1/2 C butter or shortening
1 C sugar
1-1/2 C applesauce
2-3/4 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 C raisins
1/2 C nuts (optional)
Powdered sugar

Cream butter or shortening together with sugar. Add applesauce. Sift 2-1/2 C of flour with soda and salt and stir into the batter. Toss raisins and nuts with remaining flour and add last. Mix well.

Pour into greased and floured 8×8 inch pan and bake at 325 F for 50 minutes. Cool on rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine the brown rice syrup, peanut butter, oil, and butter. Stir in the oat bran and then the remaining ingredients.

Grease a 9×12 baking dish and press the mixture into it. Bake for 20 minutes or until it browns slightly around the edges. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.

1 C sugar
1-2/3 C sifted flour
1/2 C cocoa
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 C margarine, melted
1-1/2 t vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Beat in rest of ingredients and stir until smooth. Spread in a greased and floured 9×12-inch pan and bake for 30 minutes at 375 F.

2 C light brown sugar
3 heaping T shortening
1-1/2 C sour milk
1-1/2 t baking soda
4 heaping T cocoa
3 C flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Combine sour milk and soda and stir in. Add cocoa and flour, sifted together. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 F.

1/2 C melted shortening
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C molasses
2 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t ginger
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1 C hot water

Cream shortening, sugar, and molasses. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with the hot water, beating until smooth. Bake in greased 8x8x2-inch pan at 350 F for about 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

1 C brown sugar, firmly packed
2-3 T butter
Large can sliced pineapple, drained
Pecan or maraschino cherry halves, optional

Melt butter in 9×13-inch baking pan, add sugar and stir in. Spread evenly over bottom of pan. Make one layer of pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan. Place one cherry or pecan half in the center of each pineapple slice.

Cake batter:
2 C flour
1 C sugar
2 t baking powder
1 C milk
Combine ingredients and pour over pineapple slices in pan. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Invert to serve.

1/2 lb dried black mission figs
1/4 C almonds
2 t lemon zest

Prepare the figs by removing the stems and cutting them in quarters. In a food processor, chop the almonds coarsely. Then add the figs and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture pulls together. You may have to add a spoonful or two of water, if it’s too dry.

Line a small plate or glass dish with plastic wrap and press the dough firmly into it. Then place a flat-bottomed dish on top of the cake and set something heavy on it (a bottle of water or a can of something like beans) to compress it. Allow to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving.

Cut into squares or wedges and serve topped with fresh fruit. Optional: Spoon a little sweetened yogurt or sour cream on top.

1 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 C water
1/3 C vegetable shortening
1 C raisins
1 T Angostura bitters
2 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C chopped walnuts

Combine sugar, water, shortening, raisins, and bitters and bring to a boil for a minute. Cool to lukewarm. Stir in remaining ingredients until well-blended. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes or until firm in the center.

Serve warm or cold, dusted with powdered sugar. Or frost with Cool Whip. Also good with vanilla ice cream.

This came from Practical Sailor’s Mailport, Sept. 2007. They printed the recipe as proof that one can make cookies aboard without an oven.

They’re not much like cookies. More like peanut butter-chocolate fudge with oats. If I try this one again, I’ll substitute something crunchier than oatmeal — maybe granola or rice crispies.

2 C sugar
1/2 C evaporated milk
2 T cocoa
4 oz butter
3 T peanut butter
1 t vanilla
1/2 C chopped nuts
2-1/2 C quick-cooking oats

Combine sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Boil, stirring constantly, for about a minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, peanut butter, and nuts, then add the oatmeal and mix well. Spread this into a large flat pan, like a rimmed baking sheet or a 9×12 baking pan. Let cool into one giant cookie and cut into squares.

Back when we cruised aboard the Northern Crow, we had no oven, so I made Rice Crispies (TM) treats aboard. They go stale almost immediately, so instead of hoarding them with Barry, I had to share them around the marina as soon as they were made! Anyway, I didn’t have a cookie sheet or rimmed baking sheet, so I just spread them out on several plates to cool and then cut them into wedges or rounded squares. That would work with this as well.

1 C butter, room temperature
3/4 C light brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 t salt
2-1/2 C flour
2/3 C water
1/2 t baking soda
2/3 C molasses
Lemon sauce and whipped cream cheese, recipes follow

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and salt. Add flour and stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, stir together water, baking soda, and molasses.
Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan. Press 2 C of the crumb mixture on the bottom. Pour 3/4 C of the molasses mixture over this. Then layer 1/2 C of the crumb mixture, the remaining molasses mixture, and the rest of the crumb mixture.
Bake at 350 until done, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool slightly, but serve warm. Serve with whipped cream cheese and lemon sauce.

Lemon sauce: Combine 1 T cornstarch, 1/2 C sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Stir in 1 C boiling water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add 2 T lemon juice and 1 t grated lemon rind.

Whipped cream cheese: Beat together 6 oz cream cheese, 1/4 t salt, and 1 t sugar. Gradually beat in 2-1/2 T light cream and continue beating until it is as fluffy as whipped cream.

Pour 2 C boiling water over 1 lb raisins. Boil slowly for 10 minutes.

Then add:
1/2 C shortening
2 C sugar
1 t salt
1 C cold water

Sift together and add:
4 C flour
1 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1 T baking soda

Pour into a greased and floured 9×12 pan. Bake at 350-375 F until cake tests done.

4 C brown sugar, firmly packed
1-lb box raisins
4 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
4 t nutmeg
1 C chopped nuts
3 t baking soda
4 C flour
4 C warm coffee
1 C shortening

Mix all ingredients except flour in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, cool. Add flour and mix well. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake at 300 F for 2-1/2 hours.

2 C sugar
2 C hot water
2 T shortening
1-lb box raisins
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
3 C flour
1 t baking soda

Simmer first 4 ingredients for 10 minutes. Cool. Add dry ingredients to cooled mixture and beat until smooth. Bake 60-75 minutes at 350 F.