andiesenji

Just for information, there are a lot of cookie presses on ebay, including the old Mirror aluminum and the dial a cookie, in addition to just about every kind ever made. Many are "Buy it now" so you don't have to wait for an auction to end. I have several, some very old, some fairly new. My neighbor has a "Pampered Chef" which is all plastic but she likes it because it makes bigger cookies. I have the old Hamilton Beach super shooter which is also mostly plastic and cordless. It works so-so but was great for the kids to use. WearEver also made a super shooter but it was corded - also mostly plastic. I have a Salton with metal discs, but don't recall if it is corded or cordless, haven't looked at it for a long time.

I have ordered the "perfect apple slicer" and will report on its effectiveness. Regarding the thermometer, there is a discussion in this thread that discusses and has links to sites with these thermometers. I have used several and they work but there is a distance limit.

I haven't adjusted any recipe particularly with using the black cocoa. The main thing is that it really reacts well with buttermilk and with sour cream and you get a better rise. regular cocoa requires the use of baking powder, instead of just a little baking soda. I have never used the stuff by itself, it never occurred to me, I wanted something with more of a bittersweet flavor and this works well - it particularly complements cherries, raspberries, etc.

I certainly did not agree with their review of the DLX 2000 mixer, which I have had now for a few years. They did not recommend it at all, refering to it (as I recall, perhaps not exactly) as a "vast wasteland" - - - Too large for mixing whatever they put in it. They described their testing of it but it was obviously not a test that was appropriate for the size of this mixer. It is not and has never purported to be something for "normal" use. It is a mixer for making large batches of bread and other things - It does have the beater bowl for whipping egg whites, and smaller batches and it does a marvelous job on those. But in the steel bowl, you can't mix a regular batch of cake batter. I use it for cake batter when I am filling 4 very large (long) loaf pans, 4 tube pans, 2-3 12 inch layers, or a full sheet pan. Their evaluation, in my opinion, was unfair and I wrote and told them so. I know several home bakers who have the DLX and who do several loaves at a time, multiple batches of rolls, etc., they all love it. I have a KA and have done a side by side test of beating egg whites, using a copper liner in my KA bowl and the plastic bowl with the twin beaters on the DLX. The volume in the DLX was greater than the volume in the KA when both batches were turned out into bowls of the same size.

