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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 2:46 pm
I've also "whisked" all the ingredients in my bowl...it doesn't get as light (not as much air), but it can take out all lumps.
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 4:07 pm
Make sure you're careful about the measurements, too, when sifting your ingredients. A recipe that calls for 2 cups of sifted flour is different than a recipe that calls for 2 cups of flour, sifted.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 5:34 pm
Thanks!! These cookies turned out much better. But I thought that sugar would have been a "dry" item so I mixed that in with the flour, etc when it was supposed to be mixed up with the shortening etc... Wonder if it made a diff. The dough did start off very dry and crumbly so I added some more milk. The link is above (9:32am) in case anyone wants to try them. They are really good. And I cannot believe what a diff a little orange zest makes!!
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 6:42 pm
did the recipe say to mix it in with the dry? LOL gotta read the recipes when you are baking. glad it turned out well!
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 7:22 pm
Julie, creaming the butter and sugar is pretty standard in baking. The same as sifting flour gets air into the batter to make a lighter cookie, creaming the sugar into the butter not only gets air bubbles into it, but also ensures that the sugar all gets nicely dissolved into the fat before all the other ingredients get mixed in, allowing for even crystallization throughout the dough and consistent browning when cooking.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 7:26 pm
Julie any pics to share? I'm going to try this. Um, I never sift anything. *L*
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:18 pm
Oh man, I should have taken pics before they were eaten! BUT I think they tasted so good (even with my snafu) that I will make more this week!! Thanks for the tips! I really suck in the kitchen! PS Just found out (I went out tonight) that there are actually a few left. All the bells got eaten! Stay tuned for the pics...
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:38 pm

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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:42 pm
I am DEFINITELY trying the recipe! Those look GREAT!
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:51 pm
And they are yummy and I suck in the kitchen so I bet your's would turn out even better!!! Check out the link above for a step by step lesson. Two problems I have (which come to think about it, I often have) but BOTH the batter and the icing were very very thick and dry. I added more milk to both, and compared to the pics on Pioneer Woman's site, even with the milk, mine still looked more dry/crumbly (for the dough) and way too thick to work with (for the icing--I blew out two ziplocs cuz I had to push/squeeze so darn hard). Anyone know what I am doing wrong?
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:59 pm
For the cookie dough make sure your butter is soft - not melted - and cream the butter and sugar well before adding anything else. When measuring your flour, make sure you are using dry measuring cups not the ones made for liquid. And don't put the flour in the cup and bang it to level it out. Spoon it in a little heaping then level it off with a knife. And - this is just what I do - I always hold out 1/4 - 1/2 c of flour before I mix it with the other stuff and just add it in at the end if it's too wet. For the icing, extra milk would have been fine to add. Just a teaspoon at a time until it's the right consistency. Make sure your hole isn't too small too.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 11:01 pm
Oh the icing, did you leave out the egg white? If so you would have needed to replace the egg white with milk. That wasn't put in the recipe but it should have been. Whenever you make icing/frosting NEVER put in all the liquid it says all at once. Put in half and mix then add it little more at a time until it's "right".
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 11:02 pm
Thanks you groovy chick!! Those are good things to know and sound like they are what'll do the trick!! (I am always using the liquid measuring thing for everything!!)
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 11:05 pm
It is VERY weird. We learned in high school and then I saw Emeril do it. Measure out your dry ingredient - sugar is an easy one to mess with - in the dry measuring cup and then put it in the wet one and see the difference. BUT you can measure wet ingredients in the wet and put it in the dry and it's the same. So if you are short on space and have to only have one type of measuring cup, the dry has it.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Monday, December 08, 2008 - 5:29 am
THey are gorgeous Julie!!! yep, isn't that weird how it works that way, Serate.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 10:24 am
2.8 or 4.5? In liters. Which size should I use? For a casserole. This one specifically: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/recipes/chicken-spaghetti.pdf Thank you!
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 12:17 pm
what julie??? are you asking for a casserole dish size?
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Y2krazy
Member
09-17-2002
| Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 8:52 pm
Julieboo, when this casserole is mixed, see which casserole dish is nearly full to the top..with about an inch to spare. It shouldn't be to thinly spread out either. I can't remember my liter sizes right now. But I'm thinking it's probably the 4.5 liter one. Hope I've helped and not muddled up everything even more for you.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 8:55 pm
Thanks Y2~ that makes sense. Yes Annie, casserole dish. Guess I didn't write that out too clearly!!
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 6:30 am
ok, i would do like Y2 said. just look at how much it makes and then put it into the pan it fits in! LOL you make cooking so much harder than it needs to be. 
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 8:08 am
tell me about it...
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 8:40 am
well, stop it! LOL
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Y2krazy
Member
09-17-2002
| Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 6:52 am
DonT beat yourselves up. Sometimes it takes someone outside the situation to see the whole picture. (Plus my mom started teaching me how to cook very young...and she always told me the simplest way to get to the answer)
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 7:47 am
Thanks Y2! My mom rarely cooked anything besides a few things. Pancakes, steak, and chicken. Never baked anything besides a box mix cake. She excelled in many areas, but not in the kitchen. Taught me a lot, but not much in cooking/baking. My dad for sure was the chef in our house. But he got sick and died before he could teach me anything about cooking. What I really like is a website or a book that totally shows you step by step with pictures how to do things. And explaining certain things that many people already know (ie that if you melt butter too fast it burns it--even though it does not even turn brown. Who knew?? Not me. OR that mixing the butter and sugar together was a common thing, as opposed to putting the sugar in with the dry ingredients...) So I am a dope in the kitchen. I am man enuf to admit it! And maybe one of these days I'll cook or bake something delicious!! (Though the cookies -way above- are one of my (few) success stories!!)
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 7:51 am
Julie....here's the site for you!!!! http://www.cookingforengineers.com/ this is good too. http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=247514 you do know i was only teasing you, right?
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