Gluten Free Piña Colada Upside-Down Cake
Happy Mother’s Day to all nurturing women and men in our lives. This recipe takes me back to childhood and I have had a box of yellow gluten free cake mix in my pantry that just needed to become pineapple upside down cake. My mom, Irene was not a frequent baker, she made her famous Valentines Day cake and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, my Aunt Irene was. It was always a staple at all potluck throughout my career in aging. Maybe someday I will make this recipe with grilled fresh pineapple which became one of the two ways to eat fresh pineapple. Don’t use fresh pineapple as it can affect the set up of the syrup.  Again, celebrate with this treat today or soon!

Serves 8-16
Ingredients:
Syrup & Topping
¼ cup non-dairy butter-flavored spread, such as Earth Balance (dairy choice: butter)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup (or cook down the pineapple syrup or juice in can until thick)
9 slices pineapple, drained (fresh, or from 16 or 20-oz. can of pineapple in 100% juice, unsweetened.)
9 maraschino cherries, drained
 
Cake Gluten Free NonDairy version:
1 box (15 oz.) Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
1/3 cup coconut oil (or 1/3 cup flavorless vegetable oil, or ½ cup softened butter)
2/3 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
 
Cake Elsa’s version of pudding cake:
1 box (15 oz.) Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
1/2 cup creamed butter or oil
8 oz creamed tofu
½ cup orange or pineapple jc or buttermilk
1 Tbs vanilla
3 eggs
Opt. add toasted coconut at serving or add coconut to the batter if not using coconut milk and oil otherwise change name.
 
Directions
Read Directions depending on ingredients used.
 
Preheat oven to 350° F. In 9-inch cake pan, melt ¼ cup non-dairy buttery spread in oven. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup; spread evenly in pan. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar mixture, place cherry in center of each pineapple slice. (To make the design pictured here, cut the pineapple slices into 6-8 arc-shaped pieces each, start with a tight ring of pineapple arcs around a central cherry, and build out with cherries and half-circles from there.)

In a large bowl, first cream coconut oil if it has hardened. Then add rest of cake ingredients, and blend. (If using a liquid oil, omit first mixing and simply blend all ingredients. If using butter, it could use the initial mixing to make sure it’s soft and fluffy.). Beat all ingredients on low speed 30 seconds until combined, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Scoop batter using a #16 or #24 carefully over pineapple and cherries, trying not to disturb the pattern; the carefully with a metal spatula join batter gaps until it is even and smooth without disturbing the topping below. The cake tends to keep the shape of the uncooked batter when it goes into the oven because of its thickness

Bake 38 to 43 minutes or until surface is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Immediately run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down onto pan; turn plate and pan over together. Leave pan over cake 5 minutes so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake. Carefully remove pan; cool 30 minutes.
Notes: from original author: Do not use 8-inch square pan as there will be too much batter and it will not bake all the way through. (A 10-inch round pan also works.) Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator. Best eaten in 2 days as it will absorb sauce and get soggy over time. 
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Addendum from Elsa: Use a generous pan no matter which type you use as all my square rectangle and round pans are different thicknesses. Often trying this in different pans until you find the one you like best in your collection for this recipe. If you have too much batter mini cakes or cupcakes made in 4 oz pyrex always let the baker taste it.
Adapted from https://www.hodgsonmill.com/blogs/blog/gluten-free-pina-colada-upside-down-cake by Dr. Elsa Ramirez-Brisson, RDN to celebrate Mother’s Day 2020

This recipe was requested by one of my former interns at La Cocina Bakery.....Here you are and success in baking more memories. The other favorite at the bakery were the oatmeal, cranberry and pecan cookies. This month the Pritkin Newletter recommended  eight foods to beat stress and Oats were on it. Probably not all as cookies but definitely for the once a day sweet these should hit the spot. 

Super Chocolate Chippers
 
HOMEMADE COOKIES ARE BEST .... BUILDING CHILDHOOD MEMORIES AND RELEIVE ADULT STRESS!
 
This recipe is an adaptation from the Urban Legend on the internet about the Nieman Marcus Cookie and a core staple at La Cocina Rusa. What makes it different and so rich are the 3 types of chocolate included:  3 regular Hersey bars or buy milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I use mini and regular semi-sweet chips, and then alternate between milk chocolate chips or the candy bar, it depends on what I have on hand. It makes for a Wow chocolate flavor.  The nuts can be left out or varied. I use pecans and folks in California take notice as walnuts are more common here.
 
Makes 3 dozen
 
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups blended oatmeal*
12 oz. chocolate chips (1 cup each of mini and regular chips)
½ tsp salt
4 oz. grated or chopped Hershey Bar (approximately 3 regular bars)
1 ½ cups chopped nuts (pecans drive folk’s nuts)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use a TB)
1 cup butter
 
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (Try 350?)
 
In a blender pulse the oatmeal 1 ¼ cups at a time to make a coarse flour.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars, until creamy; then add eggs one at a time and vanilla.  In another bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt; then add oatmeal*, nuts and chocolate; and add to the butter mixture, stirring to combine.
 
Form cookies using a commercial portioning scoop, red #24 or a rounded tablespoon. Slightly flatten the balls. Different type pans use different preparation: commercial baking sheet with baking paper or a stone baking sheet. (All of these recommend different treatments for greasing the pan). Bake cookies for 10 -14 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and cool on the pan until they can be moved to a wire rack.
 
Completely cooled cookies can be frozen or kept for one week in a tightly sealed container.