I have been using it since they began selling it. I use it in my Fruited cocoa cake RecipeGullet cocoa cake Which I usually make for Christmas but also during the rest of the year. I also use it in my cocoa cookies, which is not yet in RecipeGullet, although I have posted it somewhere on one of the cookie threads. When done correctly, with the ingredients as listed - i.e., Dutch process cocoa, these cookies are both crispy and chewy at the same time. I have modernized the recipe and made it in a more reasonable size for today. The original made hundreds of cookies. Cocoa Cookies The original of this recipe is over 200 years old. It has been made in my family for at least that long. These cookies are the most intensely flavored chocolate wafer cookies of any I have tasted - We always had them for Christmas and on special occasions when grandma made ice cream. These cookies are excellent keepers if stored in a tightly closed tin. (however the tin has to be in a locked vault or secret hidey-hole, otherwise they disappear like magic) *Please use only "Dutch-process" cocoa the other kind doesn’t work in this recipe. I recommend the Double Dutch cocoa from King Arthur Flour and often use this mixed half and half with the Black cocoa from the same source. Unsalted (sweet) butter 1 stick Sugar 2 cups cocoa (*Dutch process) 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoon salt 1/4 teaspoon egg 1 vanilla 1 teaspoon flour (all purpose) 2 cups baking soda 1 teaspoon cream butter and sugar, add cocoa, water and salt. beat the egg and add with vanilla to the mixture. sift the flour and soda together twice then gradually sift it into the batter, continue beating until flour is completely blended. Turn out onto plastic wrap, flatten to about 1 inch thick, wrap dough tightly and refrigerate at least overnight. I find that the flavor deepens as the dough is stored longer in the fridge. to bake, preheat oven to 350° Allow dough to come to room temperature. Dough can be rolled out between 2 sheets of wax paper to less than 1/4 " thickness. Cut into 2 " rounds, dust with powdered sugar (or vanilla sugar) and bake on baking parchment, or on greased baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes but watch carefully, some ovens bake quicker than others - in my convection oven, they bake in 7 minutes-maximum, but often are ready at 5 minutes. Using baking parchment is much easier - just slide the paper off the sheet and allow to cool then ease the cookies off the paper - they should be crisp as soon as they cool Otherwise you have to be very careful removing them from the cookie sheets and the sheets have to be washed and re-greased before the next batch. Option #1 This is the easiest for novice bakers.... Form dough into a rope 3/4 to 1" (Tootsie-roll size) in diameter. cut into 1" sections, roll into a ball, roll in powdered sugar (or vanilla sugar), place on baking parchment, flatten with bottom of a hobnail glass dipped in powdered sugar or the vanilla sugar, bake as above. Option # 2 roll out very thin right on baking parchment. Using a pizza cutter, pie-crust cutter, crimping roller, etc. cut into strips, straight or wavy, or into squares, triangles or diamonds. Slide baking parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake as above. Slide parchment onto a cooling rack. when cookies have cooled enough to touch, roll into cylinders and dust with powdered sugar or let cool and dip one end into melted white chocolate. These wafers can also be broken up and sprinkled over vanilla ice cream. Also can be rolled between sheets of baking parchment to make crumbs that can be used to coat cakes that have been smoothly frosted with buttercream or sour cream or even the old faithful "7-minute" frosting.

You never know when a TJs is going to pop up in your neighborhood. A friend who was out here a couple of years ago for a dog show was bemoning the fact that we had TJs and they had so many goodies that she couldn't get at home. A few months later I got an email saying that she was on her way to an appointment and nearly caused an accident when she saw a Trader Joe's sign and hit her brakes. The Alexandria, VA store had just opened. She said all during her appointment she was barely able to concentrate and as soon as possible got away and made a (very expensive) stop at TJs and stocked up on a lot of goodies. Write to them, get your friends to write, ask and explain the customer base in your area. That is what we did to get one in the Antelope Valley. We sent population distribution statistics. The store has been busy since the minute it opened.

I think I have an answer, or at least a recommended recipe. I was chatting on the phone with an elderly friend last night and mentioned this thread because Susan used to work at Bullocks-Wilshire as a buyer. She retired when the store closed but still gets together with some of the people she worked with for so many years. She said the last time they met, they were discussing things they loved in the Tea Room and how much they missed some of the pastries that were nowhere to be found. However, one of the ladies had discovered that there were recipes to be found on line (those mentioned in earlier posts) and also that the almond filled "coffee" ring was identical to Danish Kringle. It was definitely a Danish dough, not a regular sweet roll dough. Although some bakeries do not make a distinction and call some sweet rolls "Danish", there really is a distinct difference. She sent the link to my friend and Sue just sent it to me, so here it is. Danish Kringle recipe Susan says she was not a big fan of sweets. Her favorite thing was the Chicken pot pie! The best, most flakey crust she ever tasted.

I like mine baked on the griddle or sometimes I use my soapstone comal and occasionally I do bake them in the oven but we prefer the griddle (or spider) as my grandpa's cook called it. We had a huge wood/coal kitchen range and one of my cousins from the UK, who stayed with us during part of the war, showed me how to split them, stab them on a fork and toast them over the coals when one of the lids was removed from the top. If caught, I got scolded and he got paddled. He was a Davies, from New Quay, however the way he pronounced it (Nikke) I could never figure out where it was on the map in our big old atlas until my grandpa pointed it out. When my grandfather came here from England, four of his older children stayed there as they had families and businesses. During the war, the kids such as Enoch, who lived near the coast, or other places that might be in danger, were sent to stay with our grandfather. In Kentucky. At first I couldn't understand them and they couldn't understand us. I think they all went home with a bit of southern drawl grafted on to their own accents. Some of our foods were odd to them but they took to grits, sausage or ham and eggs with biscuits readily, although we did have some confusion about the names of things.

