**The tattered, well-used original recipe**

Farm Journal's Country Fair Cookbook (circa 1975) is the source of this recipe. You can see by the tattered and spattered cookbook page that is was beloved! The cookbook was a gift from my mother (between us we have most the cookbooks published by Farm Journal Magazine!), and this was one of the first recipes I tried. It has been passed to nearly all of my children, and my oldest son Matt called to get the recipe right after his wife and newborn son came home from the hospital. He wasn't a baker, but he made this for Lainie and it turned out perfectly! This coffee cake appears at any breakfast or brunch family gathering. It is easy to make and I am convinced you will love it, too!

Coffee Cake:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter (10.7 ounces) at room temperature (original recipe calls for margarine)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans- I use pecans)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Grease a 13 X 9-inch pan well with butter. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and then grease the paper well.

Place all of the dry ingredients in a bow and whisk together until well combined.

Cream together butter and sugars in a mixer until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.

With mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat until all of the dry and wet ingredients have been added. Mix just until there are no streaks of flour or milk and the batter and everything is well combined. Do not over-mix.

Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth evenly.

Combine all of the topping ingredients well and sprinkle evenly over the cake in the pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Bake for 45 minutes, rotating pan half-way through, or until done. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting. Cut into squares and serve warm.

Serves 12-16