APRICOT STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE 1 (6 oz.) pkg. dried (or equal amts. fresh) apricots, chopped Boiling water Streusel (recipe follows at end) 1 3/4 c. flour 1 c. sugar 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3/4 c. butter, softened 2/3 c. sour cream 2 lg. eggs 2 tsp. vanilla In bowl cover apricots with boiling water. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain, place on paper towels, set aside. Prepare streusel, set aside. In large bowl, sift together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Using mixer at low speed, beat until moistened. Increase speed to medium, beat 2 1/2 minutes. Spread 2/3 of the batter into greased 9 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan (9 x 13 inch works fine). Toss reserved 3/4 cup pecan mixture from streusel with apricots; sprinkle over batter. Spoon remaining batter over apricot layer, spread evenly. Sprinkle with streusel crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan. STREUSEL: In bowl, mix together: 1/2 c. brown sugar 3 tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Reserve 3/4 cup pecan mixture, set aside. Stir 1/2 cup flour in remaining pecan mixture. Using pastry blender, cut in 1/4 cup butter until coarse crumbs form. Freezes well. Dave

Seedmama, That does sound like a reasonable substitution, but because we're talking about fats in canning I wouldn't make it myself (and I'm considered a safety-ignoring cowboy by some on this forum). It's not hard to get a hold of actual chocolate, after all. All, Boy, I really am forgetful in my old age! I made this chocolate-raspberry jam again yesterday with my two young visiting nieces (aged 9 and 11; one is my brother's youngest from Montreal and one is my sister's from Toronto, so they were having a visit with each other at their auntie's place in between). We had a lot of fun! We went raspberry picking the day before and they worked hard in the hot sun, and then in the hot kitchen, but were very proud to make labels and bring their creations home to their families. We got a bigger yield than the recipe called for---more like 8 pints than 6 or 7 --- and we also found it very runny. This was no problem, as it gave me a chance to explain to my new young canner nieces that there is no such thing as a failed jam, only successful sauce! But now I went looking for this old thread to reread, and I see that when I made this jam several years ago it ALSO came out runny, but then set up almost firm a few days later! So maybe that will happen again. I had to laugh at myself because I had the same thing with the boiling---we addded the sugar after a minute of what looked like a "full, roiling boil," but then when it heated back up again it boiled much harder and I thought we should have waited longer before adding it. Sigh! You'd think an editor would know to check her sources. Anyway, we used the recipe Gardengrl had posted, calling for 3 ounces of chocolate---used a 100-gram bittersweet bar of a quality grocery house brand. MMM is it good. If it doesn't set up to be spreadable it's going to end up getting stirred into oatmeal and poured on pancakes. We love to jazz up our winter breakfasts around here with home-canned jars from the happy harvest days.... Z, who enjoyed reliving her wedding and Annie's!

Sure, as I already mentioned above there are several recipes here for Apricot Pineapple Jam that a search will pull up for you with a bit of digging (can't recall for sure which threads they are in). Here's the one we use: Apricot Pineapple Jam 3 cups apricots, pitted and chopped 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice 1/2 cup lemon juice 1 package pectin (any powdered brand) 1/2 teaspoon butter 8 cups sugar (can be reduced slightly) Measure apricots into 6-8 qt. saucepot. Add pineapple and lemon juice. Stir pectin into fruit mixture. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add butter. Stir in sugar quickly and bring back to a rolling boil and boil exactly 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, skim foam, ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads, cover with two piece lids, and process for 10 mins. in BWB. Makes about 9 cups of jam. Dave

I think it would work for these - my neighbor made them for her husband for decades, his favorite. (and I don't like fruit/meat combinations either ;) Not even pineapple on a pizza, or my sis's killer raisin sauce for ham, We had guests from Croatia a few years ago and they wanted to cook a special dinner, one seldom affordable given the price of beef for them. Roasted beef and plums. I smiled hard, said thank you so much, and ate) California Gold Bars 1 c. brown sugar, packed 1 c. butter 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. flour 1 c. nuts 1/2 c. apricot jam Beat together sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in flour and nuts. Spoon half the batter in a greased 9-inch square pan. Spread evenly with jam, cover jam with remaining batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Cut into squares.