Question of the day November 16th!

[luvofallhorses]

What is the best thing you can cook?

For me I can bake good brownies or something but not real meals.

[Karen]

Probably depends on who you ask ... the dogs and people always like my Brown Sugar Bunnies - cookies I make to bring to the Findlay gatherings ... others would say coffee ring, but that's a family recipe ... so everyone in the family knows how to make it.

Hmm, cookies of some sort, probably the most popular, it's hard to say. The soft pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting at Thanksgiving, gingerbread at Christmas, toll house year 'round, Chocolate Crackles ...

I can also cook meals, but much of what I used to make is now inedible for me, as I have so many food allergies. So the spaghetti sauce I used to make was quite yummy, but I'd be sick for days if I had it now. So my "cooking" is narrower in scope than it used to be.

[luvofallhorses]

Do you have a recipe for the Brown Sugar Bunnies?

[aTailOf2Kitties]

grilled cheese, LOL. Actually it's more like toasted cheese out of the toaster oven. I can't cook worth a darn, it's more like what can I heat up the best, LOL.

[chocolatepuppy]

Apple pie and frosted sugar cookies as far as baking. As for cooking, I can cook most things pretty decent, just have to wanna.

[Queen of Poop]

Turkey dinner with all the fixings.

[Pinot's Mom]

Beef Stroganoff or Meatloaf. I also make some mean unnamed pasta dishes.

BTW-my husband? Hands down, his Guacamole - it's KILLER!

[caseysmom]

I am sort of famous for my barbequed steak and mashed potatoes.

[Casper]

An omelet stuffed with Spaghetti O's...

No, I really don't know. If you give me a recipe I can usually execute it... not necessarily very well, but my food does seem to be edible. Nothing really stands out, though.

[Alysser]

Oyster, have you tried Spaghetti O Tacos?

Between you and me, if you give me and microwave I can make a mean bag of popcorn.

[Karen]

Do you have a recipe for the Brown Sugar Bunnies?

Of course! It's over in the recipe thread as well, but here it is:


Brown Sugar Bunnies (or doggies, or diamonds or circles or even just squares):

Sift together:
2 cups all-purpose flour, or 1 cup white flour, 1 cup wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt

Set that aside.

Cream together (you can mix this all together by hand if you don't have a mixer):
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter, softened a bit works easiest
1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (3 tablespoons = 1/8 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (or ginger, or clove - whatever you like!)

until well-mixed and "fluffy"

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, if you're using a mixer, set it at low speed.

If you want, add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, but I don't because of allergy issues, and sharability

Now, if you just want to make round cookies, you can form the dough into a "log" and refrigerate for two hours or so (or overnight, or whatever), then slice 1/3" inch thick ... or ...

Put the dough in a plastic bag, or between sheets of waxed paper and roll out 1/3" inch thick, refrigerate for two hours or so.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F
Use ungreased cookie sheets (lined with foil or baking parchment if you want)

To make them "sparkly":
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar or raw sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, when mixed dump it onto a plate.

Use cookie cutters or a knife to shape the cookies from the cold dough.
Using a spatula if they have delicate bits like tails, transfer the cookie shape over to the sugar mix, and press it down.

Then put it, sugar-side up on the cookie sheets. (Now is when you can draw on smiles and eyes, if you want!) You can put the cookies pretty close together, they don't spread much.

Bake for 40 minutes. Leave the cookies on the sheet to cool, or transfer to racks using a spatula - they're fairly breakable at this point.

They keep very well in an airtight container, as long as you don't eat them all up or let anyone else know where they are!

[Karen]

Also, wanted to add, any of you who think you "cannot cook," I bet you can, with a little help and courage! And the best part about cooking experiments is that even many of the 'failures' are still edible!

[Freedom]

I LOVE to cook, and everyone has told me for years that they enjoy my cooking. I experiment, and seldom measure anything any more.

I don't do much pastries because for 15 years I lived alone and would tend to eat it all before I could get it to friends, then Dad moved in and is diabetic. I can do them, just haven't done much in ages.

[luvofallhorses]

Of course! It's over in the recipe thread as well, but here it is:


Brown Sugar Bunnies (or doggies, or diamonds or circles or even just squares):

Sift together:
2 cups all-purpose flour, or 1 cup white flour, 1 cup wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt

Set that aside.

Cream together (you can mix this all together by hand if you don't have a mixer):
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter, softened a bit works easiest
1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (3 tablespoons = 1/8 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (or ginger, or clove - whatever you like!)

until well-mixed and "fluffy"

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, if you're using a mixer, set it at low speed.

If you want, add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, but I don't because of allergy issues, and sharability

Now, if you just want to make round cookies, you can form the dough into a "log" and refrigerate for two hours or so (or overnight, or whatever), then slice 1/3" inch thick ... or ...

Put the dough in a plastic bag, or between sheets of waxed paper and roll out 1/3" inch thick, refrigerate for two hours or so.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F
Use ungreased cookie sheets (lined with foil or baking parchment if you want)

To make them "sparkly":
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar or raw sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, when mixed dump it onto a plate.

Use cookie cutters or a knife to shape the cookies from the cold dough.
Using a spatula if they have delicate bits like tails, transfer the cookie shape over to the sugar mix, and press it down.

Then put it, sugar-side up on the cookie sheets. (Now is when you can draw on smiles and eyes, if you want!) You can put the cookies pretty close together, they don't spread much.

Bake for 40 minutes. Leave the cookies on the sheet to cool, or transfer to racks using a spatula - they're fairly breakable at this point.

They keep very well in an airtight container, as long as you don't eat them all up or let anyone else know where they are!

Thank you Karen!!

[K9karen]

I can cook almost anything and wing it. Nobody died yet!
I'm a lousy baker, except for make from scratch chocolate chip cookes and that took a few years to get it right.

I also make geat reservations....