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Lumbele
Member
07-12-2002
| Thursday, November 18, 2004 - 8:53 am
Serate, I know just what you mean. In my cupboard there has a small jar of instant coffee for years wasting space. Just because of a very few recipes that require 1 teaspoon here or there. Where are you moving to?
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Thursday, November 18, 2004 - 10:02 am
Yummy thread, but it needs this:
My fave cookies are the basic oatmeal (from back of Quaker box)with choc. chips and walnuts. Chewy good! I'm going to HAVE to try those coffee toffee ones posted above, though. HAVE to. 
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Saturday, November 20, 2004 - 8:36 pm
Lumbele, only 40 miles or so. We're 3 miles north of Louisville now [in Indiana] and we're moving east of Louisville out in the boonies. [no more thump thump music or dope smoke - 10 days and counting!!!!] Still waiting on the actual move in date, but the move out/clean up is no later than 5pm 11/30/04!
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Saturday, November 20, 2004 - 9:37 pm
No milk. What a good cookie really needs is this:
My favorite cookie recipe, and the easiest one to make.... White Christmas Meringues 2 egg whites 2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup chopped nuts 1 cup chocolate chips (for variation...use mint chocolate chips) 1. Beat egg whites till stiff. Slowly add sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. 2. Fold in vanilla, nuts and chips. 3. Drop from tablespoon onto a cookie sheet lined with foil. Do not peak. 4. Place cookies in a preheated 400F degree oven. Turn oven off immediately. Leave overnight or at least 6 hours. Yield 3 dozen. I love this recipe. Nothing beats being able to throw them in the oven and head off to bed. And they're yummy too!
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Neko
Member
08-03-2001
| Sunday, November 21, 2004 - 8:37 pm
This post is brought to you by "Tales from Neko's Baking Expierences" I made the Chocolate Toffee Coffee cookies. Now, let it be known early on, that Neko doesn't bake cookies much ever. First off, I had to use normal toffee bits, because I couldn't find any milk chocolate toffee bits in my grocery store. I should have seen this as some sort of omen, but as you will soon see, I didn’t. I start to make my cookies; everything goes well (The whole one step I made it through), until I added the veggie oil "spread". Of course, I, in my baking prowess, skipped the "softened" part, and spent extra time softening up the butter after it got stuck in clumps to my mixer. Stumbling onward after such a fantastic start, I added the oatmeal before realising that I was supposed to mix the oatmeal, flour etc together BEFORE adding it to my wet mixture. So, I scooped back out what oatmeal I could into a bowl, wondering if my “baking prowess” was taking a vacation and forgot to tell me, and continued on bravely. By this time, I’m noticing I’m losing considerable ground in my bowl to the cookie mixture…. Let’s say, I had little bits of cookie dough over my kitchen counter and cupboards when I couldn’t get the mixer through the dough well enough. Luckily, the chocolate chips, toffee bits, and sugar cone crumbles, could be mixed in with a wooden spoon. Of course, with only a centimetre to manoeuvre in the bowl, it took me awhile. Then, the actual baking. Oh god, the actual baking. The stove was too hot, the cookies too low in the stove, and the 12 minutes too long. Needless to say, the first batch burned. Still edible, but they’ll be lucky if my dog would even want them… Second batch in, higher level, lower temperature, and still 12 minutes, perfect….I think. I haven’t actually checked, because I had to perform reconstructive surgery on a couple of them, trying to remove them from the cookie sheet before they wanted to get off. All in all, I suck, but at least, I have some cookies to show for it. Oh, and as for the taste of said cookies, I actually liked eating the batter better. But, if done correctly, they’d probably be very tasty.
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Monday, November 22, 2004 - 5:47 am
Loved your cookie adventure, Neko! Thanks for sharing it...I've had baking adventures like that, too. Yes, the dough is usually the best part for me, too, but I am glad that you have some cookies for all your efforts. Has anyone else in your world, with a less prejudiced view than yours, tried one to offer feedback? Maybe you're just too hard on yourself!
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Neko
Member
08-03-2001
| Monday, November 22, 2004 - 9:36 am
LOL My mom was the one who told me to move the second batch up and lower the heat, which worked out much better. Our stove has a tendency to heat up much higher than what it's supposed to.. Anyways, I just ate a couple of my "survivors" and they were okay. They didn't really have much of a taste to them, but that could be because I'm sick... Either way, I'm sure all you "cookie pros" could make really good ones!
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Monday, November 22, 2004 - 9:43 am
Neko one thing I've found that helps in cookie making - actually not helps but saves - is using parchment paper to bake the cookies on. I'm cheap and use the same sheet over and over until the batch of cookies are done, but you could use a sheet per cookie sheet, as recommended, and then just slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet onto the counter to cool. No hassles with the cookies falling apart as you try to take them off the sheet. And as far as the cookies not having taste - my hubby has to tell me if the cookies are good enough for him to take to work or not because they all seem flavorless to me until they've set for a few hours. And if I'm making them for him to take to work I'm so much more critical of my cooking. Practice makes perfect so keep on trying. I'm sure you do better than you realize!
