Crackle Top Molasses Cookies

Reviewed: Dec. 22, 2009

These cookies are gorgeous, just like the ginger biscuits I used to buy from the gingerbread shop in Ashbourne, England. I did make a couple of changes. I used butter instead of vegetable oil (never been too fond of anything other than butter in cookies) and I also doubled the spices. I did use another reviewers advice and let cool on wax paper rather than a rack. I made 14 large size cookies from this batch which were crunchy on the onside but so chewy inside. The aroma in the kitchen was heavenly! I will certainly be making these again and again...

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Cottage Pudding - Upside Down Cake

Reviewed: Dec. 21, 2009

I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect for our tastes and it looks lovely when turned out on the plate. It's far too cold here at the moment to eat it with ice cream, so we had custard with it instead. Thankyou for a great dessert Sandra.

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KEZ

Home Town: St Austell, Cornwall, England, U.K.

Living In: Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K.

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Cheddar Bruschetta

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2009

tried this last I toasted both sides of the french bread with a coating of olive oil and used the recipe and they were delicious so this is another recipe that will get filed away and used again.

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melanie

Cooking Level: Expert

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Potato Skillet

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2009

I made some minor adjustments to the seasonings. I used a pinch each of sea salt and garlic powder and lots of black pepper. Followed other reviewers advice to add the bacon after the cheese had melted. Served with some fried tomatoes. Thankyou LaDonna, my husband thoroughly enjoyed this.

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KEZ

Home Town: St Austell, Cornwall, England, U.K.

Living In: Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K.

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Aunt Gail's Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Reviewed: Dec. 19, 2009

the only change I made was equivalise this to uk measurements and I swapped the sugar to 100grams of caster sugar and 98 grams of soft light brown sugar and used demerara on the top and they came out fabulous I shall saving this recipe for future holidays so tell aunty gail she done well

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melanie

Cooking Level: Expert

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Original Nestle® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookies

Reviewed: Dec. 19, 2009

These cookies were awesome! Made them as part of a cookie Christmas package for my work mates and everyone loved them! This is a cookie recipe I will be keeping! Thanks a million for sharing!!

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GIGGLES2080

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.

Living In: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Cowboy Cookie Mix in a Jar

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2009

I have seen this recipe on a few sites and think it’s a wonderful idea. I did make a few changes. I used 1 cup of oats, ¾ cup of chocolate chips, ¾ cup of M&M’s (Love the extra color that the M&M’s add to the cookies). I did leave out the pecans, as I am not a nut person. I tried the cookies first of all before I made up the jars (made 28 medium size cookies per batch). The cookies were very good, they had enough crunch on the outside and a wonderful soft inside. I guess the secret is not to over cook them. For the jars, I did find it hard going fitting all the ingredients in, but I am just so pleased with the results. Not only does it look good, but I know the finished product tastes delicious too! I am taking both the jars and the cookies along to a Christmas cookie exchange, I am sure they will be a huge hit.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Boiled Bagels

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2009

These have to be the BEST bagels I have made to date. I have tried other bagel recipes but these are just so wonderful. It could be that I am perfecting my baking technique or it could be the recipe, to be honest I think it’s the latter!!! The inside was soft, where the outside had a bit of a crunch. I used the same ingredients but I do make these in a slightly different way, I always use a large round cookie cutter to shape the bagels and then a smaller size to cut out the hole. I find this saves so much time. As I wanted large bagels I make 10 instead of the recommended 12. I was able to boil 3 or these at the same time, sprinkled cornmeal on the bottom of the baking tray, and topped the bagels with grated Asiago cheese. I also made a batch containing chocolate chips for my youngest son. Totally delicious, unfortunately we have eaten them all already!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Venison Bacon Burgers

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2009

These were great! Just followed the recipe and didn't change a thing. They turned out juicy and flavorful. My 12 year old daughter is not a big burger fan (although she does like venison) and she loved them too!

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Lesley Maria

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Durham, Durham, England, U.K.

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Butternut Squash Risotto

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

a fabulous, simple risotto. followed to the letter, except for roasting the squash rather than steaming it, using olive oil instead of butter, and using pecorino romano rather than parmesan, only b/c i'm allergic to cow's milk (real 'romano' is sheep!). wonderful recipe, thank you!

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Diana Moutsopoulos

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: London, Greater London, England, U.K.

