Linzer Torte Bars

Original Recipe

1 cup  flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup coarsely ground walnuts

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 - 1 cup raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all items except preserves until crumbly. Press 2/3 of mix into ungreased 9x9 pan. Spread with preserves - almost to edge. Sprinkle remaining crumbly mixture over the preserves and gently press into preserves.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan and then cut into bars.

(You can substitute almonds for walnuts, apricot for raspberry)

Did it Work?

Yup. This is a simple, easily modified recipe that is great to take to parties. I use a metal 9x9 cake pan and these easily come out once cooled and loosened around the edges. 

Modifications

Nuts and Preserves. As the original recipe states, you can swap out both the nuts and the preserves for other flavor options. My last batch was almonds with homemade mixed berry jam. The only thing to watch is the salt level of the nuts. I have gotten away with using the 50% Less Salt almonds from Trader Joe's but I would not recommend using fully salted nuts.

Butter. I go with room temperature butter, to make mixing easier. This is not a pastry crust, so I don't think you need to bother trying to use cold butter. I use my fingers to mix in the butter after I have combined the flour sugar and nuts, just to make sure everything is evenly mixed.

Photos

Final product

Ginger Cookies

Original Recipe

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

4 tbsp. molasses

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

Sugar for rolling dough in

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large bowl cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and molasses until fully combined.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture and mix until combined.

Roll the dough into small balls [I measured mine at about 2 teaspoons] and then roll in sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Did it Work?

This is a nice straight forward spice cookie with a lovely crunch thanks to the sugar coating. The molasses adds a bit of color, but the flavor of it does not overwhelm anything.
You get a lot of wiggle room on the spices, so feel free to experiment. For several batches I upped the ginger because I love ginger. Due to a lack of cinnamon for one batch I ended up replacing the cinnamon with star anise and some allspice. Chinese five-space powder would probably also be tasty, as would adding some chopped candied ginger.

The cookies do not come out too big, making them nice for a tea-time treat or a cookie tray. You could easily pre-potion these and freeze for baking off later.

Modifications

Except for messing with the spices, this really did not need any changes. I did not change out the shortening for butter like I normally do because I did not want the flavor of the butter interfering with the spices.

Photos

Dough ready to bake.

The finished product

Carrot Cake (Linda's)

Original Recipe

3 cups flour

3 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups oil

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

1 1/2 cups coconut ( I used unsweetened)

1 1/3 cups cooked carrots (I mashed them up before measuring)

3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained

350 degree oven - 45 minutes or more. 

Cream cheese frosting.

Did it Work?

Yes. This got good reviews at the party I took it to and was tasty, dense and full of stuff. The running joke in our house is that this is carrot cake that wants to be fruit cake when it grows up due to the variety of ingredients that go into the cake. If you have the carrots already cooked up this will come together pretty easily, otherwise it will require some work.

Modifications

Mixing order. The best way for this seems to be what Alton Brown calls the "muffin method". Prepare your pan(s) by spraying with Pam or your preferred greasing mix and set aside. In a bowl sift the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together and set aside. In a large bowl beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla together.  Then mix in the nuts, coconut and the cooked carrots. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, being carful to not over mix. Poor into prepared pan and bake.

Pan size. I did this in a 13x9 and while nothing dire happened I did end up feeling like the pan was over-full and the  cake did not rise properly. The cake fell a bit more than I liked in the middle. Next time, I want to split the batter into two separate pans to try and fix this. 

Frosting. I couldn't find a single recipe for cream cheese frosting in the recipe box. So, it was back to that old reliable, The Joy of Cooking. Use whatever recipe makes you happy, or none at all. This cake does not need frosting to be tasty.

Raisin Sheet Cookies

Original Recipe

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup shortening

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup water

Bring raisins to boil in 1 cup water. Add shortening and baking soda. [Warning - the baking soda will fizz up, this is expected.] 

Mix dry ingredients into raisin mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Use cookie pan (9 1/2 X 14).

