I get a lot of joy from flipping through vintage recipe books. It amazes me how just reading the recipes and looking at the pictures can transport you back in time. There is something very cozy about the whole experience and I am hooked. Friends and family know this and have graciously passed some of their books on to me. Just recently I received a stack of Pillsbury books, ranging from the 1970s-1990s from Dan’s Aunt Diane. They are books that you would have seen waiting in the check out line at the grocery store. As I looked through the stack I was extra excited to see she had given me a Bake-Off Cookbook.
In 1949, Pillsbury held the first baking competition in New York City. Since then thousands of people have submitted their original recipes and the winners have been awarded millions of dollars in prize money. The contest is still running to this day. Presently, it seems every three years a winner is chosen. These winning recipes and their runner ups have been published into a collection of Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbooks throughout the years. My goal is to collect all 44. So far I have 6.....
What I love about these books is that you know each recipe has been tested and approved by a panel of judges. There is no need to worry about the recipe being fake, like a lot of books or Pinterest boards made today.
This Bake-Off recipe book features Cookies, Brownies and Bars, not only from the year the book was published, in 1997, but also from previous bake-off contestants. Our Treasure Chest Bars are from the 14th Bake-Off contest in 1962. According to the notes on the side, they were an accidental success. The photo really caught my eye. I can see why they are called Treasure Chests. All of the delicious gems inside are Sullivan’s favorites...cherries, nuts and chocolate chips!
There is nothing complicated about this recipe. Everything goes straight into the bowl. When the batter is nice and smooth you can stir in all of your jewels.... that is if you haven't eaten them all! I recommend pouring the frosting on when the cake is warm. This way it gets a chance to soak in and make the cake extra moist.
This is a very easy and delicious cake. If you enjoy chocolate covered cherries then this is exactly what you need to make. Super yummy!
xoxo
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