The first way to rescue the recipes is to avoid mistakes in the first place, of course! Here's an article from Real Simple: How to Fix 17 Basic Cooking Mistakes. I also recommend reading each recipe carefully before you start cooking. If I would have paid closer attention a few times, I would have realized that a measurement or two didn't sound right before I started mixing ingredients together. And then I wouldn't have had to throw away the super salty Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins - sigh.
There are ways to fix recipes when you already know you've messed up as you're making the food. This is a great article that give you several rescue ideas: How to Fix Kitchen Flops. Sometimes it just means getting creative and thinking outside the box - like when a cake falls apart while taking it out of the pan. Not only could you use the pieces to make a trifle, but you could also cut it into cubes and serve with melted chocolate and whipped cream to dip into! Or crumble it all and mix with frosting to make some cake balls to dip in chocolate - yum.
This was my recent recipe rescue. I was making Pumpkin Truffles, but the mixture wouldn't firm up enough to form into balls. {I believe this is a problem due to the "white" chips in the stores mainly being vanilla chips instead of white chocolate. The vanilla chips are too *melty*.} I could not throw away that mixture - what was I to do? A friend who recently had the same issue said that she made hers into a pie, but mine was too runny even for that. Finally - light bulb! I would add graham cracker crumbs to the mixture until it was bulky enough to make into balls. It worked! And the truffles were FABULOUS. Maybe even yummier than the original. I call the new version Pumpkin Pie Truffles.
Pumpkin Pie Truffles
2 1/2 cups vanilla chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4-1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons oil {I used coconut oil}
Ground nutmeg for garnish
Combine vanilla chips and cream in saucepan. Stir over low heat until chips melt completely. Remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin and spice until smooth and blended. Chill mixture in refrigerator for at least an hour. Stir in graham cracker crumbs until mixture is thick enough to roll into balls and hold shape. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place on wax paper. Place pumpkin pie balls in freezer for 15 minutes or so. Reshape slightly if necessary.
Combine dark chocolate chips and oil. Gently heat {in microwave or in bowl over simmering water on stove} until chocolate is melted. Dip chilled pumpkin pie balls into melted chocolate and coat thoroughly. Place back on wax paper to set up. Sprinkle tops with nutmeg while still wet, if desired. Store on wax paper in covered container in refrigerator.
Watch out - these beauties disappear very quickly! I've even had more than one person tell me I should sell them. Seriously though, you don't need to buy any because you CAN make these! I would not have ever attempted them if they were really difficult. Trust me. I gotta say - you'd be a big hit if you showed up at Thanksgiving dinner with these!
So if you have a recipe going all wrong, don't just give up on it! Try to rescue it. You never know, you might come up with your new favorite thing. :)
You CAN rescue a recipe!
Have you experienced recipe failures that you had to throw away? Have you successfully rescued a recipe? What new recipes have you created because of rescues? Share in the comments!
This post linked to:
~ Whimsy Wednesday at The NY Melrose Family
~ WFMW at We Are THAT Family
Day 21 of #31Days. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the pic...
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