tmriga

I agree that chocolate chip cookie recipes can vary as much as the clouds in the sky. In this case, there is 1/4 cup more of each type of sugar, otherwise the recipe is exactly the same as the Original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe, the Nestle recipe using only 3/4 cup of both the granulated and brown sugar. Link to Nestle recipe: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=18476 If you decide to try this again, use the lesser amount of sugar. Theresa

You do not necessarily have to use artificial sweeteners. Although they are more expensive, I have read about using agave sweeteners in lieu of sugar. They are said to offer the same sweetening, without aggravating insulin production. There are also stevia sweeteners, which work similarly. Alternately, some pastries can be sweetened with apple juice, particularly to make fruit fillings. There is a book called Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free: Prize-Winning Pies, Cakes, Pastries, Muffins, and Breads from the Ranch Kitchen Bakery (Healing Arts Press) by Janice Feuer, which I have used to make treats for family and friends. Perhaps there are some recipes or techniques you can use. Theresa

Here's a link with a good start http://www.911cheferic.com/main/dictionary...cboCategoryID=# Theresa

Oh, I love curds! What's my prize if I tell you what to do? Just kidding. The best places to look for information on canning are through argricultural/cooperative extensions at state colleges and universities. Here's a link to the University of Missouri cooperative extension. Just use your recipe and their procedure. http://extension.missouri.edu/stcharles/qfk/Sep05/curd.html I tasted a fabulous lemon curd at the NY Fancy Food Show. It had a great backnote of butter to it. Does your recipe have a lot of butter in it? Theresa

For the rookie, the best tools to use are toothpicks or bamboo skewers (I teach my students to use the bamboo skewers, as they go deeper into the cake), and a clean plastic ruler. You measure the desired height all around the cake with the ruler, and insert the skewers at the desired height, then cut just above the markers. Theresa

How about going with a sweet/savory basket. On one side you could make up dip mixes, flavored oils, homemade tomato sauce or chutneys in jars. On the other side you could do the vanilla, some flavored sugars, and jars of cookie, brownie, or cake mix. My family prefers items they can indulge in without work, such as cookie trays, coffee baskets, truffles, cakes and pastries. Theresa

My best suggestion is to compare ingredient labels. I have read different ingredient labels from different brands of chocolate, and was unhappily surprised by what I read from brand to brand. If you are buying your chocolate by the block, you can request that information from the seller or directly from the manufacturer. Ingredients lists are required to be disclosed, but sometimes companies only do this upon request. Theresa

chocolate chile cake guinness stout ginger cake - found on www.epicurious.com root beer float cake Do you have cream cheese there? There are several savory cheesecake recipes available online. Theresa

I would not suggest baking them off before freezing. It has been my experience that the pie shells I attempted to bake and freeze, ended up on the damp side when defrosted. I only freeze unbaked pie shells now. Is there any way that you can just assemble the tartlet shells in their pans? The restaurant supply store near me stocks inexpensive tartlet shell pans, the aluminum ones like disposable pie pans. Freeze individually, then brush very lightly with flour, line with plastic wrap, then stack the next batch on top. Repeat as necessary. Wrap the entire stack well with plastic. Separate for defrosting. Another alternative would be to buy them pre-made from Albert Uster. I've tasted their pre-made shells, and they're pretty good. Not home-made, but if I needed to make something in mass quantity, they are the brand I would consider using instead of scratch. Theresa

Gfron1 - I had no problem getting into the instructions. I suggest you use your browser settings. I am new here, and I do not know what the policy is for posting recipes from other websites. Would someone please let me know? If it's alright, I can copy and post the recipes for you instead. Oh, and you're right, that castagnaccio doesn't look like anything I would eat, either. Theresa

Brittle, praline, and buttercrunch can be kept for quite a while, as long as the final product is kept in a cool, dry place. When I make my brittles, etc, I store them in aluminum tins. If you run out of things you want to try, you can store the pecans in airtight containers. I use a Seal-a-Meal with a vacuum on it, then keep them stored away from direct light. I have kept walnuts, pecans, macadamias, and pistachios for over a year by using this method. Theresa

I can't answer for the jam you have, but I have used Smucker's Simply Fruit to make a flavored ganache. It is an all-fruit product, no sugar or pectin. It is very thick in consistency, compared to jam or preserves. I used about 3 tablespoons, and melted completely it in the cream before adding it to the chocolate. I've done the seedless raspberry in semi-sweet chocolate, and the pineapple and rum with white chocolate. You could probably use your jam, but cautiously, since it's consistency is thinner than the product I use. Theresa

