Pineapple Coffee Cake

Lately for some odd reason, I haven't a clue why, I have been craving pineapple. Bright and refreshing! I think I am missing summer big time. Everyone is sick and tired of the rain but as soon as it stops the pollen jumps out at you. Fun! I don't have allergies but there is enough pollen in the air to give me a constant itchy nose. Thank good ness for flowers, specifically cherry blossoms, because I could easily skip Spring if not for them. Anyways, I quick search gave me either muffins or coffee cake. I went with Pineapple Coffee Cake from the 1950's 250 Breads, Biscuits, and Rolls. (Muffins may come later.)

Not a lot to this. Had to get buy a can of pineapple. (Now I have a nice bowl of pineapple juice for cocktails!) It does not call for much sugar, definitley not as much I was expecting. Kinda concerned.

Sadly I do not have a ring mold so no party airs will be had.

 A little bit of this...little bit of that..

 I decided to try this cake by hand. No standing mixer this time.

 Mixed nicely together but it does take more time to cut in the shortening with only forks.

No party airs but I tried to get a little bit fancy. I pretty certain I used more than 1 1/2 cups of pineapple.

 It was difficult to try to spread the topping without ruining my beautiful design. Clumps work.

My apartment smells heavenly! Like a summer morning...I just need some coffee.

 It looks so bright and cheerful!

Sometimes I just don't want to wait to taste my experiments but I have learned better. Almost everything I've baked tasted better after it has cooled.

The topping was soft and juicy and the cake layer was dense and a tad dry. I was disappointed at first but then I remembered that it is coffee cake. The cake is suppose to be dry! I just needed the coffee. This was a nice twist on a coffee cake and a welcome change. The pineapple adds just enough sweetness. The best bite has a both the pineapple and the cake.

My Rating: Keeper! Great for a brunch.

Friends and Family Rating: "Oh, this is really good." "Did I like it? I ate a huge piece. It was great!"

Drop Pineapple Cookies

Gotta stick with the fruit! But this time I grabbed a can. It was much easier. Yeah! Wisconsin Power and Light Company published this Cookies (all kinds) pamphlet in 1963. Pineapple seemed like a really weird choice for cookies but why not. This one promises to be dainty...okay. And they are drop cookies. Extra easy to make.

Everything looks normal except for the pineapple.

One small can of crushed pineapple was enough for the pineapple and the pineapple juice. I used walnuts for the nuts but pecans would also work.

Started off very very liquidy.

Still soft! And I actually chilled the mixture over night. No real reason...It was not because I fell asleep on the couch.

 Lovely little cookies and still quite soft. I am a little concerned about how well they will bake up.

 No need to worry. They baked great!

 You can still see little chunks of pineapple.

Yep, they are dainty! And soft and moist and yummy. They have a light fruity flavor and no overwhelming pineapple taste which is great since some people don't like pineapple. Weirdos. They did not last longer than a couple of days due to how moist they are. They started to stick together after 2 days. Once you make them, you have to eat them!

My Rating: Delicious! I wished they kept better though.

Friends and Family Rating: "What is the fruit I taste?" "Yum! Please refill the bag."

Pineapple Raisin Drops

Sometimes you just have to grab and try the strange. This gem came from the Christmas Cookies booklet put out by the Wisconsin Gas & Electric Co. I've already made several of the recipes and they have turned out great. Expectations are high!

The crushed pineapple is something different. And I had to buy more raisins. I'm not even a fan of raisins!

 Everything looks normal, except for the pineapple...

 Easy recipe. Came together quickly and easily!

 The pineapple pieces have already disappeared in the batter. I am guessing that they will not add any flavor.

 They baked up so pretty!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. As expected, the crushed pineapples did not add any flavor but did add a ton of moisture to the batch. All in all these were great! I am not a fan of raisin cookies but I would gladly make these again.

My Rating: Surprisingly delicious!

Friends and Family Rating: "Yum!" "You did the impossible. You made raisin cookies that I actually like."