Ever try the recipes on the sides of packages?
You know the recipes you see on the side of the cream cheese package or oatmeal box. I recently saw a recipe on the side of a store brand cream cheese package and on a rainy day I tried it out of boredom. Blech! But many years ago I tried a recipe I found on an insert taped to the top of a Hershey's baking cocoa box. It was wonderful and I still make it often. It makes a small cake perfect for a small family - in my case just hubby and me. The recipe follows if you're interested. Has anyone else had good/bad experiences with these recipes or you don't bother with them?
Small, Quick, Chocolate Cake
Heat oven to 375
Makes one 9x9 square cake
1½ Cups Flour
¾ Cup sugar
¼ Cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Cup water
1/3 Cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
Spray a 9x9” pan with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Keeping vinegar separate, combine other wet ingredients and mix with the dry mixture until well mixed (about 2 minutes at medium speed on your electric mixer.)
Add vinegar last and mix well to blend. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 min or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool, and then top with favorite flavor of frosting.
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34 Comments:
For years I used the Chocolate Chunk cookies and the brownies from a book I got from Baker's Chocolate. I use other recipes now but wouldn't hesitate to whip up a batch of nearly anything from that book.
therealchiffonade at 9:10AM on 06/06/09
I once made oatmeal raisin cookies from a recipe on the inside of the Quaker lid. Probably would have been a lot better had I not accidently used 1 pound of butter instead of one stick. They came out not so much like cookies as they did gooey oatmeal blobs. People at work loved them, though. Wonder why? ;)
mollykate678 at 9:21AM on 06/06/09
I have two keepers from the Carnation Evaporated Milk cans. One is for a basic mac 'n' cheese, and the other for scalloped potatoes. Both are basic, but very good. And both adapt well to experimentation.
1stmakearoux at 9:22AM on 06/06/09
for a while, barilla angel hair pasta had a recipe for lemony shrimp and asparagus w/ angel hair. i'd made it several times and loved it. when i could no longer find it on the box, i went to the barilla website and printed off a copy. it's a staple in my recipe book to this day.
kristygarr at 9:40AM on 06/06/09
Those oatmeal cookies on the underside of the quaker oats canister lid are the best. I don't know if they still print it there anymore, but if not, it's all over the internet as well. I add chocolate chunks sometimes. So good.
And my friend recently used a recipe from a Goya package:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steffster/2425420153/
which at least looks pretty delicious and makes me want to try it.
semarr at 10:03AM on 06/06/09
A few of the recipes on the Bisquick Baking Mix box are very good, expecially the "Melt In Your Mouth" pancake version and the coffee cake recipe. The "impossible pie" recipes aren't to my taste, however.
kathyvegas at 10:20AM on 06/06/09
i still use the tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe from the back of the nestle's package... except that i set that batter in the fridge overnight before use.
andshewas at 11:03AM on 06/06/09
I use the brownie recipe on the Ghirardelli's cocoa can. It is the bomb. I remember making them at 11 P.M. when I was pregnant. LOL
@andshewas--I started refrigerating my cookie dough overnight too. Such lovely results! I use Ghirardelli's semi-sweet chips, though (the recipe on the bag is almost identical to the Nestle's recipe, as are just about all chocolate chip cookie recipes).
buffy at 11:25AM on 06/06/09
Toll House Chocolate Chips cookie recipe on the back of package.
pjracz10 at 12:48PM on 06/06/09
+1 on the quaker oats 'vanishing ooatmeal cookies'. yes, they're still on the box and still awesome. i like to add craisins and raisins. I have added frozen cranberries once or twice in a pinch. they were good too.
also ronzoni used to have a recipe on the fettuccini box for a classic alfredo sauce which was really good.
nightmoon at 1:15PM on 06/06/09
Try the Hershey's butter-cream frosting, from the cocoa tin. Fantastic stuff.
NotAmerican at 8:05PM on 06/06/09
A few years back I got a Chewy Nut Squares recipe from the back of a bag of store-brand (Kroger) walnut pieces and it was great. I make them a lot.
deetroitMI at 8:47PM on 06/06/09
Quaker Oats Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie is the best. Hershey's buttercream frosting is classic. I enjoy reading recipes on product packaging and if it sounds good, I try it.
deefine at 9:16PM on 06/06/09
The Oatmeal Cinnamon Chips Cookies recipe on the bag of Hershey's Cinnamon Chips is one of the best cookie recipes I have ever had.
dmcavanagh at 12:40AM on 06/07/09
Totally forgot that I've also made the Black Forrest drops (or something like that) on the Craisins package. Ppl loved them. (I love to bake; I don't always eat what I make. So I rely heavily on others' reactions to gauge success/failure.)
mollykate678 at 9:15AM on 06/07/09
I have a recipe for whole wheat honey bread from the whole wheat flour bag that I have used for 35 years. I changed the whole measure to half and use regular flour for the balance so the bread is not so heavy. Everyone likes to be around when it come out of the oven. It is real comfort food smeared with sweet butter. I have used the banana bread and fruit cobbler recipe from the Bisquick box. One of my favorite and popular dishes is the stuffed shells from the box of Ronzoni pasta. Hmmm..do I have some ricotta cheese?:-)
janaatwg at 10:46AM on 06/07/09
The carrot cake recipe from the back of the Soft as Silk cake flour box is the best I've ever had...uses mayonaisse to keep things moist.
