HERSHEY'S "ESPECIALLY DARK" CAKE II

This recipe comes from Hershey's and it's also printed right on the container of unsweetened cocoa powder. They have two recipes with this exact name but one uses their Special Dark cocoa, which is Dutch-processed, and the other uses regular. This one uses regular and it's not as good as the Dutch processed version I made a few months back. The texture is slightly different and the flavor is a bit "off" though still good. 

I made half the recipe and used two 6"x2" round pans. The cake baked in 27 minutes and is about 3.5" tall. I used two tablespoons less cocoa and I'm glad I did. I made my own buttercream for the center and my own pourable chocolate frosting for the outside, using their Dutch-processed cocoa, 1 T. per 1 c. powdered sugar.

I give this 4 stars and I wouldn't make it again because their other version is better.

SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE CAKE from On Ty's Plate

This is the moistest cake ever and it's from On Ty's Plate. It's made with sour cream, oil and butter. I made half the recipe in two 6"x2" square pans and they baked in 26 minutes. I did add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the batter as the recipe called for none at all. The cake is a bit bitter from too much cocoa powder. I should have left two tablespoons out and will next time. It also sank in the middle slightly.

I give this 4.5 stars and not 5 because of the bitterness. 

 

CHUNKY PATH BROWNIES from Better Homes and Gardens

This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens. This is the second time I've made these, the first being in 2016. I couldn't remember how they tasted, only that I really liked them. I took my advice from last time and used a bigger pan, 9"x2"/2 qt. square pan, and added more salt, a total of 1/2 t. plus 1/8 t. for half the recipe. Instead of putting the mini marshmallows on top as soon as they came out of the oven, I melted the marshmallows in the microwave in a 1 qt. bowl and added a little milk, about 1 t. to make it less sticky, then spread that on the cooled brownies. I then topped it with my own headed chocolate frosting (heat together 1.5 T. Dutch-process cocoa, 3 T. butter or margarine, 2-4 T. milk, pour into bowl of 1.5 c. powdered sugar and 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract, mix well, pour over brownies.) 

These are cake-like and extremely moist and not too buttery tasting. They're just as moist the next day as they day I made them. 

I give these 5 stars.

EASY APPLE CRISP from Chowhound

This comes from Chowhound. I used 4 apples instead of 5-6 and used the same amount of everything in the filling but used less cinnamon. The topping is good but too loose from too much oats and not quite enough butter to hold it all together. 

I give this 4 stars for several reasons. The topping doesn't hold together that great and the filling needs a bit of flour in it, in my opinion. 

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES from Hershey's

This comes from Hershey's. I don't care for them. Mine didn't spread out quite like the ones in the photo and were slightly puffy. They're buttery and flavorwise remind me of a brownie. I made half the recipe and used 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips and got 23 1 T./1.5" dough balls. They baked in 9 minutes.

I give these 3 stars.

SPICY RED LENTIL AND TOMATO SOUP from Andrea's Recipes

This is a pot of mushy lentils, recipe courtesy of Andrea's Recipes. I made half the recipe and I cooked the lentils together with the liquids (43 oz. total of chicken broth and water plus 8 oz. pureed tomatoes) and seasonings. I didn't puree any of the lentils. The amounts given for chili powder and cumin are way off. For half the recipe I used over 1/2 t. each of those two and had I followed the recipe I'd have used just 1/8 t. each. I started with that and couldn't taste it at all. I used fire roasted tomatoes and I pureed them first since I don't like chunks of tomato.

About the lentils. I'm not familiar with red ones, just the brownish-greenish kind. I had no idea that they'd be severely overcooked in just 10 minute's time or I'd have never made this. I've honestly never seen anything like them. I was very disappointed in this at first but now I'm OK with it. The turmeric almost ruined this. I omitted black pepper and hot sauce but kept in cayenne pepper.

I give this 3 stars because of the cumin/chili powder amounts being off.

FRENCH CREPES WITH BECHAMEL

This recipe comes from MC^2 Creative Living. I'm reviewing the crepes and bechamel only, not the filling. I used one large boneless skinless chicken breast, baked, shredded and chopped, mixed with cooked and chopped broccoli florets, about one teaspoon cooked onion, dash of garlic powder, salt and pepper. I filled each crepe (this mixture was enough for 4) with filling, topped it with a little Monterey Jack cheese and sauce, then rolled it up, covered the top in more sauce and cheese then baked them for 12 minutes. 

