pumpkin

This is my best friend's choice for his birthday cake every year since I discovered the recipe. I make it exactly as written, except that I "flour" my pan with cocoa powder so the cake doesn't have white powder on it when cut. It comes out moist and chocolaty and delicious. I make it as a sheet cake and frost it with a buttercream frosting flavored with fresh orange juice. Yummers!!

This was an old family recipe that I grew up with every holiday season. When my home burned a few years back I lost my recipe - I knew what it had in it, but couldn't remember amounts. I was thrilled to find this and eager to make a batch or three. I did make a few changes that I'll share in the hope it will help folks who are having problems with their cookies not holding together. Be SURE to use baking/cooking dates and use cooking shears to snip them into small pieces. I use butter rather than margarine, and I limit the Rice Krispies to one cup. I also use very very finely chopped pecans. When you go to make them into balls, don't try to roll them between your hands. You want to squeeze it as though it's an exercise ball, working it around in your hand until it makes a 1" ball. You'll feel butter squeezing out between your fingers, but you also don't need to coat your hands with margarine! My mother always said these were a hybrid between candy and cookie - as they cool they become sticky like working with chewy buttery candy rather than a doughy cookie. When they're done they're tender and yummy kept at room temp. I hope you enjoy as much as my family always has!!

I gave this recipe 4 stars rather than 5 even though the flavor was exactly as I remembered my Mother's corn pudding tasting, but because I made the following changes in the recipe. I read one reviewer state that her pudding didn't "pouf" when she cooked it. I used 4 large eggs rather than 3, and I whipped them until frothy with an electric mixer. I then VERY slowly drizzled the melted butter (NOT MARGARINE) down the side of the mixing bowl while keeping the beaters running - in fact, I used the beaters to incorporate everything in my large mixing bowl. I used 3/4 cup white sugar, and was very careful to drain my whole corn thru a strainer before adding it and the creamed corn in. The one thing I didn't do exactly right was to make certain that the corn starch was completely incorporated into the evaporated (not regular) milk, and because of this there was a slight bit of liquid in the bottom of the casserole when done. I baked it covered with foil for the first hour, then uncovered it for the last half hour, watching closely to make sure it didn't overbake.

I melded this recipe with the "Herb Cheese Bread" recipe by D. Reichel, tweaked, and came out with a perfect loaf of bread. One cup of water, substituted two Tbls of olive oil for the butter. 2 Tbls granulated sugar, and, per another reviewer's recommendations, I added 1 1/2 tsp of salt to be in correct balance with the amount of flour in the recipe. Two Tbls non-fat milk powder, 1 tsp each Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, and Oregano, approx 1/4 c Mozzarella cheese. 3 c. bread flour. 2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast. Set for basic 1 1/2 lb white w/light crust. PERFECTION!

I melded this recipe with the "Best Bread Machine Bread" recipe by SHECOOKS2, tweaked, and came out with a perfect loaf of bread. My tweaks: One cup of water, substituted two Tbls of olive oil for the butter. 2 Tbls granulated sugar, and, per another reviewer's recommendations, I added 1 1/2 tsp of salt to be in correct balance with the amount of flour in the recipe. Two Tbls non-fat milk powder, 1 tsp each Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, and Oregano, approx 1/4 c Mozzarella cheese. 3 c. bread flour. 2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast. Set for basic 1 1/2 lb white w/light crust. PERFECTION!