Frost with powdered sugar milk while still warm.

Did it Work?
They were rather tasty with a nice spice level, but they have a tendency to dry out rather quickly. See below for my fixes.

Modifications
Milk for water. Replacing the water with 1 cup of milk (I used 1%) made a significant difference to the moisture level of the bars. The next morning they were still edible and soft, rather than dry and unappealing.

Sugar. Like so many things, I changed out white sugar for brown. Both ways are nice, but the brown sugar adds a flavor dimension and a lovely tan color to the batter.

Frosting. The recipe calls for "powdered sugar milk", basically a glaze made up of powdered sugar and milk. Basically, I start with a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and mix in a couple of tablespoons of milk to make a smooth glaze and then drizzle it on. The cookies are tasty with it, but also do just fine without it.

Harvey Wallbanger Pie

Original Recipe

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp. lemon juice

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

1/3 cup Galliano liqueur  

2 tbsp. vodka

3 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream

1 9 inch pastry shell, baked and cooled

2 orange slices

In a saucepan combine unflavored gelatin, the 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Add orange juice, lemon juice and egg yolks, mix well. Cook and stir over medium heat until gelatin dissolves and mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Stir in liqueur and vodka. Chill until partially set (consistency of unbeaten egg whites).

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form (tips curve over). Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating to stiff peaks (tips stand straight). Fold into partially set gelatin. 

Whip cream to soft peaks; fold into gelatin mixture. Chill mixture until it mounds when dropped from a spoon. Turn into cooled pastry shell. 

Chill until firm, 4 -5 hours. To garnish make cut in orange slice from center to peel - twist and interlock. Place atop pie.

Did it Work?

We have a winner! I originally tried this pie because the whole idea sounded intriguing (possibly disgusting) and I had a birthday party full of people to test it on. The pie turned out so much better than I thought it would, both alcoholic and tasty. The orange and lemon juice balance out the Galliano and insure the pie is neither too sweet nor too rich. With a stand mixer this is easy to put together and it lends itself well to being done in conjunction with other dishes.

Modifications

For once, absolutely none. Just go make the pie. You can thank me later.

Sour Cream Cookies

Yes, it has been a while. I have been busily trying out recipes from the box, but I just never seemed to find the time to sit down and write them up. We'll see if I can improve on this track record. To start back off, a simple, straightforward cookie.

Original Recipe

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shortening (or butter)

2 cups sugar

1 egg

6 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp.

Roll, sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 degrees.

Did it Work?

Pretty much. This is a very plain-looking cookie, which a few eaters described as a cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread. It makes a huge batch, so it is a great recipe for those times when you find yourself needing to back for large groups or multiple events. Since these are a cut-out cookie, they are ripe for decorating with whatever strikes your fancy and they could be easily spiced up with a myriad of additions (extracts, nuts, frosting, etc.).

Modifications

Flour. I used less flour than called for, about 5 cups and still ended up putting in a couple of tablespoons of milk because the dough was quite dry. This feels like a recipe developed in a much more humid place. Like any other cookie, try not to overwork the dough. Use your eyes and if it does not want to come together, a little milk will help.

Rolling. As mentioned, this makes a huge amount of cookies. You will need to divide the dough and roll in batches. Rolling out to 1/4 inch gives you a thicker, softer cookie that really only browns around the edges. If you go thinner, you will get a crunchier cookie that takes a beautiful brown color and a different taste. The batch is so big, I say do both and please everyone.

Baking Time. My batches took about 10 minutes on average.

Swedish Corn Pudding

Original Recipe

1 can cream style corn

2 cups milk

3 eggs

2 tbsp. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. pepper

dash salt

2 tbsp. butter

Melt butter in baking dish; add flour, beaten eggs and rest of ingredients. Bake in slow oven til set - about 30 minutes.

Did it Work?

