All of my cookie recipes are available here ~ you can search by keyword, or by category.

My CHRISTMAS & HANUKKAH COOKIES Pinterest Board is ​​(712) Pinterest

DIFFERENCE between SPONGE, CHIFFON & ANGEL FOOD CAKES
 

Sponge cakes contain whole eggs. Their leavening comes only from beaten egg whites (no baking powder or soda), and they have little or no butter.


Chiffon cakes are light like sponge cakes, but the egg whites are not beaten separately. Chiffon cakes also generally contain oil so they are more tender and moist than sponge cake.


Angel food cakes have no fat or leavening (such as baking powder). They are leavened with beaten egg whites and they have a high proportion of egg white to flour.

​The Absolute Best Ways to Cook Bacon, According to Sooo Many Tests …. from FOOD52

The EASY WAY to make PIE CRUST:  Did you know you can make your pie crust in your food processor?  Put the flour & salt in and give it a whirl.  Then put in the shortening or butter (scatter the dabs/cubes around on the flour).  Pulse until it looks crumbly.  Pulse in the water.  Basically follow your regular recipe, but pulse the food processor instead of using a pastry cutter or 2 forks.  

My new favorite liquid sweetener, especially for fruit that's too hard or tasteless (peaches, nectarines, mangoes ~ winter strawberries and melons).  It isn't grainy like sugar or Splenda, and the fruit doesn't get mushy.   Great substitute for honey or corn syrup.  **  In the fruit salad above, I just cut up peaches, nectarines and mangoes and drizzled about 1 tsp. light agave nectar over them; mixed it up gently.  After about 1/2 hour, they were softer and sweeter.  (60 calories per TB=15 calories per tsp)

I always buy LIGHT agave nectar because it isn't as sweet as regular strength (which is more like corn syrup).   A big bottle of it costs less than $6 and is either on the baking aisle near the other sugar products, or near the honey and corn syrup.

​

Yes, English hothouse cucumbers are the best because the skins are tender and they have barely any seeds at all in them.  But when regular cucumbers are on sale (or you're growing your own at home), it doesn't make sense to pay 4x as much for an English hothouse at the store.  So, pick the smallest regular cucumber you can find and make it just as tasty and "burp-less" as an English hothouse.

1) Depending on how thin and smooth (or bumpy) the skin is, you may need to peel all of the skin off (this is what will cause most of the gas when you eat it).  If it's pretty thin and smooth, I'll just "stripe" the skin with my vegetable peeler (which gives it a pretty look).

2) Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise.  Then use a melon baller to take out the seeds (photo above).  

It should now be as "burp-less" as the more expensive English hothouse cucumbers, and ready to use in all your cucumber salads and veggie platters.   

***

You can search by keyword " cucumber " for all of my cucumber recipes here too.

I sell baked goods on eBay, and have done dessert catering in the past, so I quite often have to make 5 or 10 different types of cookies or other baked goods in one day.   Not as difficult as it sounds, with just a few easy tips.

​(1) COOKIE ASSORTMENTS ** I sell cookie assortments on eBay, and sometimes send out as many as 10-12 orders per day during the Holidays (each order is 2 dozen, with a minimum of 4 different kinds in each order ~ although I always have at least 6 kinds).   I make up 4 or 5 kinds of cookie dough at one time, and keep them in Tupperware containers (with plastic wrap inside) in the refrigerator.  So, I can just scoop and bake as many cookies as I need at one time. 

I'll also make my own "slice and bake" cookie logs ~ wrap them in waxed paper, then put the logs into freezer baggies.   You can put the baggies into the refrigerator, or freeze them for up to 3 months (and no need to thaw them out when you slice & bake either).

​Just be sure to write down the name of the cookies, and baking instructions ~ tape it on the container or baggie.

​*** And don't be afraid to bake and FREEZE cookies ahead too!  Gingersnaps, mandel brot, biscotti, Spritz cookies, Rum balls, cake balls all freeze very well.   I line a big sturdy Tupperware or Rubbermaid tub with plastic baggies (from the grocery store) and put the cookies in layers (with waxed paper between the layers), and a plastic baggie on top of it all.  They'll actually stay frozen really well for about 3 months!   QUICK BREADS and MUFFINS also freeze very well too.  ** Note that meringues do NOT freeze well, and will totally crumble. 

​(2) How to ARRANGE the ORDER of your BAKING:  ** I start with the plainest item I need to bake.  First is anything with white batter ~ then anything with yellow batter ~ then anything with yellow batter and spices.  Next is anything with yellow batter and peanut butter (because a little bit of spice in peanut butter is just fine).   The last things I bake are chocolate.

​And, the reason for this order?  Because I can usually get away with just scraping down the bowl and beaters really well with my rubber scraper, and not having to totally wash everything between recipes!   .... Then, I wash everything well before I start the whole arrangement process again with frostings.    ** Of course, if you're doing anything that requires separating and beating egg whites stiff, do that FIRST before you do anything else!  You can just put them into another bowl and set them aside until you're ready for them.