain or with ice cream, but also a nice coffeecake for brunch.
