I hope this is helpful to those trying this for the first time. This is a pastry and should be made with butter-not margerine-or spreads. Butter is from cream, margerine is from soybean or corn oil and a spread contains up to 50% water. There is a huge difference in using butter vs. margerine, and an even bigger difference if you use a spread. The success of this recipe depends on using butter. Those reviews that recommend adding more flour are likely not using butter and are also likely to have a tougher pastry as a result of adding more flour. This recipe is perfect as written and these pastries will melt in your mouth if you make them as directed. Refrigeration will firm up the dough so you can cut out your pastries. We make these at Christmas and special occasions and use holiday cookie cutters. You can roll the dough out using powdered sugar (don't use flour-it will make them tough), but I roll out dough on wax paper on my cookie sheets, adding no powdered sugar if possible. I return it to the fridge to firm before cutting out the shapes with cookie cutters and place them on the baking sheet. Do this quickly as the butter will return to room temp and be difficult to cut. If this happens, return to the fridge till firm and continue cutting out cookies. After baking, then sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with a glaze. I've never used a jelly or jam as they are thinner than the solo brands of fruit fillings. This will be a 10 star pastry for you.

I'm not a huge fan of cornbread, so, I was skeptical but this was great! It was easy enough to put together and had lots of texture and taste and went with the enchilada soup nicely. Thanks for a keeper recipe-my entire family gave it a thumbs up.

soak the cucumbers in salt water for an hour to get rid of the bitter bite that often comes with cucumbers. yum!

I am looking for more easy crock pot recipes this fall and this filled the bill. I served this to company and kids and everyone loved it! I did double the spices as some reviewers said it was a little bland-with good results; I also chopped onion and added that with the pork. I used dried beans, but my method was to cover the beans in water, bring the water to a boil, then cover the pan, turn the stove off, and let the beans soak in that for a few hours till they cooled. Drain and rinse the beans, then throw everything (pork, spices, and beans) in the slow cooker. The beans were perfect, not crunchy as some are experiencing. Thank you for an awesome recipe we will have regularly.

This was easy enough for my 13 year old to put together and good enough to repeat. Top with a homemade carmel sauce with whipped creme for a fancy dessert, or dust with powdered sugar for a less sweet, delicious dessert. A very good recipe, thank you!

Sadly, this did taste like thickened sweetened condensed milk to me. The kids liked it-it was ok, but not the buttery carmel-toffee sauce I had hoped for.

wow this went over well! I made it as directed, and it wasn't too sweet, too rich, too cinnamon-y, or too anything, it was perfect. We served this with apple pie, then froze the leftovers. This ice cream even rolled up in a ball with the ice cream scoop really well, (after spending the night in the freezer), so we placed the scoops of ice cream between "Grand Ma's" oatmeal cookies. wow! We couldn't fail with this recipe.

Thank you Sarah for a really nice recipe that my family enjoyed. I nixed the dried herbs because I had some homemade pesto-which pretty much contained the same ingredients but was fresh instead of dried. I also used fresh garlic instead of dried. I also subbed penne pasta for shells and added mushrooms along with the vegetables. Clearly, this is a pretty versatile recipe, and the sauce was a BIG surprise-especially since I have two kids who dislike mayo and took 2 helpings of this. (I informed them after dinner.. heh heh) This is a keeper recipe!

I had my 11 year old daughter help me with this..(kid friendly recipe) She thought it the ingredients were completely gross, and when she tasted it, she said they were surprisingly good. By that evening, she was eating them and proclaiming they were the best! Even the 7 year old picky boy kept going back for more. Instead of using mini loaf pans, I used mini muffin tins. These were such a hit that I am shredding and freezing zucchini in 2 1/3 cup measurements and blueberries in 2 cup measurements for this recipe to have this winter. Thank for a winner recipe!

We used apple butter instead of applesauce and it worked out well. This is a pretty versatile recipe and can be used with pumpkin or banannas too. Thanks!

WOW! WOW! WOW! FINALLY! A salad all the members of my large family liked. It has taste, texture, color, and will be seen on our table frequently. I did add red peppers and carrot shreds for additional color but it still would have been 5 star without those additions. Thanks for a winner recipe!

yes, it is a kid friendly recipe as my 11 year old easily put it together. It is a very good muffin recipe and went over well in my house. AND... I used up my old bananas. :-)

5 star recipe as written. 10 star recipe with one tiny little addition.... 1/2 tsp of orange flavoring (or 1 tsp grated orange peel) in the frosting. This is a bakery tip, don't try using orange juice, you won't taste that; use the orange essential oil found in the peel or Lor Ann orange flavoring. Awesome recipe!

These are easy enough to make daily and the ingredient list isn't fussy, so your kids can have homemade cookies when they get home from school daily. (If they last that long...) My family devoured these, and requested more. They are a softer than typical boxed vanilla wafers, but twice as flavorful! Great 'go to' recipe when you're in a rush.

EASY,EASY,EASY, and something this great shouldn't be sooo easy! THANK you for a recipe I'm sure to turn to often. I love oatmeal and raisin, so I did make a small substitute. I replaced 1/2 cup of flour with 1 cup oatmeal flour that I blended up in my food processor. The oatmeal flour makes a chewy cookie, and is more soluable, so it takes a cup to replace 1/2 cup of flour. yummy!

With the excellent suggestion about using chicken broth and upping the amount of chicken soup a can, and chopping and adding your preferred veggies, (carrots, celery), and a tsp of poultry seasoning, it was really, really good. The dumplings however, kind of took away from the texture as they were like dissolved biscuits in the soup-thick and gooey. I think this recipe would have been a 10 star recipe without the dumplings and with homemade noodles. I'm glad to have this recipe to change out the dumpling goo for noodles and keep it. Thanks for a keeper of a recipe that will be a 10 star when I put my noodles in it. :-)

A few kids at my daughter's 21st birthday party parked next to this dip bowl and moaned about it all night - it was THAT good! I have to admit though, I added a tsp of LorAnn carmel flavoring with the vanilla flavoring because I was serving it with apples. Couldn't have been easier to prepare and gave big taste for such little effort. Thanks for a KILLER fruit dip recipe that I will turn to again and again...

wow-even my pickiest eaters are chewing up their veggies with this dip! 5 star recipe-a big thank you!

great recipe! It was easy to prepare, it was colorful and flavorful and pleased everyone at my daughter's 21st birthday party. Thanks for a keeper recipe!

these were good, nice flavor and texture, and easy to put together.