The original recipe did not give me what I wanted. The canned corn lent a flavor I wasn't fond of and the cooking method gave me a leaky, broken pudding. Once I made the modifications discussed below, I was much more fond of the result. It was very easy to put together and was something a little different for an office potluck.

Modifications

Pan Size: I used an 8x8 baking dish, since anything larger seemed too big for the job. A smaller pan would give you a thicker pudding.

Cooking Method: I bumped the oven temperature to 350 degrees and cooked the dish in a water bath for about 45 minutes. The end result was a much smoother texture and no broken pudding.

Fresh Corn: The kernels from three or four ears of corn, plus 1 tbsp. of cornstarch was an excellent replacement for the canned corn. Simply mix the kernels and the cornstarch together and add them to the egg mixture. This will yield a crunchy result in the final pudding.

If you want less crunch and a stronger corn flavor, cook the corn with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water until the corn is cooked through and most of the water has evaporated. Mix the corn with the cornstarch and proceed.

You could probably use frozen corn as well. I suggest getting cut kernels and pre-cooking them before adding them to the egg mixture.

Lime Meltaway Cookies

Original Recipe

3/4 cup butter

1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for coating

zest of two limes

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 tbsp. lime juice, strained

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in lime zest, vanilla, lime juice, flour, cornstarch and salt until a dough forms.

Roll dough into two rolls about as big around as a quarter. Wrap in wax paper or parchment and freeze or chill about 4 hours. Slice the rolls. Bake the slices on a parchment-lined cookies sheets 12 to 15 minutes. Place on racks and when almost cool, coat with powdered sugar.

Did it work?

Like a charm. These were tasty, resembling a lime shortbread and went over well at my 4th of July party, a tea party and at work. One of the best things is that a whole batch can easily fit on two cookies sheets and be done in one round in the oven.

Modifications

Lime juice. I used 3 tbsp. of lime juice rather than 2. This was mostly because this is what I got out of one small lime.

Lime zest. I am pretty sure the original recipe was using larger limes than I was. I ended up using the zest from 3 small limes, though I think 2 large ones would also do the job.

Slices. I sliced my cookies about 1/4 inch thick. This seemed to work nicely.

Coating the cookies. The cookies will cool quickly, so don't wait any more than 10 minutes before starting to coat them in powdered sugar. I used a loaf pan with a layer of powdered sugar in it to contain the mess.

Pictures

Fresh strawberry ice cream

Original Recipe
3 cups thinly sliced strawberries
About 1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup milk
2 eggs
dash salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Toss sliced berries with enough sugar to sweeten, about 1/2 cup.
Whirl in blender with milk until smooth, set aside.

In large bowl of mixer, beat eggs, remaining sugar, and salt until thick and light colored.
Beat in berry mixture, corn syrup, cream, lemon juice, and vanilla until blended.

Freeze until almost firm. Beat until smooth. Freeze again, then beat again.
Turn into chilled 9 x 9 inch baking pan or 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Freeze until firm, then cover airtight.

Garnish each serving with a strawberry. Makes about 1 - 1/2 quarts, or 8 servings.

Note: Reduce sugar to 3/4 cup if strawberries are very sweet.

Modifications
Yes, I used an ice cream maker. My modified procedure:
Once all ingredients have been blended, pour into ice cream maker, per manufacturer's instructions. After ice cream has been mix-frozen for the suggested amount of time (~20 minutes, in my case), scoop into smaller containers for freezing. Made ~2 pints.




This is definitely the best ice cream I've made at home.

Ice Box pickles

(click for full version)


I've done quick pickles before, but the vast majority of recipe's I've seen are for spicy, vinegary dill pickles. This is the first quick-pickle recipe I've seen for sweet bread-and-butter pickles. I had to try it. To be truly obsessive, I tried three recipes at once: this one, a refrigerator pickles recipe I had tried previously, and a generic quick pickle recipe. All three are now in my fridge, with tasty (but different) results.



