LEMON CORN MEAL COOKIES from Sobeys

This recipe comes from Sobeys. I made half, omitting cranberries and got 19 1 T. dough balls. They baked in 8.5 minutes. The amount of lemon zest, 1/2 T., is perfect. I doubled the salt to 1/4 t. and it's perfect. You can barely taste the corn meal which is fine with me, but you can definitely feel it in your mouth. I do like that these have a small amount of brown sugar in them. The center is chewy and at 8.5 minutes, they're crunchy on the outside.

I give these 4 stars. Those these turned out great, I've had better lemon cookies.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE from Growing Up Cali

This is yet another one of those cakes that uses cocoa powder, in this case the Dutch process type, vegetable oil and boiling water. It comes from Growing Up Cali. I made half in a 9"x1.5" round pan. Mine was a little overcooked in 24 minutes, 11 minutes less than the minimum time given in the recipe. I added more salt and doubled the vanilla and it could have used more salt. Other than that it's a good recipe. 

I made my own peanut butter frosting for it: 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar (not weighed out), 2 T. softened butter, 3 T. Jif creamy peanut butter, 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract, 4 teaspoons milk. Beat well with hand mixer.

I give this 4.5 star because of it being overcooked though I gave it far less time, and it needing more salt.

BANANA MUFFINS WITH OIL from A Taste of Kosher

These are great and come from A Taste of Kosher. I made half and got six, like the recipe stated. They baked in 15 or 16 minutes. The only negative about them is that they're extremely sweet! They could have used half the amount of sugar because bananas seem to get sweeter as they ripen. I will definitely make these again and I'll use half the sugar. I added ground toasted pecans and 1/4 t. of cinnamon for half the recipe.

I give these 4.5 stars.

THE BEST (AND EASIEST) ICE CREAM YOU'LL EVER MAKE from Barefeet in the Kitchen

This comes from Barefeet in the Kitchen. I turned it into an ice cream cake. The ice cream is very good, nice and creamy. I used far, far less vanilla extract than called for, just 1/2 t. and I think it could have used less. It's also very sweet and could have used more salt. Like the recipe stated, it made four cups. I reserved about 3/4 c. of it to spread on top of the cake like it was frosting. The ice cream took 25 minutes in my Hamilton Beach ice cream maker and the bowl was in the freezer beforehand for 26 hours but required about 20 hours for my particular brand.

I grade it an A- because it needs more salt to balance out the incredible sweetness and the amount of vanilla we're to use, one whole tablespoon, would have ruined this.

For the cake part I used half a box of Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake and baked it in a standard 9"x5" 2 qt. loaf pan. I messed up the three layers because I was too impatient to chill the cake before slicing into layers and they crumbled badly in areas, especially the middle layer. I was so disgusted with myself that I omitted the fudge sauce and ground almonds that I was to drizzle on each layer of cake. When the cake cooled it shrunk away from the sides of the pan. When I spread the just-made/soft serve ice cream between the layers it went down between the cake and the pan so the finished cake looks like I frosted it, but I didn't, just the top.

The Food Lion (grocery store) brand  heavy whipping cream that I used cost just $1.65 for 2 cups and came from a 1 quart container. The half box of cake mix was just .75 cents. I don't know the cost of sugar and 1 c. milk but it couldn't have been much. The whole cake was probably around $3-$3.50 to make!

(PEPPERMINT) BROWNIES from Boyajian

These come from Boyajian. I left the peppermint flavoring out of them. I was intrigued by this recipe because it uses both melted milk chocolate chips and unsweetened cocoa powder. I used Dutch process cocoa. They're very moist but unfortunately they don't taste good at all, they taste just like you melted butter, cocoa and sugar together. I added vanilla extract. I used an 8" square pan, not 9", and they baked in 18 minutes, well below the minimum time stated. The top is very firm, which I don't like.

I give these two stars and I don't recommend them.

