Do you have a wonderful a mother-in-law like mine?  I lost my mother when I was a young pup of 15, and I never realized what I was missing until I married Jim and entered his family. Bernice thought he was on the rebound from a divorce, but she welcomed me with open arms. She just did what she always did with her children, she didn’t tear down the bridge that her son might have to walk upon one day. The best advice for adult children she ever gave me: express your opinion once, twice if they are looking at a life-changing move, then back them in whatever they choose. That way if they need to walk back to you the bridge is still there for them to cross. Please understand that I am not talking about addictions.

She made a kicker coffee cake that all the days of my married life I tried to duplicate. I watched her make it. No recipe just a bit of this and about a cup of that. She wrote down the recipe and still I never got it right. NEVER! 

So now I am doing the next best thing, I am creating a recipe that is close. I am not saying I am making Bernice’s world-famous cottage cheese coffee cake. I am making Mrs. May’s world-famous cottage cheese coffee cake instead. At Christmas, one of Jim’s family sisters complimented me on my version, saying it was even better than Bernice’s! High Praise! It made my evening!

Here is the recipe for Mrs. May’s cottage cheese coffee cake:

Ingredients:

Dough for the bottom of coffee cake:

½ cup butter

2 ¼ cup Bisquick

½ cup white sugar

Splash of vanilla (1 teaspoon for the unadventurous)

Melt butter.  In mixing bowl, mix Bisquick and sugar. Stir in butter and vanilla. You want a very stiff dough. Note: if it needs a little extra liquid, use a bit of milk. You should barely be able to spread this mixture onto the bottom of a greased (with butter) 9 x 13 pan. I pat it into the bottom and up the sides slightly with clean hands dipped in powdered sugar.

Topping:

3 to 4 eggs

¾ to 1 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 to 1 ½ heaping cups cottage cheese. (Whole fat is best, but any will work, curd size doesn’t matter)

Beat the eggs. Use 3 jumbo or 4 large eggs until well blended, add sugar to taste then add vanilla and cottage cheese. Mix well and pour over the bottom crust. Liberally dust with cinnamon. Toss it into a pre-heated 350-degree oven on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes and then rotate pan in the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Do not overbake! If you do this the middle will be jiggly.

Frost with cream cheese frosting or mix together powdered sugar and milk for a quick glaze. The biggest mistake cooks make with this is not getting the crust stiff enough. It must be hard to spread out or it will rise too much and ruin the percentage of goo to crust. This is an example of a recipe that is delicious but frustrating. Don’t give up, the mistakes taste great!

The grand lady who made this coffee cake with so much love is slowly slipping away from us due to Alzheimer’s. Please enjoy your family, one never knows. Be blessed and don’t forget to try the coffee cake!

Here to help! Be richly blessed! 

Mrs. May