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Chocolate Strawberries

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

I looked at the pictures of the little Tuxedo strawberries and thought they looked adorable but difficult to make. I wanted them to finish off my husband’s birthday cake. Firstly I made sure the strawberries were at room temperature and dry before proceeding. I used chocolate bark as I always find it easier to deal with. I brought myself an electric fondue and its perfect for this job, it really did make it so much easier. Whenever I have used a double boiler in the past, I always found it difficult to work with. These tasted just gorgeous and now I know how easy they are to make I will be making these all the time! *Note* The only thing I will say is to use the day they are made, I stored mine in the fridge overnight and they became very wet and full of condensation. Ok but not as good as the day before!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

This cake is totally delicious, I used the recipe to make a birthday cake for my husband, who was just so impressed! The only difference was that I used applesauce instead of the oil, I lightly greased the Bundt pan and then finished with a sprinkle of cocoa powder before adding the mixture to the pan. I baked for the 1 hour stated, and the cake was cooked to perfection. Finished with chocolate glaze and chocolate dipped strawberries. Yes so much chocolate, but it was so decedent, you would be hard pressed to find a better chocolate cake. Enjoy!!!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Satiny Chocolate Glaze

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

Very easy to make, used the exact ingredients only changes was that I made this in my electric fondue. Will certainly be using again. Thank you for sharing.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Crusty French Bread

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

This was the first loaf of bread I have ever kneaded by hand. I doubled the ingredients so that could make two large baguettes. I started making this in my kitchenaid, but during the kneading process it really started to groan, not wanting to cause any damage to be beloved machine I decided to continue by hand. The dough did feel a lot more dense than any other bread dough I have made, but I am no expert. I was a little concerned when the baguettes were on the baking tray, as they had not risen quite as much as I expected, I decided to put in the over anyway. I need not have worried the bread was just the right size when it came out and the bread made beautiful sandwiches, the inside was just perfect. I was a little disappointed that the crust was not as crunchy as expected, and to be honest a little soft. It was still a good baguette, I will just have to master my own technique on how to make the bread as crusty as the baguettes I was brought up on in France!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Pumpkin Pancakes

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2009

These were SO delicious. I was afraid they might be heavy due to the pumpkin, but they were instead light and fluffy. I followed the recipe to the letter, so I really recommend not changing a thing! Lovely recipe

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Diana Moutsopoulos

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: London, Greater London, England, U.K.

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Cajun Chicken Pasta

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2009

Very quick and simple recipe, I thought the Cajun flavor was a little light, next time I may add a little more. Just needed something to give it a bit more of a kick, but good basic over all recipe. Just needs a little tweaking!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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German Chocolate Cake Frosting II

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2009

Amazing! Like others, I used butter instead of marg, and also added a little cornstarch to thicken. I'm no frosting expert, but this was some of the best I have ever tasted. Thanks, Carol!

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Caroline C

Cooking Level: Expert

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Penne with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2009

If I could give this recipe more than five stars I truly would. It is restaurant quality, in fact it is just as good as the Vodka tomato sauce I adore at Maggiano’s restaurants in Chicago and Naperville. I did make a few changes, not because the recipe required it, but basically to allow for my own pantry ingredients. I used chopped diced tomatoes, not crushed and used Gnocchi as my pasta of choice. I also used a griddle to cook the sausage so managed to cut out the ¼ cup of olive oil, once cooked I added the sausage, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes to a dry skilled and followed the rest of the recipe as written. This really was one tasty meal. Thank you for sharing!!!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Cream Cheese Cookie Cups

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2009

I just love this little bite size dessert. So easy and very quick to make. I used the dough straight out of the refrigerator and rolled it in my hand to make it a little more palpable. I used the palm of my hand to flatten this on to a pastry sheet, I found it easier they to line the bottom and sides of the muffin pan. I baked for just 8 minutes. To the cream cheese mixture I added a ¼ cup of thick cream, which did make it easier to pipe. I noticed that some reviewers had problems removing the cookies from the pan, I didn’t grease the pan at all, and had no problems with removing the cooled cookies, in fact they came away from the muffin pan with ease. This is a good basic recipe, and the possibilities to try these in different flavors are endless.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Cracked Sugar Cookies I

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2009

SIMPLY THE BEST!!! I followed the recipe to a T and they were awesome! Still soft and chewy a few days later. Mine spread a bit and wound up pretty thin. I might refrigerate the dough for an hour next time to minimize the spreading. They taste great though and cracked beautifully. My husband thought they were store bought they were so good. Will definitely make this again any time I am hankering for a real sugar cookie!

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