Connie Mullins

Today’s dessert for the guys is a true Texas treasure!

I pulled out one of my favorite old PTA cookbooks, the Obadiah Knight Elementary PTA Cookbook from Dallas ISD and made Mrs. John H. Powers’ Butterscotch Chewy Cake. This rich, gooey, chewy cake has been a favorite of mine for many years and never disappoints.

Growing up in the Dallas Independent School District, I was surrounded by these wonderful community cookbooks. In my opinion, some of the very best recipes ever published came from PTA cookbooks. They weren’t created by celebrity chefs or food magazines—they came from home kitchens, church suppers, bake sales, and generations of great cooks sharing their family favorites.

Today I served the cake warm with a scoop of Arran’s Traditional Vanilla Ice Cream, a wonderful Scottish ice cream available exclusively at Central Market. Of course, I finished it with a generous drizzle of my homemade toffee sauce.

Now I’m curious—who else has a collection of old PTA cookbooks? Do you still cook from them? I think some of the best recipes in Texas are hiding in those well-loved spiral-bound books.

I’m including the recipe so you can enjoy a little piece of Texas culinary gold. These old PTA cookbooks are filled with recipes that have stood the test of time, and this Butterscotch Chewy Cake is one of them.

Memorial Day weekend and summer just around the corner, give my Mama's Country Vanilla Ice Cream a try... I promise you will LOVE it.
Have a sweet weekend.

Country Vanilla Ice Cream
4 eggs
2 1/2 cup sugar
5 cup whole milk
4 cup heavy cream
2 Vanilla Beans or
4 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
Heat Whole Milk, Sugar, & Salt. If using Vanilla Beans, split beans and scrape seeds into milk and add the beans. Heat until milk steams. Temper in eggs and cook until custard just begins to boil. Pour into stainless steel bowl over ice bath and remove beans. Add Heavy Cream and stir over water bath until custard cools off. Add Vanilla if you didn't use vanilla beans. Pour in container and cover and chill over night. Pour cold custard into mixing canister and follow your manufacturer's directions.

Butter Nut Ice Cream

Sauté 2 cups chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts in 3 tablespoons butter. Cool completely. Churn Country Vanilla Ice Cream and for about 15 minutes or until a mushy consistency. Add chopped nut and continue freezing as directed.