Cocoa cookies for Christmas or anytime! When done correctly, with the ingredients as listed - i.e., Dutch process cocoa, these cookies are both crispy and chewy at the same time. I have modernized the recipe and made it in a more reasonable size for today. The original made hundreds of cookies. Cocoa Cookies The original of this recipe is over 200 years old. It has been made in my family for at least that long. These cookies are the most intensely flavored chocolate wafer cookies of any I have tasted - We always had them for Christmas and on special occasions when grandma made ice cream. These cookies are excellent keepers if stored in a tightly closed tin. (however the tin has to be in a locked vault or secret hidey-hole, otherwise they disappear like magic) *Please use only "Dutch-process" cocoa the other kind doesn’t work in this recipe. I recommend the Double Dutch cocoa from King Arthur Flour and often use this mixed half and half with the Black cocoa from the same source. Unsalted (sweet) butter 1 stick Sugar 2 cups cocoa (*Dutch process) 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoon salt 1/4 teaspoon egg 1 vanilla 1 teaspoon flour (all purpose) 2 cups baking soda 1 teaspoon cream butter and sugar, add cocoa, water and salt. beat the egg and add with vanilla to the mixture. sift the flour and soda together twice then gradually sift it into the batter, continue beating until flour is completely blended. Turn out onto plastic wrap, flatten to about 1 inch thick, wrap dough tightly and refrigerate at least overnight. I find that the flavor deepens as the dough is stored longer in the fridge. to bake, preheat oven to 350° Allow dough to come to room temperature. Dough can be rolled out between 2 sheets of wax paper to less than 1/4 " thickness. Cut into 2 " rounds, dust with powdered sugar (or vanilla sugar) and bake on baking parchment, or on greased baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes but watch carefully, some ovens bake quicker than others - in my convection oven, they bake in 7 minutes-maximum, but often are ready at 5 minutes. Using baking parchment is much easier - just slide the paper off the sheet and allow to cool then ease the cookies off the paper - they should be crisp as soon as they cool Otherwise you have to be very careful removing them from the cookie sheets and the sheets have to be washed and re-greased before the next batch. Option #1 This is the easiest for novice bakers.... Form dough into a rope 3/4 to 1" (Tootsie-roll size) in diameter. cut into 1" sections, roll into a ball, roll in powdered sugar (or vanilla sugar), place on baking parchment, flatten with bottom of a hobnail glass dipped in powdered sugar or the vanilla sugar, bake as above. Option # 2 roll out very thin right on baking parchment. Using a pizza cutter, pie-crust cutter, crimping roller, etc. cut into strips, straight or wavy, or into squares, triangles or diamonds. Slide baking parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake as above. Slide parchment onto a cooling rack. when cookies have cooled enough to touch, roll into cylinders and dust with powdered sugar or let cool and dip one end into melted white chocolate. These wafers can also be broken up and sprinkled over vanilla ice cream. Also can be rolled between sheets of baking parchment to make crumbs that can be used to coat cakes that have been smoothly frosted with buttercream or sour cream or even the old faithful "7-minute" frosting. ( RG1531 )

andiesenji - I made your brittle last night, with salted, roasted Virginia peanuts - it was fantastic! Just as good or better than stovetop brittle and WAY easier. Never imagined I could make great peanut brittle in 10 minutes. I used the minimum suggested minutes for microwaving at each step. For the corn syrup I substituted King golden syrup. Thanks for the tip on using golden syrup, and for sharing the recipe. ← I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. I demonstrated it here at the office a couple of years ago and now the "girls" make it every so often for a treat (usually when the popcorn is absent). We have a SS surgical tray on a stand on which the Release foil is place. The SS always seems to be really cold so the stuff cools very rapidly on it. At one of the local department stores I demonstrated it a few years ago and they still do it when they are demoing a new microwave. It always impresses the customers. P.S. And speaking of popcorn, you can, if you have good heavy rubber gloves that are well buttered, use the stuff for popcorn balls - or in some cases when it sets up really fast, popcorn slabs.