I made something similar to David Burke's Cheesecake Pops, and turned them over to a focus group (the emergency room staff at a local hospital) with surveys to fill out. The inquiries were about taste, texture, thickness of chocolate, consistency of filling. My samples were fully coated with Ghirardelli white, milk, or dark chocolate. I used a scratch cheesecake recipe which was handed down to me by my friend's sister. All those who had their sample right away loved them. Those who had them after they came to room temperature said they were difficult to eat, as the outside was hard and the inside was so very, very soft. My conclusion is that this is an item which must be refrigerated. Once coated, I would give them no more refrigerated shelf life than two weeks, but to tell you the truth, they've never lasted that long each time I have made them again. My family has this psychic ability which tells them when I'm experimenting in the kitchen, and they have a tendency to all flock into my kitchen at the same time, like seagulls at a dumpster. Theresa

Slovak nut roll, with pecans instead of walnuts. Pecan Tassies Pecan-crusted Chicken http://www.pecan.com/recipes.htm http://southernfood.about.com/od/pecans/Pecan_Recipes.htm - note: I've made the butter-toasted pecans in this list - they are just too good. http://www.ilovepecans.org/recipes.html Have fun, and let us know what you decide do with them. Always looking to try something new. Theresa

Sorry that I don't know you well enough to suggest something you haven't tried yet, but www.frenchpastrychef.com has it's cookbook online. It offers recipes for a chestnut tart and for cream alpine. http://frenchpastrychef.com/pastry/0105cheastnutart.shtml http://frenchpastrychef.com/pastry/0309alpine.shtml Theresa

Abstracted from Pears USA "Q: How do you ripen pears? What is the fastest way to ripen them? A: Placing pears in a paper bag will help them ripen faster. Be sure to check them daily so they don't get overripe. You can also leave them out in a fruit bowl and enjoy their beauty as they ripen. Add apples or bananas to speed up the process. Place ripe pears in the refrigerator to slow further ripening." Theresa

Try a recipe for black-bottom cupcakes, eliminating the cream cheese topping. If properly made, these are quite dark, fudgy, and moist. I wish I had my cousin's recipe, but she took it with her when she passed. Her's were the best I ever tasted. Looking on the 'Net, the closest visual I found is the pics on the Smitten Kitchen blog. Deb, the author, uses David Liebovitz's recipe for her cupcakes. The difference is that my cousin used coffee in her BB's, which made them even darker. I am sure you do not want to offer caffeine to the kiddies. Oh, and she used white vinegar for her recipe. Here's the link to the blog I mentioned - http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/06/pot-bellies-black-bottoms/ Theresa

The softness of FBC and meringue BC pretty much restricts what you can add. If you really want to try yogurt in your BC, then make a yogurt cheese, first. Lay three layers of cheesecloth in a strainer, then place this on a large bowl. Add the yogurt to the center of the cheesecloth, then tie it and hang it in your refrigerator, with a bowl underneath to catch the whey which will separate. Normally, you would hang this overnight and use it the next day, but in this case, you really want to draw out as much liquid as possible, so I would suggest two days. If it forms a rind, trim it off before incorporating it into the BC. Yes, it is a bit of work, but you may find it worth it. Let us know what you choose to do. Theresa

I have never tasted teiglach. Would someone please describe the texture to me? Is it supposed to be like a gnocchi or a donut, or does it have a texture all it's own. I found a flicker thread using Claudia Roden's recipe, and I am wondering what type of flour would work better than AP - would a high-gluten flour, like bread flour, or a low-gluten flour, like cake or pastry flour, be better for the recipe and technique? The pastry pieces in he flicker thread looked rather chewy to me, but I could be wrong. Thanks - Theresa

Isn't it the coumarin content of most Mexican vanilla extracts that makes them illegal in the US? Theresa

If you can't find the color blue you seek, you can try wrapping them in blue candy foils. I know those come in darker shades of blue. Theresa

Do you make pumpkin spice muffins? You would swap out equal amounts of cooked, cooled, and pureed sweet potato for pumpkin. I also use this method for my sweet potato bread and sweet potato pie. I roast/bake my pumpkin and sweet potatoes, as opposed to boiling them. It concentrates the flavor of the fruit/potato, and eliminates the need to strain out liquid. I allow them to cool completely before pureeing them, so they steam out completely. Theresa

My shortbread is butter, sugar, flour, and a touch of vanilla. When at room temperature it is soft enough for a cookie press, when cold it is firm enough to press into a pan or can be scooped like a drop cookie. It's very easy - 1 part sugar 2 parts butter 4 parts flour 1 teaspoon vanilla per cup of sugar Bake at 350 for 12-15 min. Theresa

If you are seeking basic bonbon polycarbonate molds, I buy mine from Kerekes in Brooklyn, NY. They have a very large selection. They also sell silicone molds, some at very reasonable prices. www.bakedeco.com They have the best price I have found, and shipping is fast and inexpensive to my location. Sorry, but I do not know about their shipping costs past the East Coast or internationally. Theresa

I've made strawberry basil truffles. I'm sure that adding strawberry to that basil ice cream would also be delightful. Theresa