niobe

should have added- it's for a beverage

i have a chocolate recipe for which I use cocoa powder. I would like to make a vanilla version but don't know what substance to use to substitute for the "powder" which adds considerable volume. I do not want to use solid chocolate. Any ideas? Thanks!

i would cut them into squares and put them in little colorful foil candy cups- and then put in a tiny box- many packaging places have tiny white or gold boxes for candy- some even have inserts that they caramels could fit in. I think you'll make yourself crazy trying to individually wrap each one- and i dont see the visual or taste benefit to it

I dont think your proportions are off. When that sort of thing happened to me it was with a recipe that called for melted butter. When i would overheat or heat it too quickly that it separated, it produced a radically different result than when done slowly and just to the proper point. Could you be overbeating your butter? Also, I, too, like shortbread best that is baked in a shortbread mold. Comes out very light and flaky/crumbly. For shapes, it needs to be cut right after baking. The cookie will spread out of its shape during baking. I find baking from a frozen or very chilled state also helps tame the spread. I have baked at higher and lower temps, and prefer a lower slower bake.

re macarons- powdered raspberry in the batter will work- well some batters call for a Tsp or so of raspberry liqueur or brandy- if the Boyjian (sp)? flavor does not contain oil- that might be more concentrated raspberrry jam works well ( it wont dissolve the macaron) i think it is more intense than buttercream

check out http://designerstencils.com they just added a new line of stencils for cakes etc- i've never seen such a selection before

I've never heard of the Matisse brand before. What about it do you like better- taste, texture.....? Thanx

i have used several of the Fruta Primas from AIU- They lent color and flavor intensity to various recipies- I thought they were quite good- except the Blueberry- which always seemed to get rancid right away.

i would be concerned about their freshness- they can go rancid fairly quickly depending upon storage conditions. Refrigeraton is best. Before using, lightly toast them to bring out their flavor. I dont see them for scones or muffins- their texture and oily quality dont fit But Benne wafers- and honey sesame cookies- definitely! There is also a delicious "healthy " candy bark i have had- made from sesame seeds, honey, pepitas- wish i knew what else

thank you nightscotsman- you explained it better than i was going to i just wanted to add that we always used a baking jam- for those very reasons- so it would hold its shape and not ooze- especially in some of our products that were baked twice- you needed something that could stand up to the heat - regular jam would seem to dissipate into the dough-which would then change the structure of that part of dough- we used a very high quality product that had excellent flavor- so you dont have to sacrifice taste- we also chose to leave in the seeds- the raspberry came either with or without "pips"

we found the brand of cream cheese most definitely can affect the finished product. Even our suppliers told us that. It was frustrating, especially when the supplier substituted a different brand because he was out of our usual. The one constant was Philly. If you requested Philly they wouldnt substitute- they couldnt. It was far more expensive. We actually did several experiments, and for our needs, determined that Philly was not the best for our particular products. You are talking about salt, water content, stabilizers- all contribute to the taste and viscosity.

how about a slice of apple strudel with a creme anglais or some other sauce encircling it - how about a plate of assorted ruggelach

dont want to get off the track here... i remember the yogurt drink was called "tan" and it went perfectly with the spicy dishes my friends family was from Beirut but there were also the Soviet Armenians, and other mid-east countries i dont want to incorrectly name- it has been over 20 years i just remember the joy they shared of cooking and eating

were you the one........?

ah, one of my favorite cusines- or was that one of my favorite boyfriends.... i had the pleasure of learning from him and his mother- everything made by hand we made our own yogurt- and the way we tested if it was done was how it felt on the baby finger- it was a long messy process with a lot of draining we'd use that to make the drink that we would have with meals- yogurt, ice and salt - very refreshing (forgot the names of most of these things) then of course, yogurt, frsh garlic and cucumbers and ice cubes made an incredible summer soup lots of bulgur - and the kofta filled with lamb and the best tabbouli i've ever had- more parsely then you could imagine was the key the key to the hummus was the frsh sumac that was sprinkled on the top there were always dried apricots and nuts in the living room for guests but the best of all was the lamajoun- the armenian pizza making that was an event- we did that by hand in my small kitchen and there were flour tortillas everywhere- that we filled with lamb and tomato, spices- fold it into four, sprinkle with lemon - i couldnt stop eating them- but we'd freeze several batches and they nuked out perfectly i wish i still remembered how to make them.... fond memories and tastes gone by