We’re going to end Comfort Food Week — a tribute to the food-centric help we got when my grandmother passed away last month — with a list of thank you’s and 2 dessert recipes. Thank you for sticking with us during this difficult period, and please stay tuned as we resume regularly scheduled programming (very soon).

While we couldn’t do a post about every single dish people brought, we were overwhelmed by everything we did receive would like to say thank you to the following people,  who contributed in many ways — we love you all:
Julie Platt, Gail Nussen, Sara Aftergood, Marci Spitzer, Patti Felker, Dawn Smalberg, Helen Weston, Rita Segal, Estelle Ashkenazi, Ahoova Zeffren, Debi and Elie Benaron, Jory Goldman, Rena Horowitz, Jan Zakowski, Sherre Hirsh, Molly Matthieson, Brigitte Rosenberg, May Huang and J. Sikura, Erica Tucker, Susie Chodakiewitz, Elie Nankin, Lois Hellman and Sunda Zafrin.

 

And, for the concluding recipes of Comfort Food Week, we bring you SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE and LOWFAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. The delicious cake came from Donna Nadel, and the cookies from Lesley Wolman. (Don’t be fooled by the low fat thing, though — the cookies tasted sinfully good. Really.)

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SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

3/4 c.walnuts, finely chopped

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 c. sugar

CAKE BATTER:

3/4 c. butter or margarine

1-1/2 c. sugar

3 c. all-purpose flour

1-1/2 c. sour cream

3 eggs

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease 10-inch tube pan.  In small bowl, combine walnuts, cinnamon and 1/2 c. sugar.  Use about 1/3 of this mixture to “dust” inside of tube pan.  Set the rest aside for use later.  In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat butter or margarine with 1-1/2 c. sugar until light and fluffy.  Add flour and remaining ingredients (do not include saved nut and sugar mixture); beat at low speed until blended, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  Increase speed to medium; beat 3 minutes.   Spread half of batter in pan; sprinkle with half of reserved nut mixture.  Spoon in remaining batter, then sprinkle with remaining nut mixture.  Bake 60 to 65 minutes, until cake pulls away from sides of pan.  Cool cake in pan completely on wire rack.  Makes 20 servings.

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LESLEY’S LOW FAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 C canola oil

1 C brown sugar

3/4 C white sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 C flour

1 tsp vanilla extract