I LOVE The Pioneer Woman...I think you know that. I'm always rattling off her web address to all my friends and anyone else who I think might like to know. I think, though, sometimes we look at what other people make and think, "Mine will never look like that," "I wonder if it's as good as it looks." Well, I've decided to add something NEW to my blog, an On-line Recipe Review. As I'm trying new things I'll let you know what I think and give you the link so you can try it yourself. I'll always let you in on the bumps I run across so when you take the recipe for a spin it'll be smooth sailing.
It's been a long time since my family's had dinner with Ray and Traci. What you have to know is that Traci is a phenomenal cook, I'm not even sure phenomenal is a big enough word to describe her talent. She's amazing and she makes it look so simple. Sometimes I wonder if she realizes how truly gifted she is! Anyway...I was assigned dessert and I didn't want it to be just another pan of brownies, you know what I mean? I knew The Pioneer Woman Cooks! was where I was going to go to bedazzle the palates of my special friends.
I made two desserts. Two because I knew the younger taste testers would love anything chocolate but I was craving something berrylicious I'd made before and hit a home-run with. So here's the low-down:
I asked Aiden (age 5 1/2, Traci's oldest) what he thought of the cake he said, and I quote, "It's chocolate heaven!" Does it get any better than that? Those kids had seconds, some had thirds, and we adults were okay with it because the mere thought of chocolate cake for dessert motivated them to eat all their dinner...not to mention Ray and Traci had a 'jumpaline' outside they went crazy on with the extra sugar flowing through their veins.
Were there any bumps along the way? Just one. Ree (that's the Pioneer Woman) tells you to use a pound of powdered sugar when making the icing, she withholds a 1/2 cup. So a pound minus a half cup. I had to look it up.
One-Pound Equivalents: 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, packed
This means you'd add 3 cups of powdered sugar, right? Right! Here's the important part. After adding the 3 cups I taste tested (just because I love her doesn't mean I might not want that extra 1/2 cup powdered sugar) it was too bitter, in my opinion. I realized, I didn't pack the powdered sugar...hmmmm...I added more and kept adding 'til it tasted right. So the tip here is pack down the powdered sugar, withhold the 1/2 cup (you can always add it after a taste test. I wanted my icing pourable, so I added a bit more milk too as I thought necessary. NEXT!
*Update: Made again using 3 cups, packed, powdered sugar. Perfectly delicious!
YES, it's as good as it looks!!! We made homemade whipping cream to go with it...well Traci made it, but that's beside the point. So bumps, yeeeees.... You're supposed to put the cobbler into a baking dish, but she doesn't say what size. Perhaps you all would instinctively know, alas, I did not. The first time I made the cobbler I used a deep-dish pie plate, not good, spilled over the sides. This time I used a 9x13 pan and reduced the hour baking time to 50 minutes. I'm on the hunt for the right "baking dish" so it can be a bit thicker, but it tasted divine and in the end that's all that matters! YUM!!!
Comments