This will only be appreciated by fans of a very tart fruit pie. Spectacular cranberry flavor, and sour enough to make you squeal, even with the large amount of sugar. It could have used even more. Even my husband, who adores rhubarb pies and cherry pies because of their tartness had a tough time eating this one. I used orange juice in place of water, and in retrospect, probably should have used it in place of the lemon juice as well. This pie needs no further acid beyond what the cranberries already bring to the table. I increased the butter to 2 tablespoons, as I fail to see how a mere 2 teaspoons could live up to the title of a "buttery" pie (and 2 Tb is not a lot for a 9" pie.) Added 1 tsp grated orange peel and 1/4 tsp mace, which goes perfectly with the flavor of cranberries. The color is a deep crimson, a perfect centerpiece for your holiday table. Just know that the sourness of this pie is so intense that it might not appeal to all.

This recipe is a real sleeper. The cookies don't look all that impressive, but WOW - what a flavor you can get with a few adjustments! I make a similar pumpkin cookie, and have always added halved cranberries. So when I found this one, I just had to try it to compare. I knew after reading the recipe that this one would be a little too bland to suit our tastes, so I added 2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves and increased the cinnamon to 2 tsp. Also added 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper to give a nice, warm glow. The counterpoint offered by the tang of the cranberries against the sweet spiciness of the cookie was absolutely outstanding! I substituted mashed, cooked sweet potato for the pumpkin, which I do frequently in recipes that call for pumpkin. I find the two vegetables are pretty much interchangeable, but I like using a fresh, newly-cooked vegetable rather than a canned one. The texture of these cookies is decidedly cake-like as others have noted, but we appreciated the soft, moist, spicy little pillows with a cup of tea. Also made a glaze using 1 Tb softened butter, 1-1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and enough orange juice to make it easily spreadable. I brushed it over the slightly warm cookies. The glaze dried with a festive sheen. Be sure to flatten slightly before baking, or they'll come out shaped like golf balls! Obviously, I had to do a lot of tinkering to get this recipe where I wanted it, hence the 4 stars. The additions I made, however, launched it easily into 5 star

This is the same recipe as the Peanut Blossoms I've been making for at least 25 years every Christmas. It's my kids' favorite. The cookie is just fabulous - tender and incredibly tasty. The only difference is that this recipe uses peanut butter cups in place of Hershey Kisses. The upside of that is that this version is WAY easier to store in a cookie canister! The tops of the kisses always used to break off when they were stacked, even in off-set rows somehow, in the container. These stay nice and flat and look smashing. I roll the dough in coarse sugar (which you can buy anyplace that sells cake decorating supplies) for added sparkle. After putting the peanut butter cup/Hershey Kiss into the cookie, I always return it to the oven for 2 minutes more, which sets the candy in place so that it doesn't come off the cookie when jostled accidentally on a tray or in the container, and the very slight melting that takes place makes for an attractive sheen - get your cameras ready. A+ for an outstanding new twist on an old favorite!!

This is the real deal! My grandmother hailed from Glasgow, and she would have been proud. These have the perfect sable texture. Not crumbly, but a light, tender, delicate crumb. Just the right degree of sweetness. I made the dough by pulsing the 3 ingredients (used 4 cups flour) in my new 14-cup Cuisinart, which made easy, fast work of it. My range is digital, and as I entered the temperature I wanted, I inadvertently inverted two of the digits, not noticing until later that I baked at 352 degrees, not 325. Still came out perfect in 21 minutes. The edges were just starting to turn a barely light brown, thank heaven! My mom's recipe that I grew up with had less sugar (always brown) and more flour. The dough was always very crumbly and hard to work with. This dough is a dream. My mom's recipe was handed down from my grandmother, direct from Scotland, and this one is actually better. Makes me want to crack out the haggis and single malt!

