See Recipe on Back

Published on Thursday, August 16, 2007, by Aida Mollenkamp / Edit Post

See Recipe on Back

Concoctions good enough to pass as your own

By Aida Mollenkamp

In this age of everything local and seasonal, it seems blasphemous to direct people to the packaged goods aisle for ingredients. But if buying Nilla Wafers is so wrong, we don’t want to be right. Some of these items are worth eating straight out of the box; for others, it’s the manufacturer’s recipe on the box (or on the website) that makes the purchase worthwhile.

Original Nilla Banana Pudding C&H Sugar's Spiced Zucchini Bread Irresistible Jif Peanut Butter Cookies

1. Original Nilla Banana Pudding. New York City’s Magnolia Bakery won people over with its version of this classic. But for those of us not able to stroll to the West Village for a taste, try this intensely banana-flavored pudding. The only acceptable alteration to this recipe is to fold in some whipped cream for extra indulgence.

2. Original Chex Party Mix. This salty-savory mix is equally at home as an after-school snack or at a Super Bowl party. Of course, we can’t mention Chex without also giving a nod to the irresistible Muddy Buddies (a.k.a. Puppy Chow or Puppy Food).

3. All-Bran Honey Muffins. Yes, Kellogg’s All-Bran resembles rabbit pellets. But these honey muffins are tasty.

4. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats. PTAs nationwide have the Rice Krispies Treat to thank for keeping them afloat. There are many versions of this recipe out there, but it’s hard to surpass the original.

5. Baker’s One Bowl Coconut Macaroons. The CHOW test kitchen had a surplus of Baker’s coconut lying around after unsuccessfully trying it in our Gourmet Trail Mix, and we were debating what to use it for. The answer was right on the package.

6. C&H Sugar’s Spiced Zucchini Bread. A perfect solution for late summer’s zucchini surplus.

7. Philadelphia Cream Cheese's Classic Cheesecake. This cheesecake recipe isn’t doctored up with toppings or swirls, which is probably why they call it classic.

8. Irresistible Jif Peanut Butter Cookies. Don’t fear the shortening: That’s what makes these so soft and indulgent.

9. Quaker’s Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. With their great balance of chewiness and spice, these cookies truly vanish.

10. Ghirardelli’s Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies. Nestlé’s original Toll House recipe is the chocolate chip cookie benchmark, but try these for a different take. As for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe not on a package? Our Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course!

Ten photograph by Gene Lee
ALLThe Ten
POST A COMMENT |6 Comments

COMMENT

  • My fav's the fudge brownie recipe off the back of a bag of King Arthur's all-purpose flour.

    http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/fudge-brownies-recipe

  • My favorite back of the box recipe is the chocolate pudding recipe inside Scharffenberge Chocolate boxes. I have never had a better chocloate pudding. The recipe can also be found on their website:

    http://www.artisanconfection.com/stores/scharffenberger/recipes/

  • My favourite back of the box recipe is Golden Crisco Ultimate Chocolate Chip Recipe:

    http://www.crisco.com/scripts/display_recipe.asp?recipe_nbr=1341

    I think the trans fats are what make them so delicious. I haven't made them in so long.

  • Love the chex mix! My mother, who calls them "snax," adds Cheerios (one 10-oz box), which absorb the butter, worcester and garlic mixture and get burnt to a wonderful crisp. She also sets the oven for 350, not 250. For some reason she makes them for holidays and while we would probably enjoy them year round, having them only once a year keeps 'em special.

  • Shana, thanks for the tip. I have been living in Canada for about 2 weeks now and I am SHOCKED out how many different brands their are here...and how many "American" brands are missing from the shelves.

    I would think the two countries being so close together and the language being nearly identical (except for Quebec) that almost all the brands would be nearly the same.

    This has been a real...+READ

    Shana, thanks for the tip. I have been living in Canada for about 2 weeks now and I am SHOCKED out how many different brands their are here...and how many "American" brands are missing from the shelves.

    I would think the two countries being so close together and the language being nearly identical (except for Quebec) that almost all the brands would be nearly the same.

    This has been a real eye-opener.

    Ian Lewis-COLLAPSE

  • As this is an American website I'm doubting you can buy Canada Brand corn starch? If you can then the recipe on the back for Grandma's shortbread is perfect. Good for either drop shortbread or rolled our ones. I've doctored them up with lime or orange zest, dried cranberries, vanilla bean and lavendar flowers and it's a great little recipe. As a funny story my sister once called for our...+READ

    As this is an American website I'm doubting you can buy Canada Brand corn starch? If you can then the recipe on the back for Grandma's shortbread is perfect. Good for either drop shortbread or rolled our ones. I've doctored them up with lime or orange zest, dried cranberries, vanilla bean and lavendar flowers and it's a great little recipe. As a funny story my sister once called for our Grandmother's shortbread recipe - I asked "do you have the corn starch?" she said yes and I told her to turn the box around. Our grandmother had been making those cookies for years and we all just assumed it was some family recipe passed down for years!-COLLAPSE