Oh, that sounds like a much cheaper and easier way to do it than mail-order. Glad it turned out so well!

I ended up making a thick dark brown sugar syrup to replace the corn syrup in Cook's Illustrated's recipe, and added an extra egg. I hate to admit that it was better than my grandmother's pecan pie.

Thank you, you are amazing! Good luck to Trophy cupcakes!!

Did you share your experience with the market?

Thank you!

Hi Sonya, the culprit could be oven temperature but it could also be the recipe, like you said. One other culprit could be the freshness of your leavening agents...so check the expiration dates on those and if you cannot find one and can't remember when you purchased them, I would recommend buying new containers. If your leaving agents are fresh, one thing you might want to try is letting the batter sit for about 20 minutes before baking your muffins or cupcakes. That will give the leavening agents time to start working and you may get a better result. You might want to check the accuracy of your oven temp with a thermometer and avoid opening the oven door the first 15 minutes of baking so that the nice dome has time to form. If none of those things work, I would try a new recipe :) good luck Sonya and Happy Thanksgiving!

thank you so much, Jennifer!
And if it is not too much to ask, how do you achieve these perfect forms of your cupcakes? When I bake muffins I always fill them 2/3 and they either become large but not well rounded (while baking they leak some batter from one side) or do not rise enough. I think it is related to the batter consistency - too watery or too dry, but I can never achieve a perfect mushroom shape?

When I was a kid, I would tear open the dinner rolls, hollow them out, put mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, and whatever was close to hand inside, and then put them back together and eat. So good...

I absolutely love cranberry sauce shaped like a can!

Yeah it's a lot more fun if you have it all, and take combo-bites. I cooked just the turkey one year after thanksgiving because we came home with no leftovers, and just the turkey doesn't quite cut it.

Here's a link to that recipe: http://www.steensyrup.com/recipes260.html

I made Pop Overs last year and they were a HUGE hit! I think it was way past seconds for everyone...including myself!

Hum, might just have to make them again~
:)

I will stand by you in your love for the canned cranberry sauce. I love the way it slithers out of the can, and keep the shape of the can. Plus, it's fun to eat!

I don't know if I could deal with it more than twice a year (Thanksgiving and Christmas) but it's splendid on those days.

As usual, I agree with dear Fnarf: Stuffing is the best. I actually don't care that much for turkey (especially after the intimate experience of prepping and cooking the damn thing) so I usually opt for a nominal piece of turkey and a HUGE helping of both stuffing and mashed potatoes. And carrots. I adore glazed carrots.

Ditto on literally everything you just said.

Thanks for the tips!

Thanks for the info. I've never heard of golden syrup, but surely Madison Market has it? I think the thing to do is get some small amounts of each to taste, and figure out which one would go best in the pie.

Hi Sonya, I have never made a stabilized whipped cream frosting but I did some research and found a recipe on Cheftalk.com by pennyp that looked similar to highly ranked recipes on other sites. I think this will go well with the Swedish Butter Cupcakes!

Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon gelatin powder
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup whipping cream
1 speck of salt
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Sprinkle gelatine over cold water in small bowl to soften. Scald 2 tablespoon cream; pour over gelatine, stirring till dissolved. Refrigerate until consistency of unbeaten egg white. Then, mix with hand beater, beat until smooth. Whip remaining cream; add salt, sugar, lemon juice; fold in gelatine mixture.
Have fun Sonya!
Source: Good Housekeeping Cookbook

NOTES : Basic recipe fills and frosts top of 2 8" or 9" cake layers; or frosts 10" angel cake or spongecake. Stands up well, even in warm weather.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING: Omit lemon juice. After folding in gelatine mixture, fold in 1 6-oz. pkg. cooled, melted semisweet chocolate pieces (1 cup).

COFFEE FROSTING: To remaining cream, add 1 tsp. instant coffee

ORANGE FROSTING: Substitute 1 tsp grated orange rind for lemon juice.

Hi again Sonya, here is my absolute favorite "yellow cake". It is the recipe that Trophy's Vanilla Cupcake is based on...super yummy! You can use this batter to bake cupcakes, you will just need to adjust the bake time. Between 17-25 minutes. Check the cupcakes at 15 minutes..they are ready once a pick comes out clean.

Anna's Swedish Butter Cake
(from Susan G. Purdy's The Perfect Cake)
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces; 240 g) plus 2 T sifted all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 230 g) lightly salted butter (not margarine), at room temperature (Sonya, I prefer to use unsalted butter and then increase the salt to 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz; 300 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
1 t almond extract (vanilla extract can be substituted)
confectioners' sugar (optional)

* Prepare two 9-inch round cake pan(s) by spreading solid shortening on bottom and sides; dust evenly with flour; tap out excess. Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350degrees F.
* Sift together flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of wax paper. Set aside
With a wooden spoon in a mixing bowl or with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and well-blended (should be light and fluffy). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. (don't add the next egg until the "slick" look is gone.
* Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk, beating after each addition, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Stir in the almond or vanilla extract
* Spoon batter into the prepared pans, level the top, then spread the batter slightly toward the pan edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes for a tube cake or 30 to 35 minutes for layers, or until the top is golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
* Cool the cake in its pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then run a knife blade around the edge of the cake. Top with another rack or plate, invert, and lift off the pans. Cool the cake completely before sifting on confectioners' sugar or adding a frosting of your choice.

Good luck Sonya! I will post the whipped cream frosting separately :)

I thought about agave nectar, but it's more expensive than other options, and I'd be concerned that it would be too thin and therefore not help hold things together as well. I do love that stuff, though.

This is a great answer. I would also add that agave syrup is a good substitute for corn syrup - use half as much, and a little more liquid.

If you don't want to use Karo brand but aren't making pecan pie for someone with a corn allergy, Wholesome Sweetners has an organic corn syrup that is pretty great. I use it for marshmallows.

He is a smart man...here bunny bunny! : )

Every time I ride along the Interurban Trail by Tukwila, at least three dozen rabbits run out in front of me. Some of them rather helpfully sit down in the middle of the trail. My boyfriend has vowed that if one of the rabbits commits suicide via his bike, he's going to cook it and eat it.

You can also buy tapioca flour at grocery stores like Metropolitan Market or Whole Foods. Bob's Red Mill is the brand that I use. It disperses evenly and you don't have any of the tapioca balls in your finished dessert.

Thanks for the tip, but I'm looking for a raw bird. Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm roasting two chickens today! One I've brined overnight, the other I haven't. I'm going to salt the other chicken now. Any special instructions, or just...salt it?

Good tips. Thank you!

It is much better to freeze a fruit pie before baking than after — the texture suffers substantially if frozen after cooking. If you must, thaw it at room temperature for about three hours, and then crisp it in a 450°F (235°C) oven for about 20 minutes.

If you can freeze the pie before baking it, don’t defrost it when the time comes. I just found this answer on line: Bake it unwrapped at 425°F (220°C) for 15 to 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350°F (175°C) for the remainder of the cooking time. The total baking time will be about 20 minutes longer than for an unfrozen pie.
http://www.ochef.com/457.htm

Greenlake used to have a huge population of them...all those Whole Foods shoppers that reside in the neighborhood come and fed them as a way to entertain their young children. I watched this often and wondered why people did not trap and eat them....i thought about it....thought that is!

I do a trick on my skin which it to pat it dry and then lightly dust it with corn starch so i actually have a dry bird when i put mine in the oven! I baste with butter at the very end. I always have supper juicy interior and crisp skin but always up for improving my techniques! I will certainly give your way a try next time!