The flavor of this loaf is pretty insipid, even when toasted. The dough was also quite sticky and needed about an extra half cup of flour to be able to be handled easily, while still remaining relatively soft. Generally, the proportion of liquid to 3 cups of flour in a bread recipe is 1 cup, not 1-1/4 cups. The taste is definitely dominated by whole wheat, and as such, it didn't taste to us remotely like English muffins. Flavor-wise, it lacks salt, but adding more might inhibit the dough's ability to rise, so do so judiciously. The grain is too close and fine to resemble English muffins. None of the requisite "nooks and crannies" associated with them. The rising technique was definitely cool, however. I'll remember it when I need to get my yeast breads to rise in a hurry. Since my microwave is pretty powerful, I used 40% power for the rise stage, and even so, only had to give it the 1 minute/10 minute wait twice before it rose to 2" above the pan. Interesting premise, but flavor is decidedly lackluster.

Everyone's favorite!

Very good! It needed a bit of work on the taste, however. A bay leaf improved the flavor. Also added about 1/4 tsp each dried marjoram and thyme and two cloves of finely minced garlic, which I sauteed toward the end of frying the onion, carrot and celery. Replaced the water with beef stock, thereby eliminating the need for bouillon cubes, which add too much salt and too-fake a taste. These changes represented big improvements to this basic recipe. Great comfort food!

Excellent, light, moist texture. I made 12 rolls. On the advice of several reviewers here I doubled the cardamom, and I feel it was a mistake to do so. That much cardamom gave it a medicinal taste. Perhaps it was because the bottle of cardamom was brand new, so it was more potent - don't know for sure. Shame on me - I should have followed the recipe as written the first time, since I believe that subtlety works so much better in bread products than in-your-face spice does. As written, this recipe is most likely just about perfect.

Proof positive that the simplest recipes are almost always the best. How can four ingredients come together to taste so darned lovely? Like almost everyone else, I found the number of cookies promised to be double the number it actually made. 31 exactly. Keep a tiny bit of confectioners sugar around for dipping whatever implement you use to make the indentations (handle of a wooden spoon, your thumb, measuring tsp, etc) so that it doesn't stick to the dough. Remember that the key to making them look picture perfect is to avoid the temptation to put more than a small dab of jam in the indentation. This avoids "oven boil over" and the consequent mess. A+ for a superb recipe that is not only simple to make, it bakes up looking like it belongs on the cover of Bon Appetit and tastes so wonderful, it's the stuff dreams are made of! Note: for ehuber and others who had trouble with the dough spreading when baked and tasting inedibly greasy, that's indicative of an inadequate measure of flour. Knead in more flour, 1-2 Tb at a time, until incorporated. When the dough stays together and doesn't cling to your hands, but is not crumbly, you've added enough. If it's sticky, add another Tb of flour. Allow to rest 20 minutes or more after you finish kneading in the flour to relax the gluten so that the finished product will not be tough. It just takes a little practice to develop the feel for dough with the proper consistency.

"Luscious"? If you're looking for a truffle that tastes as sumptuous as the ones you buy in a fancy confectioner's, you're going to be disappointed mightily. This tastes like, well...sweetened condensed milk combined with melted chocolate chips, mega watt, tastebud-numbing sweet. Not at all what I have come to expect a truffle to taste like. Truffles should be a celebration of perfect chocolate flavor, one that melts lovingly and lingers on the tongue. Sure, these are easy. But easy is only good if the results are something you're proud to serve. Sorry to have to say I found this recipe to be disappointing.

These have been renamed "Death By Chocolate Balls" in this house! Since I can't abide the relentlessly artificial flavor of cake mixes and canned frosting, I made my own chocolate buttermilk cake and chocolate satin frosting. It added greatly to the prep time, but judging from the response of those sampling, well worth the extra steps. This is a pain-in-the-butt recipe to make, but once done, they taste like the finest truffle. The 5 stars is for the result and not the prep. As others have noted, this is NOT a fast and easy treat. Used a combination of Lindt and Ghirardelli chocolate, half milk and half dark, to coat. Another combo that's divine is carrot cake/cream cheese frosting/white chocolate. Also white cake, raspberry jam heated to melt and mixed with a little marshmallow fluff and dark chocolate to coat. Remember when tempted to use easy stuff that the end result is only going to be as good as the ingredients you use, and choose accordingly. Watch out particularly for almond bark - ersatz taste. Why bother with this time consuming recipe if you're only going to use nasty stuff? I've actually been asked if I would be willing to sell them. Yes, they're that good! Edited to add: Just made with cherry cake (yellow cake mix with 1/3 cup oil, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup water and can of cherry pie filling plus 1/2 tsp almond extract all blended well before baking,) homemade vanilla buttercream, coated with dark chocolate. Voila! Cherry Cordial Cake Balls.

