AMYINATLANTA Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (1639505)

Strawberry Cake II

Reviewed: Aug. 20, 2011

Just made this for my dad's birthday and it brought down the house! So good. I've made a similar version before, and here are the tweaks I made: First, use an all-natural jello from whole foods or somewhere to avoid the shocking pink color (and improve taste). Instead of water I use 6 oz. Greek Yogurt or buttermilk - makes cakes moist (and just add a bit of sugar to counteract the sourness). I used a bit less oil (3/4c) because esp. with the yogurt it really doesn't need a full cup (and I'm not one to skimp). I add 1/2 each of chopped pecans and unsweetened coconut - a nice texture/taste addition. Finally, for the frosting, I needed another cup of confectioner sugar to stiffen it up, and it was extremely sweet, so I folded in 1.5 cups of whipping cream (whipped to stiff peaks)- so yummy!!!

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Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

Reviewed: Jul. 16, 2011

I made a strawberry cake that I was sort of panicked about since it didn't come out as I expected, and this frosting totally rescued the cake! It is light and fluffy and creamy with just the right sweetness....perfect!!!

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Shredded Beef for Tacos

Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2010

I was really ready to love this, and like other reviewers, found it sort of underwhelming. I love how easy it was, but then I just spent 30 mins. tweaking the spices to try to bring it to "really good," so the time savings wasn't as great as I'd hoped :-) Here's what I added in the end, to make it tastier (I'm hoping that by tomorrow maybe it'll taste great!): more salt and pepper, 2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp white pepper, lime juice (1/2 lime), 2 T sugar (may sound crazy, but it brings out the flavor without actually making it sweet), a pinch of chili powder, and a dash of cayenne (jalapenos would have been good instead too). The cayenne is really to keep my boyfriend from eating too much of it at once, plus to give it a little kick since it wasn't spicy at all.... and I'm not someone who likes my food super-spicy. I'll probably make it again with these revisions- just be prepared to doctor it up some before you serve it.

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Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free!)

Reviewed: Sep. 21, 2010

Very chocolately and moist... definitely take previous suggestions and add: a teaspoon vanilla, a tsp almond extract or espresso powder for a bit more flavor, and some melted butter/oil (I used ~3 T of melted earth balance). I made cupcakes and added an extra 1/2 tsp baking powder as well so they'd be a bit more fluffy. They came out not very sweet so will be better with some frosting. If eating on their own, I might add a bit more sugar or would definitely dust with powdered sugar. May try peeling the beans to make the texture smoother and/or upping the chocolate a bit as other suggestions next time. A keeper!

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2 users found this review helpful

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Reviewed: Jul. 20, 2010

OK I read many many reviews on this recipe, since I've been on a quest for the perfect GF choc chip cookie recipe for a while now. The search is over- this recipe really is that much better than the others! The cookies are soft/chewy on the inside and crisp on the edges- seriously perfect, and I bake a LOT so I'm tough to please. Here's what I'd recommend on the tweaks, based on the other reviews and my experience: I cut the brown sugar by 1/4 cup, NOT the white sugar, since white sugar adds the crispiness. I think even with the full amount of sugar it would be fine. I used 1.5 eggs, although if you use 2 eggs just up the flour a bit more. I used 2 3/4 cup GF flour (used Bob's GF flour, which also requires 3/4 tsp xanthan gum be added). Cut the salt in half (1/2 tsp) or leave it out if your baking mix has salt in it. Definitely SIFT the dry ingredients as recommended since this makes the cookies softer and minimizes the graininess. If your cookies spread too much, add more flour to stiffen the dough. With the proportions above, I had a totally normal consistency dough. I dropped them onto the cookie sheet and pressed them a bit since the cookies didn't spread on their own. Finally, bake them til the edges/tips are slightly browned. This recipe makes a large-ish batch but I'm so glad I doubled it because these cookies ROCK!

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19 users found this review helpful

Lemon Icing

Reviewed: Jan. 4, 2009

This is perfect- light and fluffy if you beat it long enough, and fresh tasting with fresh lemon juice. Was perfect on top of lemon cupcakes that weren't very lemony. I went with 2.5 tablespoons of lemon juice in the frosting, and that was bordering on too strong, so I would be careful about adding any more than that. I would add some milk to thin it out if needed, and more sugar if you need to thicken it up. If you go with cupcakes, after frosting, top them with a large-grain turbanado-style sugar for a delicious crunch that looks gorgeous! Yum!!!

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Too Much Chocolate Cake

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2009

This was tasty and moist... I used kahlua instead of water to add a little more depth to the flavor- this was good, and next time I'll try coffee. I used mini chips which I'd highly recommend since they don't sink like full-size chips can, and they get more distributed. I made cupcakes (about 32) and baked for about 18 minutes. I frosted with the creamy chocolate frosting recipe on this site- and the combination worked well. I was a little disappointed today (day after) that the cupcakes aren't more moist, but I may have baked them a minute too long- it's so important not to overbake stuff. Still, very tasty and will keep this recipe around!

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3 users found this review helpful

Golden Rum Cake

Reviewed: Jan. 1, 2009

Very easy and a real crowd-pleaser! It bakes for me in about 35 minutes- make sure you don't overbake it, since that dries out any cake. I use Capt. Morgan's rum, which gives a nice flavor, although I might try the coconut rum as others have suggested. I used coconut milk (canned) instead of water and that added a nice touch of additional richness, but wasn't a must-do. I had to send this recipe out to everyone at a potluck I just brought it to. Yum!