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Lumbele
Member
07-12-2002
| Monday, November 22, 2004 - 10:08 am
Neko, welcome to a sizable club. You are not the first one with baking mishaps and you certainly won't be the last one, but I love the way you handled it. Your sense of humour will let you shake this experience off. Better luck next time. ETA Can vouch for the parchment paper trick. I reuse the parchment, too, until it is brown and brittle.LOL
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Rslover
Member
11-19-2002
| Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 7:55 am
Neko, Wondering why didn't you use butter? She just used that crap because she had to use their products for the contest. (see note) Serate, Too bad you hate coffee. It brings out the intensity of the chocolate. But, I guess you could substitute the water, or maybe an extract that you like. Here's a delicious one that is really easy to make. CHOCOLATE TOFFEE CRACKER COOKIES 1 cup butter 1 cup light brown sugar 40-50 saltine crackers 12-oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, or walnuts) Grease a foiled line jelly roll pan and line with saltines (pack together side by side, no spaces). Combine butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes (soft ball stage) stirring constantly. Pour this hot syrup over crackers and spread evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top. When chips melt, spread chocolate evenly over top with a spatula (you may need to return the pan to oven to melt the chocolate chips). Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts. Cool until chocolate is set and cut into squares.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 8:09 am
mmmmmmmm now I am hungry reading this recipe Rslover..wow it looks so easy..may just have to go and try that one today 
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Kaili
Member
08-31-2000
| Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 1:37 pm
These are by far my favorites... Pecan Supremes 2 c. flour 1/2 tsp baking soda (I add a little extra) 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 c. quick oats 3/4 c brown sugar packed 3/4 c. white sugar 1 c. soft butter 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 c. chopped pecans 1 c. chocolate chips -Preheat oven to 300 F -Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and oats in one bowl -Blend sugars, add butter, eggs, and vanilla -Add flour mixture, pecans, and chocolate chips -Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 20-22 minutes They're good, and I think it's the extra baking soda that makes them really soft and chewy.
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 1:45 pm
quote:Neko, welcome to a sizable club.
Lumbele, when I first read that, I thought you were talking about our backsides from eating all these yummy cookies! 
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Neko
Member
08-03-2001
| Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 2:57 pm
I didn't use butter, cause my family doesn't usually use butter. But I used margerine instead of that oil spread anyways.. Oh, and for the "CHOCOLATE TOFFEE CRACKER COOKIES" you can use "Breton" crackers as well. That's how my friend's mom used to make them..
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 4:33 pm
Rslover. Do you think using butter would be better for cookies than margarine? I am gonna make these cookies soon... Anyone else know?
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Rslover
Member
11-19-2002
| Wednesday, November 24, 2004 - 7:50 pm
Neko, Thought that because in your post you implied you used that spread. Julieboo, I think butter tastes the best in cookies. Trans fats are really bad for you. Margarine is very unhealthy. Here's how they make margarine: First they take vegetable oil, soy, corn or cottonseed, of a cheap quality. The oil may be already rancid from the extraction process. Then they mix it with tiny metal particles, usually nickle oxide, a toxic substance, and then they subject the mixture to hydrogen in a high pressure high temperature reactor. Next, in order to remove the unappetizing odor of the mixture and give it a better consistency, soap like emulsifiers and starch are squeezed in, and the oil is, yet again, subjected to high temperatures like steam cleaning. The resulting mixture is an unattractive grey in color. In order to make the hydrogenated solid oil mixture look like butter, the original gray is removed by bleach and coal tar dyes are added. Finally, strong flavors are mixed in to make it taste like butter. And this mixture is compressed into tubs or blocks which the consumer buys as margarine.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 10:24 am
Anybody make Gingerbread Houses? Does it matter since you dont eat the gingerbread? DD has seen these, I was thinking it might be a nice project for us today... and I was thinking the kids would work....
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Hippyt
Member
06-15-2001
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 11:16 am
We bought two of those gingerbread house sets from Walmart. Put them together on Thanksgiving night,the kids really got into it. They turned out really cute too. Warning,though,they are a MESS!!!!!
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 2:06 pm
Wargod made one with her kids too, Reader.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 2:44 pm
I made one quite a few years ago..I agree they are a mess..and don't come with near enough candy to satisfy the builders lol. I would buy extra icing and extra candies
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Vee
Member
02-23-2004
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 3:27 pm
I saw the most amazing variety of gingerbread houses. It almost made me want to give it a try. Loved the one made with a vanilla wafer roof and a covered bridge made with pretzels. One had a thatched roof made with shredded wheat. Simply adorable.
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Reader234
Member
08-13-2000
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 4:00 pm
OK Hippy, I tried!! I went to WalMart, Sam's, Target, Cub Food, Jewel, and NO KITS!! Of course DD is all psyched and I tried talking her into making it out of graham crackers, but she says "mom, cant you go on the internet and get a recipe?" *sigh, I did buy the candies, and powdered sugar... >>> looking for War!! *grin
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Hippyt
Member
06-15-2001
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 4:05 pm
Awwww,that's too bad. They still have some here. Maybe you could find a recipe and make a big piece of flat gingerbread,then cut it into the shapes you need. (yikes,glad I'm not doing this) I tried to take Miranda over to see Santa today,but Santa wasn't there. Thankfully, I didn't tell her where we were going or we would have had to drive til we found him! LOL Oh,the fun of the holidays!
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Jmm
Member
08-16-2002
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 4:25 pm
Gingerbread House
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Hippyt
Member
06-15-2001
| Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 4:27 pm
yummmm,that will make the house smell yummy....
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