UBER YUMMY!! The floured, fried tomatoes were so good, I could have eaten a plate of them straight. However, once they're baked into the quiche, it's dubious how necessary the frying step is. By the time they're cooked in the quiche, their light, crispy exteriors have dissipated. So the time and mess used to fry them doesn't serve much useful purpose. To eliminate that step, simply place the peeled, sliced tomatoes on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt on both sides, then allow to sit undisturbed for at least 20 minutes to draw out the excess moisture, sprinkle liberally with basil, then add to the quiche as directed. Carmelizing the onions (sauteeing until a deep, golden color) eliminates the sharp, in-your-face taste that can overwhelm the delicate flavor of the tomatoes, and tames it down to make it a delectable "team player." You can vary the flavor of this quiche simply by using any cheeses, in any combination, that you happen to like. I used brie with rinds removed, Jarlsberg and Asiago. The flavor was sensational. Even using only skim milk, the taste was sumptuous, the texture ethereal. Most excellent!

I have mixed feelings about this one. I made it for an apple-cranberry pie first. Whereas it was good, it wasn't nearly as light and ethereal as the Crisco recipe I've been using for almost 35 years. Don't get me wrong - it WAS flaky, just not AS flaky as crust made with vegetable shortening alone (I've always used ice water, ever since I started baking pies.) It was a tad heavy. My family said they preferred my "usual" crust. That said, it WAS more flavorful, which was only to be expected, given my use of unsalted butter. However, it was when I made it as the base for a cheese and bacon quiche, that this recipe could really shine. So I wish I could give 4-1/2 stars. It seems to work better for savory pies, such as quiches and pot pies, than it does for fruit pies. Very good, dependable recipe.

This drew raves! I used mashed, cooked sweet potato in place of the pumpkin. There is very little discernible difference between pumpkin puree and sweet potato puree in baked goods, so I consider it pretty much equivalent. Used 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, microwaved on high for 8 minutes, then peeled and mashed. Added 2 Tb dark rum, 2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp ground cloves. I cut the oil back to 1 cup. The last 1/4 cup is unnecessary. The resulting texture was moist, the crumb very fine. I glazed it with a thick cream cheese/rum glaze (4 oz softened cream cheese mixed with 2 Tb softened butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tsp dark rum, 2 tsp orange juice and the freshly grated rind of an orange) when the cake was fully cool. The cake was inhaled within minutes, and whereas the praise was unanimous, a few guests paid the ultimate compliment of saying it was the best cake they had ever eaten - no faint praise! Thank you for an extraordinary recipe.

Custard was great, but only after doubling the sweetening. Perhaps some people like a barely sweet dessert, but I was skeptical about 1/3 cup of brown sugar when I read the recipe, knowing that a pumpkin pie filling that uses the same amounts of pumpkin and evaporated milk requires about 3/4 cup of sugar for proper sweetening. The orange juice will add some sweetness, but not enough. After tasting the mixture before baking, I doubled the sugar, and it then tasted just right. Even doubling the sugar did not make it offensively sweet to anyone who tried it. Knowing that people have different sweetness tolerance, be sure to taste for it yourself before you bake it so that you can adjust accordingly. I cut the cayenne in half because 1) the bottle was new and potent and 2) I'm a wuss. 1/8 tsp cayenne added plenty of "kick" for me, with a nice, subtle warmth, but no bite. Absolute perfection! This recipe works equally well with mashed cooked, peeled sweet potato or squash (you need 2 cups.) Added a little orange peel, which contributed an additional fresh, clean flavor. Have also added 1 Tb dark rum, which gives a lot of depth. I've also made it with Splenda (be sure to refrigerate well, as Splenda can have a funky taste when warm.) All in all, this is a wonderful concept, a keeper recipe. Can be baked in a pie shell, as well. 15 minutes at 425, then turn down to 350 for 45 minutes.