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To Die For Blueberry Muffins

Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2008

To add one more raving review to the list, these were great! As with any cake-type baked good, the keys are not over-mixing (mix as little as possible, just to combine), and take out of the oven the *minute* that a sharp knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Overbaking dries stuff out with each extra minute in the oven. I followed many suggestions as follows, with fantastic results: used buttermilk and filled til about 1 1/4 cups total liquid, increased the sugar in the batter a bit (4 T) to offset the sourness of the buttermilk, added 1 t vanilla, used frozen berries since it's winter, and upped those a bit; used brown sugar instead of white for the topping, and really piled on the topping (the muffins didn't fall); finally, I doubled the recipe to get 12 jumbo muffins, baked about 21 mins. These are beautiful and look like they're from a fancy bakery. Next time I'll add a bit of lemon zest for some added freshness, and maybe a tad more sugar. Overall, Yum!!!

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Spicy Bean Salsa

Reviewed: Jul. 28, 2008

Just served this at a party and it was the first thing to go, and the most talked about (by far) of all the food, most of which was a lot more effort! Much better the day after it's made. I used 2 fresh, seeded fresno peppers (look like red jalapenos, which weren't available), juice of one lime, chopped bunch of cilantro (better when added on party day), 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic, sea salt instead of garlic salt, and a pinch of cumin. The BEST!!! I'm having to make it again for my roommate and myself since we didn't get much at the party and have both been craving more.

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3 users found this review helpful

The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World

Reviewed: Apr. 8, 2008

I thought the taste of this was great, with one big note- it was WAY too salty... I can't believe others aren't making the same comment. I like things a little salty in general, but I had to double the vegetables in this just to balance out the salt a little bit, and still thought it was a little too salty after all that. I love the other tastes but next time I'll start with maybe 1/2 teaspoon of salt and add it to taste at the end. Otherwise though, great chili!

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Coconut Gumdrop Cookies

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2006

These were very tasty... I added more gumdrops than 1 cup, and make sure to get the really spicy ones to give this cookie more kick! I used butter rather than shortening and it worked well. Also, make sure to toast the pecans before adding them in, since that really brings out their flavor. Finally, I'd recommend pre-mixing the nuts, gumpdrops, oatmeal and coconut together before adding these ingredients into the dough... otherwise you have to stir the dough too much in the end and the cookies aren't quite as tender. Tasty cookies!

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14 users found this review helpful

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Reviewed: Nov. 19, 2006

These were really yummy! The baking time was a bit tricky for me, since after 8 minutes they were still very raw inside... 11 minutes is what worked best for me. I tried the next sheet at 13 minutes (which was when they finally looked "done" and not gooey in the middle), but once they cooled those weren't as soft as the first batch. So as a heads up, these will still look a little underdone when you pull them out, but that's what keeps them soft over time. Yum!

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4 users found this review helpful

Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

Reviewed: Nov. 10, 2006

This cake was great- intense and moist as promised... I made cupcakes for a work function and dusted them with powdered sugar just before serving (otherwise the powdered sugar soaks in and disappears). I still believe the best chocolate cake in the world is the double layer chocolate cake on epicurious.com, but this one is a whole lot faster/easier since it starts from a mix. Yum!

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Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2002

Just an additional note to say that it's important to sear the meat on all sides before adding to the crockpot- it only takes a few minutes and really helps to seal in the juices of the meat. I made it yesterday and forgot to sear the meat first. Still tasted good but not nearly as moist as when I've seared the roast first. Enjoy!

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1343 users found this review helpful

Banana Banana Bread

Reviewed: Oct. 18, 2002

I thought this was tasty- very moist and with good banana flavor. I forgot to add the vanilla and cinnamon as other reviewers suggested, which I think would improve the recipe for next time. I made two small loaves- one with added nuts and one without, and they took a little less time to bake than one large loaf. That way, you get two cute little loaves to keep or give away instead of just one!

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3 users found this review helpful

Clone of a Cinnabon

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2002

This really is the ultimate cinnamon roll.... You do need to cook them for longer at a lower temperature (20-25 minutes at 350) and if you want each roll to be round and nicely shaped, I'd recommend using a jumbo-sized muffin pan so each roll can rise and bake individually instead of being smushed together in a 13x9 pan and coming out square when you cut it. Just a personal preference on the appearance, but these are yuuuuummmmmmmy!!!

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54 users found this review helpful

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2002

This was very flavorful and yummy- my boyfriend loved it. I would recommend adding some cinnamon and vanilla and also some extra sugar, unless you like your pies very tart. I didn't add any extra sugar but served it warm with vanilla icecream, which helped to balance the tartness of the apples. Will add some more sugar next time, or maybe an oatmeal crumb topping instead of the top crust, to add some sweetness. This time, I used the french pastry crust recipe and made it into a cobbler (no pie pan handy) with the apples in a casserole dish and the crust across the top (most of the caramel sauce was mixed in with the apples and a little used to glaze the top). Very pretty and tasty!

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Buckeyes I

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2001

I've been eating my grandmother's wonderful Buckeyes all my life so I decided to give this recipe a try (since I didn't have her recipe handy). I would recommend this recipe with the following tweaks: definitely cut the sugar and sift it- I used about 4 cups, which worked well; add a tablespoon or two of shortening to the chocolate to help it stay a little firmer at room temperature; use semi-sweet chocolate as specified(I used a blend of milk choc and semi-sweet and it was too sweet); and to save time, just microwave the chocolate at a medium setting and stir periodically- it comes out perfectly creamy and there's no need for the messy double broiler. What a great holiday treat! Yummy!

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367 users found this review helpful