From The Kitchen of the Cypress House, June 25, 1980:

What started out to be an ordinary pineapple upside-down cake turned out to be the surprise cake of the year!

Here’s what happened. Story opened a yellow cake mix and melted a stick of butter for the pineapple cake before she realized the kitchen of The Cypress House was completely out of pineapple. So, it was use what we had to dress up the box mix.

The result was absolutely delicious. In fact, the boys claim it was the best cake we’ve ever made.

Story’s Surprise Cake

1 yellow butter cake mix

1 cup honey

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 bananas, mashed

1 stick melted butter

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs

In an electric mixer blend cake mix, bananas, honey, oats, butter, oil, water and eggs. Beat for two or three minutes.

Pour into two round 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Icing:

2 three-ounce packages cream cheese

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 banana, sliced

Beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Spread between layers and on top. Garnish top with a circle of banana slices.

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From The Kitchen of the Cypress House, June 18, 1980:

This past March a recipe appeared in these pages for a travel-well, chewy cookie called College Bar Cookies. The recipe struck my fancy and I vowed to make and send the cookies to my three college students.

I never got around to that task, but with everybody home for the summer I tested them last week and they are better than we expected.

College Bar Cookies

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter or oleo, melted

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1/2 cup wheat germ

Line a 15-by-10-inch jellyroll pan with foil, extending edges of foil over sides of pan. Grease.

Combine all ingredients except oats and wheat germ in a large bowl, mixing until well blended. Add oats and wheat germ. (If you don’t have wheat germ, add a little more oats.) Mix well.

Press mixture firmly into prepared pan. Bake at 450° for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool thoroughly. Loosen edges of cookies from sides of pan. Remove from pan. Remove foil and cut into bars.