Original recipe:
6 cups sliced cukes
1 cup sliced onions
Cover with water and let stand 3 hours

Drain &
1 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
Mix. Stir till sugar and salt are dissolved.
Pour over cukes.Cover
Store in refrigerator. Delicious and keeps for months.

Notes:
I assume "drain &" means the water is reseved and mixed with the vinegar. I had trouble visualizing a brine based on 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups sugar and no water.

I did a half-recipe of this - enough for a four-cup mason jar - and similar amounts of the other two recipes. Two large english cucumbers were sliced into chips and spears and divided between these three recipes.

Ice Box Cukes (Isllah's recipe box): ~3 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 cup sugar (half recipe)
Refrigerator Pickles (Instructables): ~2 cups water, 1/3 cup vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar
Quick pickle (Serious Eats): 1 1/2 cup water, 1 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar

Flavorants for each recipe:
Ice Box Cukes: onion slices, celery seed
Refrigerator Pickles: dill, peppercorns, ground pepper, garlic
Quick Pickle: dill, ground pepper, garlic

The taste test:
The Ice Box Cukes were sweet, and definitely a good replacement for pre-made "bread-and-butter" pickles. Next time there's a gathering involving burgers on a grill, I might bring a small batch of these. Perhaps without the onion - I'm not sure I liked how that combined with the sweetness. These are good pickles to put on burgers and sandwiches.

The Refrigerator Pickles were ... ok dills. Not spectacular, just kind of middle-of-the road. These are the pickles I've made before.

The Quick Pickle, however, was strong. Not just vinegary, but the garlic and dill and pepper also came through very strong. I'll definitely be reusing and adapting this recipe for dill pickles. Next time I may add some chinese chilis, and maybe some cumin. I might even dial the vinegar back a little bit, or use a slightly better vinegar (since vinegar is such a huge ingredient for this kind of pickle). These are the pickles to snack on out of the fridge.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This is a strange and fascinating recipe that I had to try. Don't think of it as chinese, it's definitely an all-American sweet-and-sour dish. When it's done right, it does make excellent leftovers.

I had to try this a few times, mostly because this was my first attempt at making meatballs. The poorly-formed oversized lumps of meat I pressed together for my first batch were kind of undercooked. Not good. I really had to try again and apply the lessons learned before I thought I could do a fair write-up.

Original Recipe:

1 1/2 # hamburger
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 cup minced onions
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tblsp veg. oil
2 tbls cornstarch
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 1/4 cup water
3/4 cup drained pine juice
1 can (13 1/2 oz.) pine chunks
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 tblsp. soy sauce



Mix hamburger, cracker crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger, and milk together. Form into one inch meatballs and brown in 1tbls. veg oil. Simmer until meatballs are cooked through. Remove from pan.
Mix cornstarch and sugar together, then add vinegar, water, soy sauce, and pine juice. Stir until smooth. Pour into skillet and cook over med heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil one minute.
Add meatballs, pine chunks, and chopped green pepper. Heat through.
May be served over rice. Can be prepared the night before and heated when ready to serve.




What worked:

• A good basic recipe for meatballs.


• A decent "midwestern style" sweet and sour sauce. Might reuse it (perhaps with a bit less sugar).


• Many leftovers for the two of us.


• I think this actually works better over brown rice than white.

What I figured out:

• First, FOOD PROCESSOR. I made the second batch of meatballs in the food processor (just pulsing instead of all the way "on", because I stil lwanted some consistency).


• "13 1/2 oz" of pineapple chunks is pretty much precisely what I head left after draining the fluid from a 20 oz can of pineapple chunks.


• Err on the side of SMALL meatballs. Bite size, or smaller. They will cook faster, cook more evenly, and stir more easily when you put everything together for the final step. I sauteed the meatballs in very small batches, to give me room to work - and it took me a long time. A very long time. I'll probably do larger batches next time I try this.

What I changed:

• My "hamburger" was about 1 pound beef and a half pound of pork.