I have about 40 recipes for Welsh cakes and only about 10 or 12 do NOT list some sort of spice, many just list "mixed spice". Here's another Some of the old receipts in my great grandmother's journals list either nutmeg or cinnamon or sometimes "West Indies pepper" which is actually allspice. You are correct that sultanas were preferred, however sometimes black raisins had to be substituted because sultanas were not available.

Are you referring to this Coffee crunch cake? Note that this site: Message board Has a note about a bakery that sells at least two of the Blum's cakes. some time ago I found a site that has a recipe for Blum's Coffee Toffee pie. I will see if I can locate it and post it later. found it! Nelson family recipes You have to scroll nearly to the bottom. Also more Blum's recipes at Uncle Phaedrus Check 12/26/03 for the crunch cakes recipes. 7/24/03 has the Magic Pan Banana Crepes Chantilly. In fact, if you look at all the lists, there are several Magic Pan recipes I will warn you now, you can spend a lot of time looking just at the lists. I certainly have whenever I have visited the site. I finally resorted to printing out the page with the dated lists to make it easier.

I discovered this recipe about four years ago and have been very pleased with the results. If you need to convert it, let me know and I will post a site that has all the conversions you might need. I have a scale that shows metric as well as oz/pounds. I use a little more of the sweet spice mix than called for. It is a personal taste thing. My spice mixture is made up ahead of time as I grind my spices fresh, then store the mix in a little airtight jar. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/8 teaspoon black pepper Sometimes I substitute cardamom for one of the first three. I also sometimes add some grated orange peel, about 1/2 teaspoon, rounded.

Correct! There is a fairly significant range of temperature in syrup. If you have something in the syrup that is a different color, you can actually see the convection currents welling up from the center and falling along the perimeter if the vessel is large enough. If you drop food coloring into a clear syrup, it is very obvious.

I love my DLX also. I was shocked when I read in Cooks Illustrated that they didn't recommend it at all. I guess they never considered that it is meant for large batches of stuff. As they described their test, it didn't sound like a fair one to me. I can't make dough for 6 loaves in my KA and I have burned out motors on two while trying to knead stiff dough. I do have a 35-year-old 10 quart Hobart but it suffered an accident and only has one arm to hold the bowl. (Fell off a cart onto the cement driveway and so long Hobart) It is still in a corner of the garage as I keep thinking that "someday" I will have the arm welded back onto the lifter.

The cocoa cookie dough I usually make for the holidays is a lot like Tootsie Rolls before they are flattened and baked using one method that doesn't require rolling out and cutting. I have had people help themselves to the raw dough and suggest that I omit the baking, just wrap up the little pieces.

I have tried just about every type of candy/frying thermometer made within the last 30 years and I keep going back to the tried and true. This one has always worked best for me and the numbers are easy to read. Taylor makes quality thermometers that are accurate. I have tried the digitial ones for candy and they are often off 10-15 degrees, depending on the placement of the particular part of the probe that is sensitive to the heat. This one also has the advantage of having a loop at the top onto which a string can be tied (and in my case, fastened to a hook over the stovetop so it hangs in the center of a large pot of jam, instead of off to the side where the temperature may vary considerably. I do the same thing with syrup for candying fruit.

Just a note. I have been ordering from The Spice House in Milwaukee by phone and now on line for at least 35 years. I have never received any item that was of poor quality, indeed, I can't think of anything that was of less than excellent quality and the service is superior. Several times, when I had a large order, I received extras, i.e., samples of new products for me to try.