GREEK YOGURT MUFFINS from The Diary of a Real Housewife

These come from The Diary of a Real Housewife and they aren't good! They're dry and a bit tough. I weighed the flour, didn't overmix or overbake the and they're dry in 18 minutes. I made jumbo muffins and got six. I added ground toasted almonds and dried sweetened tart cherries. The author didn't say why the recipe calls for one tablespoon of lemon juice but I assume it's to help tenderize. I used white vinegar instead but it didn't help.

I give these 1 star.

FRIED CORNBREAD from Delish

This is your basic cornbread recipe. It comes from Delish. It's pretty bland, even with my addition of cooked, shredded and chopped chicken and diced onion, but simple to make. They've got the milk measurement wrong, stating you should use 1/4 c. buttermilk for the whole recipe. I made half and it took 1/2 c. of regular milk. I got six that were about 3 1/4" in diameter. I'd make this again but would add some chili powder and cumin. I made chicken gravy for this too.

I give this 4 stars.

Edit- I made this again adding chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and shredded cheddar cheese and it was so much better.

BEST EVER SUGAR COOKIES from The Dispatch

These are indeed some of the best sugar cookies I've ever baked. The recipe's from The Dispatch. They're made with equal parts shortening and your choice of butter, margarine, or oil, and I used butter. I made half and added 1/4 c. chopped sweetened dried tart cherries but it wasn't enough. I got 18 dough balls using a 1 T./1.5"diameter cookie scoop. My cold dough baked in exactly 9 minutes in my Brevelle oven. I rolled the dough in sugar too but wish I hadn't because the outside of the cookies is a little too crunchy, so I'll just put sugar on top next time. The outer parts that browned lightly has that particular sugar cookie flavor and these have the right amount of salt and vanilla too.

I give these 5 stars!

SIMPLE RICH CHOCOLATE BROWNIES from Gather For Bread

 

These boxed brownie mix-type homemade brownies are very good and come from Gather For Bread. They're made with oil and Dutch cocoa powder. I made half in a 9.5"x4.5" loaf pan that was lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick spray. I thought an 8" square pan would be too big so I used one slightly smaller. They baked in 29 minutes and were thicker than I'd like so I should have used the 8" pan and will next time. These are very moist but slightly bitter from too much cocoa. Half the recipe used 6 tablespoons of cocoa but probably should have used only 4, so that's what I'll use next time. They could have used a little more salt and vanilla so I'll add more next time.

I give these 4.5 stars and recommend them.

Edit- I've made these a million times since. I make half the recipe in an 8" square foil-lined metal pan that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. It takes exactly 17 minutes in my Breville oven. I use 4 T. Dutch cocoa, not 6, double the salt and vanilla. That version gets 5 stars! The full batch in a 9"x13"stoneware baking pan takes 27 minutes in MY oven.

NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES from Very Best Baking

 

This comes from Nestlé's offical site, Very Best Baking. I made half using 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans, and got 27 using a 1 T./1.5" diameter cookie scoop. I baked the dough cold straight out of the refridgerator on 350 F, not 375 F, for about 9 minutes. They have decent flavor but I've made three or four other chocolate chip cookie recipes that I like better. 

I give these 4 stars. The true original recipe for this has you add the baking soda to hot water, then add it to the dough.

CHEWY BROWNIE COOKIES from Hershey's

This ultra moist cookie comes from Hersheyland. They taste OK but are too moist. They're made with shortening and Dutch process cocoa. The edges get a little crispy but if you let them go too far, the edges burn slightly and taste awful. My 1 T. dough balls baked in 7.5 minutes. I made half the recipe and got 19. I added 1/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. The dough is sticky and needs to be refrigerated 45 minutes or so before scooping.

I give these 4 stars. 

PASTA AND BEAN SOUP from Calsundry

This comes from California Sun-Dry. The sun-dried tomatoes I used were the same brand but I used ones that came in a bag, not in a jar with oil. I used half a bag, with I think was 14 pieces, soaked them in boiling water for a short time, then pureed them in a food processor. Not sure it was necessary to soak them first. I used only one can of beans, not two, and pureed just part of the can. This would have been too thick with two cans of beans. I used 'homestyle' egg noodles in place of fettuccine. I used oregano in place of rosemary. I added 1/8 t. red pepper flakes.

I give this 5 stars.