My chocolate chip cookies always come out like really flat. Anybody have any ideas on how to make them thick and yummy.
~~~Weekly Recipe Thread Ping List~~~
Last Week’s Recipes: (Dec 24th)
Appetizer __ Post # 55 __ Bacon wrapped cocktail wieners
Breakfast __ Post # 21 __ Christmas French Toast
Cookies __ Post # 12 __ Pecan Cookies
Cookies __ Post # 16 __ Neiman-Martcus Cookies
Cookies __ Post # 25 __ Tea Cakes
Cookies __ Post # 39 __ Turtle Shortbread Cookies
Cookies __ Post # 59 __ Danish Oatmeal Cookies
Dessert __ Post # 08 __ Carmel Bacon Peanut Bark
Dessert __ Post # 09 __ Southern Corn Pudding
Dessert __ Post # 34 __ Peanut Butter & Pretzel Truffles
Dessert __ Post # 44 __ Peanut Butter & Pretzel Balls
Dessert __ Post # 48 __ Pink Stuff
Fish __ Post # 27 __ Cwedar Planked Salmon
Ham __ Post # 19 __ Anytime Ham
Ham __ Post # 27 __ Orange Glazed Ham
Icing __ Post # 23 __ Easy No-Cook Divinity Frosting
Muffins __ Post # 22 __ Cranberry Orange Scones
Pizza __ Post # 39 __ Turkey Club Pizza
Salad __ Post # 04 __ Killer Salad
Sauce __ Post # 26 __ Cranberry Sauce
Vegetable __ Post # 41 __ Crash Hot Potatoes
Dec 24th Link
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2824635/posts?page=67#67
Made a bacon/ham/egg/pretzel cheese balls for a Christmas party that turned out quite well, if you've any interest.
I don’t generally like cake mixes but I recently bought Trader Joe’s gingerbread mix. It came on a recommendation, although the person said it was not overly spicy.
Liking my gingerbread a little bit spicy and damp and rich, I used melted butter instead of “oil,” added two more teaspoons of powdered ginger, 1/4 cup of molasses instead of water and then grated some fresh ginger into it as well. (I’ve found out that most of the flavor of fresh ginger is in the skin.)
It came out very well and despite everything was still not too hot - just spicy and delicious.
Hope everyone picked the meat off their Christmas ham bone and froze it for later use in a soup, casserole, etc. And that they saved the bone for a pot of beans.
I made the best stuffed potato skins with the leftover Christmas mashed potatoes. I don't skin potatoes anymore but cook them (bake or microwave), scoop out the insides and stuff the skins. No waste and makes for an extra meal or two. The unstuffed skins can be frozen on trays (so they don't stick together) and then stored in baggies in the freezer for later use.
Stuffed Potato Skins
Pre-cooked potato skins
cooked and crumbled bacon flavored sausage (raw links found in the breakfast sausage section)
chopped onion sauted in the sausage grease
picante sauce
shredded monterrey cheese
Place ingredients on the skins in order. Bake 400 for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.
Ingredients amounts are whatever you have on hand or leftovers you need to use up. Try a variety of ingredients like ham and swiss, or broccoli with cheddar, or asparagus with bacon and hollandaise sauce.
cod, 1 lb (better fresh than frozen)
1/4 medium onion
1/2 stalk celery
2 tbsp olive oil
large can tomatoes
2 medium potatoes
Sicilian green olives (the great, nasty kind)
capers
pepper
pinch sugar
Slice the celery and onion, and place in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven with oil. Saute for 10 minutes.
Peel, quarter and par-boil the potatoes separately.
A note from my late mother: Run the tomatoes through a blender for a few seconds to break them up. No more than that.
Add the potatoes and tomatoes, and sprinkle with the spices. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the cod, olives and capers, and cover the fish with the mixture. Cook until the potatoes are soft. (The potatoes are the timer, not the clock.) (Note that as the cod falls apart in the stew, it will take on a color that is less red than orange,)
Thanks for the thread and Happy New Year everybody!