The crepes turned out great. I used 1/4 c. batter in a pan with a 7" bottom and each one took 2 minutes to cook over medium-high heat. It made 8. The sauce is basic and easy to make. I didn't use nearly as much salt as called for and it was thinner than I wanted it so next time I'll use less milk, at least a couple tablespoons worth.

I give the crepes 5 stars but the bechamel 4.5 stars because it's a little too thin.

CHICKEN IN SUN-DRIED TOMATO CREAM SAUCE from Creme De La Crumb

This comes from Creme De La Crumb. I used the sauce mainly as pasta sauce. I did bake one boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced it after it cooled some and spooned sauce over it and used the rest in pasta, tri-color rotini to be exact. The sauce is very good but I only used exactly half the sun-dried tomatoes and half of her homemade Italian seasonings, and just a pinch of salt, and it's perfect. I cooked a little onion in salted margarine so that combined with the salty Parmesan, I didn't need much more salt. The sauce didn't really thicken so I added one tablespoon of flour to the mixture to help it thicken. I'll add a little more next time. I got just over 1.5 c. sauce and used half and half and chicken broth.

I give this 4 stars and not 5 because it didn't need double the sun-dried tomatoes, that's just wasteful, and it needed flour to thicken it.

CHERRY-ALMOND VANILLA CUPCAKES from Better Homes and Gardens

These come from Better Homes and Gardens. I made half the recipe and it made six mini loaves, each cavity using about 1/3 c. batter, so about 2 c. of batter total. I left out the two tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice and used in its place 1/4 c. of chopped maraschino cherries, which was about half of a 10 oz. jar. This is a white cake that has cherry juice/cherries added. Not sure why the word vanilla's in the recipe's name because this has the typical amount of it in the cake.

I give these 5 stars. These are just as moist the next day as they were the day I made them. 

I made neon apple green frosting for them using my own recipe, not the one provided for the recipe. I used 1/4 t. liquid neon green (25 drops) and 2 drop of neon blue food coloring mixed together in a bowl, but I only used about half of it in the frosting, and the color's not showing up right.

 

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES from Pretty.Simple.Sweet.

These come from Pretty.Simple.Sweet. I just want to state right away I noticed she goes with a MUCH higher gram weight per cup of flour than most recipes use. She uses 144 grams and I typically use 125 grams per cup (I used to use 120 g), which is just over 2 tablespoons more per cup than I'd use. That will definitely make a difference in cookies. I made a pudding cake of hers but I went with the lower gram weight instead of the one she said to use and it turned out great. I decided to go against my better judgement and follow her gram weight for both the flour and oats in this recipe. The cookies did spread some but not like in the photo and are slightly thick. I softened the dough for the next batch and those cookies did spread a little more but still not like her photo. I suspect she flattened her cookies, or some of them, after they came out of the oven because that's exactly how they look. 

I made half the recipe, omitting chocolate chips, and got 30 1 T./1.5" dough balls. They baked in 10 minutes whether the dough was warmed up a bit or cold straight out of the refrigerator. These taste good, are chewy in the middle but need more salt.

I give these 4 stars. 

CHEESY AU GRATIN POTATOES from Betty Crocker

These come from Betty Crocker. The recipe is simple. The sauce was a little too thick and too cheesy and should have been thinner. I did bake this covered, as I always do for potatoes, and that took about 70 minutes, then another 15 uncovered. I didn't put cheese and breadcrumbs on top. I always have a problem with my cheese curdling so it did in this recipe, which is not a big deal.

I give this 4 stars because of the sauce being too thick.

JORDAN MARSH-INSPIRED (BLUEBERRY) MUFFINS from Epicurious

These come from Epicurious. I made half and didn't use blueberries or sprinkle sugar on top. I used 1/2 c. of sweetened dried tart cherries and 1/4 t. almond extract and got seven using 1/4 c. batter for each. I added an additional 1/8 t. salt but they need more. They baked in 19 minutes at 350 degrees F, not 375.

They taste good and are moist when still warm but like almost every muffin I've ever made, these are pretty dry at room temperature. I even added a little vinegar to the milk to make buttermilk to ensure that these were moist but it probably didn't do any good. 

These get 4.5 stars when fresh and warm from the oven and 3 stars after they've cooled down because of how dry they are.