Wonderful, fabulous, superb, and every other splendiferous adjective you can come up with! I used cooked, mashed sweet potatoes in place of the pumpkin because they were $.25 a pound today. Laced the cake with 2 Tb of rum and added 2 tsp ginger. Note about self rising flour: measure 2 cups all purpose flour, and remove 1 tablespoon (either discard that Tb or return it back to the flour bag.) To the remaining scant 2 cups of flour, add 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Voila! Your own self rising flour. Just to set the record straight it is true that there is no baking time specified in the actual directions (which is the logical place where most people look.) It took 70 minutes in my recently calibrated oven to get a clean toothpick with only a few, tiny crumbs clinging. Made the glaze with 1 Tb Tortuga Gold rum and replaced the milk with orange juice, adding a half tsp freshly grated orange zest. The orange imparted subtle counterpoint to the spices and gave a fresh taste. This cake bakes up nice and high for a stunning presentation. It's an impressive cake for important events, like big holiday parties or family gatherings. Your baking skills will be impossible to deny if you make this one. It's a show-stopper for sure, and as super moist and delectable as it was beautiful to look at. Thank you for an outstanding holiday recipe!

Quite good. The lemon adds a lot of depth of flavor. Since fresh rhubarb is currently out of season, I had to resort to the frozen from the grocery store. I knew from prior experience that it's not as tart as the rhubarb I get here in season, so the lemon was, to my palate, a necessary addition. An unconventional pairing for sure, and while not quite as good as many others to our taste (such as for example strawberry rhubarb or apple cranberry) it only gets 4 stars. It's still, however, an unusual change of pace and pretty darned good!

This is so much better without the garlic. The flavor of it completely overpowered that of the tomatoes. The tomatoes are, or should be, the star in this recipe and should be allowed to shine, with the other ingredients as supporting actors. They should point up and celebrate the fresh, delicate flavor of burstingly, achingly ripe tomatoes. As written, we found the garlic to be a "spotlight ho." Perhaps sauteeing the garlic lightly in a bit of olive oil until just starting to color before adding would help this problem, but I found that when I made the dish without any garlic whatsoever, it was just about as close to perfection as it gets. And I'm a garlic lover, so that says a lot!

For those who had trouble with the tapioca not blending well, using flour instead is the answer. I mixed 1/3 cup flour into the sugar (of which I replaced half with Splenda) and mixed into the fruit. The result is a never-fail, smooth, lightly firm filling when baked. I used one 20 oz can of Dole crushed pineapple. Because rhubarb is out of season, I was forced to resort to the Publix frozen variety. It's less tart than fresh, so I also pepped up the tartness quotient with 1 Tb fresh lemon juice and the grated rind of one lemon. Added a dash each of cinnamon and mace. An unconventional combination (my daughter called it weird, but that was before she tasted it!) but it works - quite well!

Outstanding! Made it with Splenda and used skim milk. Cut the butter in half, only 4 Tb, and added 1/2 tsp grated fresh lemon rind, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, a few shakes more cinnamon, and 2 Tb dark rum or bourbon (for a true Southern flair.) Divine, and practically guilt free (I removed the crust from my piece to cut back on calories.) Excellent way to get fiber, vitamin A (promotes skin and eye health) and antioxidants galore into your family, and if you use Splenda, it's a treat you can feel good about making them any time, and one that diabetics can indulge in without their sugar levels going off the charts. Be sure to chill well before serving, however, as Splenda can have an off-taste in warm items. Also delicious in a crumb crust made from gingersnaps (but more calories!) for variation. I'm sure it's fabulous made according to the ingredients given, but got to watch my girlish figure - HA!!