I haven't tried candying the whole fruit but have candied the rind. It is extremely aromatic and makes an excellent candied peel - it has a hint of citron and grapefruit flavor, more complex than either the regular lemons or the sweeter (and thinner-skinned) Meyer. I did find that it needed some extra pre-cooking in water to be as tender as I like. As I recall, I cooked it for one additional session in plain water.

The electric roasters I have are all very old, one was my grandmother's, bought in 1949, one is from the '50s and the other I bought new in 1968 (it is harvest gold so the era is pretty evident) The temp controls are pretty good but the ones now available have much better controls. A friend got one because she has a tiny stove but likes to make up big batches of chili for football and soccer tailgate parties and finds the roaster is ideal. She also wanted to try her hand at making jam this past summer and used it for cooking the fruit and was thrilled with the result. I think they are very versatile, most people just don't think of them as simply a giant crockpot cooker............

And here is something about the tree/bush itself. You are entirely correct. I have a couple of other links that are now "blind" for the other varieties. One of my friends in Vista has a good-sized tree that has three varieties grafted onto this main rootstock. She uses all of them for tea, one is a pinkish variety that has a faint cinnamon aroma/flavor along with the orange/chrysanthemum. She hasn't been able to find much information about it. However she has plans to travel to China next year - to tour tea gardens - and hopes to find some information. The man who originally grafted her tree has passed away and left no notes as to where he found the scion. (She is an avocado, persimmon and fig grower, as well as having an extensive herb garden.)

I have made an infusion using white tea with osmanthus and used it to poach pears. the flavor is quite remarkable. I bought this particular tea from Tea Spring in La Habra AhHa! I just found they now have a web site.tea spring and they sell just the flowers. I am sure there must be a place in the UK that would carry them.

The last time I tried to make candied orange peel (with pith left on), I used a crock pot. While I agree that the crock pot makes it easy to cook the peel slowly for long periods of time, I kept having problems with "hot spots" in the pot that were clearly running hotter than other areas (even when cooking on the low setting). The fruit in certain parts of the pot started to burn. As a result, I felt that I needed to stir the peels to keep the heat better distributed. Even doing this carefully, however, I still got a lot of broken peels. Is the problem that I need to get another crock pot? Do you find you need to stir your peels? Other suggestions? ← I rarely stir them but if the peels clump up in one place I use a shallow skimmer or a silicone spatula and slide it under the fruit and turn it over and shift them around so they are evenly distributed in the syrup. I haven't had problems with hot spots in the crockpots I use for candying - even the big electric roaster doesn't do this. The type I use are the ones that have the heating coils around the crock insert, not just on the bottom. You might try placing an ovenproof plate or platter, depending on whether your crockpot is round or oval, upside down on the bottom of the crockpot. The syrup will still be heated the same way but the fruit will not touch the bottom of the crock. Or, you can use a wire basket if you can find one that will fit in your crockpot. I do this when I candy whole kumquats, they are slipperly little devils during part of the cooking process and it is easier to keep them contained in a basket rather than have them slipping off a skimmer and bouncing onto the floor (or the toe of my shoe - which ruined a good pair of Uggs). I found a round fryer basket with removable handle that just fits one of my round crockpots and even has little "feet" on the bottom so it is held up off the bottom. Have you seen my "microwave candied citrus peel" it is in RecipeGullet. It is quick and fairly easy for small batches.

I had the same problem with my old Hobart and I found that wrapping a fine thread around the screw threads held it just fine but still allowed me to adjust the height. (I have a copper liner for the bowl and have to raise the beater a little to keep it from striking the bottom of that bowl.)

I have noticed that the "new" silicone spoon-shaped spatula/scrapers (spoonulas?) hold onto a lot more batter, frosting, whatever, that the old type rubber ones. In fact, everything seems to cling like glue to the silicone. Unless you put it aside for licking, you actually have to use something else to scrape it all off the silicone. The reason I got them was they were supposed to be "cling-free" as well as high temp safe..........