Jackson’s Cookbook

recipes, tips, & more

Lactose-Free Caramels Recipe
Lactose-Free Caramels Recipe

Ever want to enjoy a candy, cookie or cake but find out it has milk in it and you are lactose intolerant? Today is your lucky day. You will learn how to make lactose-free caramels with this comprehensive guide. I came up...

Tasty Tip:  Freezing Ingredients for Quick Biscuits
Tasty Tip: Freezing Ingredients for Quick Biscuits

I had butter that was about to expire a while ago and came up with a great idea:  freezing ingredients for quick biscuits!  Since I wanted to use up entire sticks of butter, I made a bigger batch than I would for...

The Dickens’ Type Tale of Two Thermometers
The Dickens’ Type Tale of Two Thermometers

Sit back and relax while I tell you the tale of the two thermometers.  I tried a new recipe and a new thermometer at the same time.   See how this is already shaping up? The cheap Acu-rite thermometer from...

Meringue Kisses for Snacks and Decoration
Meringue Kisses for Snacks and Decoration

Learn how to easily make meringue kisses today to impress your friends.  Meringue kisses are not only fun to make, they tastes like a decadent candy without a lot of calories invested.  Actually, they are usually...

Easily Fixing Split or Separated Caramels
Easily Fixing Split or Separated Caramels

Caramel can split or separate for a variety of reasons. Fixing split or separated caramels is possible, but let's discuss how it can happen in the first place. By doing so, hopefully you can prevent it in the future! For...

French Truffles are So Easy and Pretty to Make!
French Truffles are So Easy and Pretty to Make!

French truffles are so easy and pretty!  Seriously, these are a confidence booster.  You'll have these adorable little chocolate spheres of happiness without a lot of work.  Why are you waiting to make them?...

Quick and Easy French Chocolate Ganache
Quick and Easy French Chocolate Ganache

Rich, silky and smooth. Perfect filling for delicate truffles or an excellent topping for that rich devil's food cake recipe. You simply can't go wrong with a fabulous ganache. And quick and easy chocolate ganache is so...

Buttery and Chewy Milk Caramels
Buttery and Chewy Milk Caramels

Do you say care-uh-mel or car-uh-mel or another word to describe these wonderful candies? However you pronounce it, buttery and chewy milk caramels are one of my favorite desserts to eat, but until recently, I was scared to...

Old-Fashioned, Yet Timeless and Chewy Caramels
Old-Fashioned, Yet Timeless and Chewy Caramels

If you want to learn how to make old-fashioned caramels through the caramelization method and not milk caramels, look no further.  We finally conquered our fear of caramel by making sauce a few days ago.  It was a...

Quick Bread Disaster Reveals the Need of Baking Powder
Quick Bread Disaster Reveals the Need of Baking Powder

Tonight, I had a quick bread disaster. I totally forgot to put in the leavening. Since then, I decided to post this so you can see the importance of those two little ingredients in quick bread. I had this amazing recipe for...

Caramel Sauce is the Absolute Devil
Caramel Sauce is the Absolute Devil

Welcome to my very first post about caramel! I had to pick something new to me. Not something simple like chocolate chip cookies. Let me be the first to tell you learning to make caramel sauce is the devil. I burned my...

The Search for Pumpkin Bread Continues
The Search for Pumpkin Bread Continues

Between the months of September through the end of November, I have attempted and failed at making over a dozen loaves of pumpkin bread. The goal was to have one for the morning of Thanksgiving as a nice treat while everyone...

My Hilarious Attempt at Learning Choux Pastry
My Hilarious Attempt at Learning Choux Pastry

For now, I have no recipe to share on choux pastry. But I will show you how my attempt at learning how to make choux pastry for the first time in my life. Remember, I have a right arm, my dominant side, that cannot bend or...

Crispy Italian Parmesan Crackers
Crispy Italian Parmesan Crackers

Learning how to make crispy Italian parmesan crackers is quite easy. These delicious wonders are made with sun-dried tomato pesto, Italian seasonings and freshly grated parmesan cheese. They snap nicely and go well with a...

Macaron Mishaps #12:  Failure Turns to Success
Macaron Mishaps #12: Failure Turns to Success

Thank you all for sticking with me on this fabulous journey on learning how to not make french macarons. I remember being in school and being told WD40 was named as such because it took them 40 tries to get the end product....

Macaron Mishaps #11: Heating the Egg Whites
Macaron Mishaps #11: Heating the Egg Whites

Okay, if you have stuck with me on this rather long journey, you have stamina! I know, it's exciting to find that we were so close on the last attempt but not quite there. Perhaps today will be the day! After all, we are...

Macaron Mishaps #10:  Renewed Hope
Macaron Mishaps #10: Renewed Hope

If you are following along, this is lesson #10 of my macaron mishaps. I will call this one renewed hope. Last time I attempted the world's most difficult cookie, I nearly gave up. Every mistake possible happened in that last...

Importance of a Second Oven Thermometer
Importance of a Second Oven Thermometer

By using a second oven thermometer, you will avoid over-baked or under-baked goods. This cheap investment will save you hundred in wasted ingredients. Let me explain by sharing my plight. Feeling defeated over the nine...

Macaron Mishaps #9:  Every Mistake Possible
Macaron Mishaps #9: Every Mistake Possible

Ever since I started trying to make macarons, there have been so many goof ups. Macaron mishaps I like to call them and this is a series of posts about my learning to make macarons and how with failure, you get ever so...

Macaron Mishaps #8:  Adjusting the Temperature Lower
Macaron Mishaps #8: Adjusting the Temperature Lower

More adventures of macaron mishaps. For those that haven't been following along, I decided to learn how to make macarons and it's not going as planned. Let me tell you, I failed the "no fail, guarantee!" recipes. So I...

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