Sometimes I try the recipes...and sometimes they're not great..as you noted.
mepolo at 11:23AM on 06/07/09
There are two recipes on the side of the Hershey's box that I use: chocolate frosting and hot chocolate. Both good basics! I have used the Magic Bars recipe from sweetened condensed milk wrapper with great success, as well. Oh, and of course the oatmeal scotchies recipe on the Nestles butterscotch chips bag is a classic.
meem21 at 4:46PM on 06/07/09
Okay I know this going to sound really ghetto, but I truly do love this one sometimes. Hormel tamales with Dennison's chili no beans and about a half of pound of Cheddar cheese on top. Throw it in the oven bake and enjoy.
chardonnay at 6:58PM on 06/07/09
Karo's recipe for pecan pie. It's a little too Karo and not quite enough pecan for me, and more recently I've started adding things, like chocolate chips. It isn't terrible, just not that wonderful, and it never sets up the way I'd like.
Stufsocker at 2:30PM on 06/08/09
The tapioca recipe on the side of MinuteMaid tapioca...it converted me. Also, Eagle Branch condensed milk recipes...though I don't suppose eating it straight from the can counts?
firni at 12:38AM on 06/11/09
Yes. My favourite lemon meringue pie is from the Eagle Brand can. It's so easy and so delicious. They also sometimes have the recipe for a delicious coconut cream pie as well, topped with lots of toasted coconut. Oh, and the 'Philadelphia Cheesecake on the Philly cream cheese box is pretty good too, for a quick and easy dessert. I use the premade graham cracker crust and a tin of pie cherries on top. (Notice a trend here? They're all desserts. Which are my weaknesses.) Others have already mentioned the Hershey's recipes which I also use.Oh, and the fudge made from marshmallow whip!!! OK...I'm STARVING now. Going to find a nibble.
Carolina de Witte at 6:10AM on 06/11/09
I also use the Tollhouse choc. chip cookies recipe, it's probably the best I've found for choc. chip cookies. I also found a recipe for Chicken Pesto Pizza on a package of pizza crusts which is very good.
paperchaseuk at 1:23PM on 06/11/09
I love the chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipes on the back of Hershey's Chocolate; and Ghiradelli ground chocolate used to have a great brownie recipe. I also LOVE the macaroon recipe on the back of some Baker's Angel sweetened coconut bags!
frannyeats at 4:46PM on 06/11/09
there's this one brand of cocoa that has a marvelous recipe for brownies. i made it once, just to try it, and it was a smash hit with my friends. i made it a few times after that until i used up all the cocoa and had to buy a new canister...sadly of a different brand. :(
i usually refer to the recipe on the side for things i do not know how to make. such as tapioca and baking recipes.
eggyzhe at 10:14PM on 06/11/09
sweet minglers on the side of the crispix box--does that count??
laurbelle2 at 3:25PM on 06/12/09
The Toll House Cookies on the bag of Nestle Chocolate Morstels - I still make them. And I not only vote for the chocolate cake on the Hershey's Cocoa tin, the cake its great too. I've been making both these recipes since I was about 13.
MMinNYC at 7:16PM on 06/12/09
Definatel Toll House Cookies. Also, the only pumpkin pie recipe I ever use is the one on the Libby's Pumpkin Puree can (NOT to be confused the the Libby's pumpkin pie filling).
CarrieBeth at 7:45PM on 06/12/09
@ tapioca - your recipe sounds like the one my MIL gave me years ago, called "Wesson Oil Cake". You can make it w/o having practically anything left in your cupboards - my kids have affectionately nicknamed it "west nile cake".
moibec at 9:09PM on 06/12/09
lol... i was thinking the chocolate chip cookie recipe too... plus tapioca pudding and corn bread... though i really would rather not on the cornbread - i'm never happy with it.
blizcheetah at 12:00AM on 06/13/09
My mom made that Hershey's cake for the first time a few years back, and we literally swooned when we ate it. So simple, yet so good.
Otherwise, just the Toll House cookies for me. Do Rice Krispie treats count as an actual recipe?
TheCheapChick at 2:10PM on 06/14/09
The tiramisu on the side of the Balocco ladyfingers package is my tried and true favorite. So easy to make, too.
stefathena at 11:55AM on 06/15/09
Toll House cookies here, which happens to be a very customizable recipe (my mother's tweaked the sugar content to accommodate my diabetic father).
Also the recipes on any package of dried pasta. Sometimes while boiling the pasta I read the box and wish I'd read it in the store so I could have gotten ingredients and made whatever-it-is instead of whatever I was planning to make. =)
akk328 at 2:24PM on 06/15/09
I use the Quaker oatmeal recipe for the oatmeal raisin cookies, but substitute chocolate chips for the raisins every time. Add a little vanilla for instant rave reviews.
I also happen to love Chex muddy buddies.
bumpducks at 3:21PM on 06/17/09