GRANDMOTHER CALDWELL’S PETITE COFFEE CAKES

MRS. R. W. “ETHEL” CALDWELL (Lawrenceburg, Tennessee) was known to her grandkids as Grandmother or Mrs. Caldwell. She was a dignified, true Southern lady to whom manners were paramount—that’s why grandson BRIAN CARDEN (Nashville, Tennessee) says he only called her Granny once. He recalls, “Grandmother and Granddaddy’s house was at the end of a long, tree-lined street, and as soon as we made the turn, I could see the driveway and the garage. Dad always had to slow to a crawl to keep the car from scraping, but I remember the anticipation of getting there. My sense of smell recalls so many fond memories of those days—Granddaddy’s Old Spice aftershave . . . the smell of the house . . . the kitchen . . . the garage . . . whatever was baking in the kitchen. My mom said Grandmother never used a true recipe, just a dash of this and a little of that. No matter how she made it, it always was perfect in our eyes. When I graduated college and moved from Knoxville to Nashville, Mom made me a recipe book, and these coffee cakes are one of Grandmother’s best.”

PETITE CAKES:

Cooking spray

½ cup (1 stick) margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING:

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup pecans, crushed

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 muffin tins with cooking spray.

2 TO MAKE THE PETITE CAKES, in a large bowl cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the eggs and blend well. Add the flour, then the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.

3 Mix well and pour into 24 muffin cups, filling one-half full.

4 TO MAKE THE TOPPING, combine the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking. Then sprinkle with the crushed pecans. Bake for 30 minutes or until the center tests done with a toothpick.

MAKES 24 MUFFINS.