Over the last week, I have made 3 of these Orange Nut Breads. They are really good! As soon as they had cooled, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and I think they were even better a day or two later. When visiting family & friends, especially during the holidays, this bread makes a nice hostess gift.
ORANGE NUT BREAD
2-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3/4 cup dried cranberries (optional - my addition to recipe)
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & baking soda.
Stir in walnuts & orange peel (and dried cranberries, if using).
In a separate bowl, mix the orange juice, egg, and vegetable oil until blended, then add the flour mixture, stirring until just moistened.
Pour into a greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch loaf pan (if you don’t have 8x4 size, 9x5 works fine - that is what I used)
Bake for 55 minutes or until done.
Remove from pan, cool on a rack.
Wrap and store overnight.
Thank You for that link on last weeks thread to the Crash Hot Potatoes. I plan on trying them with a pot roast next week.
This is one of my favorite party recipes (great for Super Bowl) & it is so easy. Although the original recipe was ‘stovetop’ rather than crockpot, the longer these cook (minimum 6 hours, I would say), the better they get. A lot of the juice (probably fat) cooks out of the sausages and they shrink a little and become more dense .... and more delicious. Also, the bourbon needs time to cook & blend, otherwise the alcohol is a bit harsh.
Wicked Wienies - (Large Batch in Crockpot):
2 packages Little Smokies (50 per pack, total 100)
1 bottle (32 or 36 oz) catsup
1 bottle (10-16 oz.) BBQ sauce
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Mix all, add sausages, put in crock pot on high for several hours, then switch to low for a couple of hours. Sausages become more dense (& delicious) the longer they cook (6-8 hours or so).
Want to try something a little different? It is claimed Queen Elizabeth II, like her mother before her, has one of these before lunch every day.
30% gin, 70% Dubonnet with a lemon slice under the ice.
Happy New year......
Several months ago I began baking artisan bread.
I got some good help from FReepers on these threads and make a pretty good loaf. The product has a good tough crust and tastes very good.
3 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp of bread machine red star yeast, 2 tsp of sugar,2 tsp of salt 1 1/4 cups of water mixed with a spatula in a plastic bowl and then mixed thoroughly by hand. It is allowed to rise for 2 1/2 hours on the stove top. It is baked on ceramic floor tile baking stones in an oven with a water tray for 28- 30 minutes at 450.
I place the yeast into warm water in which the sugar is dissolved. I let the yeast grow and foam up for 15 minutes or so before adding the flour.
The problem is that it does not rise enough. It seems heavy.
I would like the crumb air cells to be a little bigger and the loaf a little lighter.
Is there a ratio of water to flour ratio that controls? I think the water is at a minimum to permit through mixing.
The same mix made in a bread machine has a better texture but not the crusty shell i favor
Critique?, Suggestions?
Happy New Years to all
Lady Bender is doing her Christmas Dinner this evening. It will be Roast Garlic with a Prime Rib Roast attached, Mashed Garlic with a hint of potatoes plus all the usual accouterments including Sour Cream Apple and home grown Punkin Pies.
May you all have a Healthy New Year so you can survive the current diaster in D.C and state Capitols across the fruit filled plaine...
Picked up a nice rack of baby back ribs. Anyone got a good barbecue sauce recipe? I was going to put a rub on it tonight, wrap it in foil and put it in a slow oven tomorrow, with the sauce.
Has anyone made some really good Pink Champaign Cookies? I bought some at a nearby Mom and Pop bakery and they were Delish as my Dear Old Mother would say. Lady Bender bakes several hundred cookies a week for our son’s complimentary coffee bar...
One pack of Oscar Mayer beef bun-length weiners.
One pack of top-cut hot dog buns (Ingalls here in GA has them).
One Pack of half-pound Medium Sharp Cheddar.
One pack of thick-sliced bacon...
Hot dog in bun with long slice of Kraft cheese on both sides.
Wrap with two stretched pieces of bacon around the bun.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes...
A real coronary delight.
Visit here and vote for Humboldt County Cheese makers...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2827454/posts?page=65