• More pepper. For the final version, I actually used two whole green peppers.


• Also, the vegetables end up very raw and crunchy in this version. It's visually appealing, but I felt the need to cook the whole combined dish an extra five minutes with the larger amount of peppers I used.

Rickety Uncle

Original Recipe

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine [I used butter]

1/4 teaspoon soda [i.e. baking soda]

Cream margarine; add brown sugar. Mix in remainder to crumbly mixture and press into pan. Bake until brown.

See modifications below for more details.

Did it Work?

Yes. This is very simple, but fairly rich press-in pan cookie. Basically, you end up with a concentrated version of crumble topping. The simplicity of the recipe would probably make it a great one to do with kids, especially since there is no risk of over-mixing.

Modifications

Important details: Use an ungreased 8x8 pan. Try and smooth the top as much as possible or it will crumble later. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, watching carefully as it can burn easily. Cut while still warm, or you will have a rock in a pan.

Pictures

One piece, about to be eaten.

Carrot Bread

Original Recipe

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Wesson oil

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. soda

1 cup grated carrots (firmly packed)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix and bake in loaf pan at 350 55-60 minutes.

Did it work?

Sort of. This results in a very dense, sweet vegetable bread, pretty close to the consistency of a banana or zucchini bread. Since this was my first attempt at one of the recipes out of Isllah's recipe box, I did a "trial run" of this before the memorial service. That test loaf did have a bit of a metallic aftertaste, so Kyna and I decided to cut the baking powder in half for the next loaf.

I enjoyed the results, even if it didn't generate as many comments as the rhubarb cake. I will definitely be making this again.

Modification

Less Baking powder. For the second loaf, I cut the baking power to 1/2 teaspoon. This pretty much removed the metallic aftertaste. Since the bread is so dense already, this didn't have much impact on it's rise.

Firmly packed means Firmly packed I'm pretty sure I didn't have enough carrot in the first loaf. Shred enough carrot to fill a measuring cup to the 1 cup mark, compress, add more shredded carrot, and repeat until you can't compress below 1 cup. You don't need to squeeze out carrot juice, but that's just about the only mark of overdoing "firmly packed".

Rhubarb Cake

Original Recipe

2 cups rhubarb

2 1/4 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup shortening [I used butter]

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

11/2 tsp. cinnamon, divided

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Mix together the rhubarb and 1/2 cup sugar and set aside.

Cream together 1 1/2 cup sugar and the shortening. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.

Shift together the flour, baking soda, salt and 1 tsp. of the cinnamon. Add to the shortening mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Add vanilla and the rhubarb and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle on top of batter. Put in oven and bake for 35 minutes or until done.

* Sour milk can be made by bringing 1 cup milk up to room temperature and mixing in 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Wait approximately 10 minutes, until the milk has thickened to use. If you are in a hurry, you can zap the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds to get it up to room temperature.

Did it Work?

Yes, it was tasty, and received several compliments. It was also incredibly easy to put together and can feed a large number of people easily. This is more of a snack cake than something fancy and would be right at home at a potluck or picnic. The only issue was that in my mind it was far too sweet. This is a rhubarb cake for those who don’t really like rhubarb, since the sugar covered up most of the sourness of the fruit. Unlike Sean,I like rhubarb, so I made some modifications. What I ended up with was cake that also garnered a lot of compliments, but was less toothache-inducing and let the rhubarb shine through.

Modifications

1) Less sugar: 1/4 cup on the rhubarb, 1 cup in the batter, and 2 tablespoons mixed with the cinnamon to sprinkle on top. This means you have 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar total for the recipe.

2) Changed Flour Type: I replaced 1 cup all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. Since there was cinnamon in the batter, it did not effect the color, or as far as I can tell the texture. I am pretty sure you could get away with replacing all of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

Pictures

Cake version 2.0, in the pan.

Slice o'cake. Excuse the blur, it was early, I was using an iPhone and most importantly....I wanted cake.