Have you ever started to make a recipe only to find out that after you had the ingredients assembled or worse yet, you started mixing them in the bowl, that you were missing one important ingredient? Whether you ran out of eggs, butter, had no buttermilk, or chocolate, you knew you were in trouble. No problem, run next door to the neighbors and borrow what you need. It sounded like a good idea at the time but the outcome was not what I expected.

I was embarrassed to ask my neighbors for an egg or cup of sugar. I am supposed to be the super cook who has all ingredients I need on hand. I guess I am human and not super woman. I finally got the courage to venture out of the house and try to find a neighbor home during the day. After knocking on several doors and finding no one home, I debated as to whether I should cancel the baking, or drive to the store and get what I need. I decided to go door to door instead. In the time it took me to find someone, I could have been to the store and back home with my intended ingredient.

My neighbor on one side is a bachelor and he usually has left over cold pizza and take out boxes in his refrigerator. I asked him for an egg once and he said he gave them up on account of his cholesterol problem. My other neighbor said she ruins boiled water. I asked her for sugar and she had some sugar packets in the bottom of her purse that she took from Zippy’s. I took the faded sugar packets so as not to hurt her feelings. I get home with my sugar packets, dump the caked little packets in the trash and proceed to search my cookbooks to see if there is a way I can turn my cake recipe into a meatloaf recipe using the ingredients I already have in the bowl. I am not giving up easily. I will end up with something for dinner.

If you live in a small town you can run to your neighbors and borrow a cup of sugar. That was the in old days when mom was home baking cookies and making the family supper. Some of us live differently and have a fast paced life. We spend more time at our jobs and on the road in traffic. Having the time to cook a meal is a luxury for some of us. In last month’s article I shared a recipe to save you some time. Now I will show you how to rescue a recipe.

Over the years I tried to substitute ingredients and have made some fabulous culinary discoveries. I have also made some great door-stop cookies…or should I say hockey pucks. I haven’t poisoned anyone, but some of my cooking attempts could have made the top 10 worst recipe list.

I will give you some tips on how to make your recipe whether or not you have the ingredients originally needed. Instead of a culinary disaster, you will hopefully end up a culinary hero or heroine.

When you substitute one ingredient for another you alter the taste and outcome of your recipe. In this brownie recipe I will show you how to make substitutions work. In the Kailua Style recipe you actually get a healthier recipe and lower in calories. The brownies are soft, moist, and tasty.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with a cooking oil or Pam*. No messy pan to clean with this recipe.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except for the flour and baking powder. Use an electric mixer for spongier, fluffier brownies or mix by hand. The object is to blend all the ingredients and have no lumps in the batter. When all ingredients are mixed , add the flour and baking powder at the same time. Stir until moist and no dry flour is left.

Add any nuts, candies, or chocolate chips if you desire. I sometimes add all three and create a colorful chocolate brownie. Before baking I sprinkle the top of the uncooked brownies with candy trim-its. I like to use little hearts, multi colored sprinkles, or any seasonal candy sprinkles I find in the bake section of the supermarket.

Pour the brownie mixture into the foil lined pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. The brownies are done when the edges are browned and you can smell them cooking.

When the brownies are cooked you can remove them from the oven. Let the brownies cool at least 15 minutes. Pull the foil with the brownies out of the pan and they will cool quicker. Set the foil with the brownies on a plate. Cut brownies into squares and serve.

Some common ingredient substitutions:

Baking Powder/ Yield 1 teaspoon

• ¼ tsp cream of tarter plus ¼ tsp baking soda or,

• 1/4 tsp baking soda plus ¼ to ½ cup molasses (decrease liquid in recipe by 2 tablespoons

Bread Crumbs

• Use one slice dry bread or toast the bread and shred in a blender
• Butter / Yield 1 Cup

• 1 cup margarine or 7/8 cup oil plus 1/2 tsp salt

Catsup / Yield 1 Cup / for use in cooking

• 1 cup tomato sauce, ½ cup sugar and 2 Tbl vinegar

Chili Sauce / Yield 1 Cup

• 1 cup tomato sauce, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 Tbl vinegar, ¼ tsp cinnamon, dash of ground cloves, dash of allspice

Chocolate, semisweet / 1.6 ounces

• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 4 teaspoons of sugar 

Chocolate, unsweetened / 1 ounce or square

• 3 Tbl powdered unsweetened cocoa plus 1 Tbl butter or margarine or
• 3 Tbl carob powder plus 2 Tbl water

Chocolate, semisweet pieces, melted / yield 6 ounce package

• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate plus 2 Tbl shortening and ½ cup sugar

Cocoa / Yield 1/4/Cup

• 1 ounce (square) chocolate (decrease fat called for in recipe by ½ Tbl

Corn Syrup / Yield 1 Cup

• 1 cup sugar plus ¼ cup liquid that recipe calls for or
• 1 cup honey

Cracker Crumbs - Substitute bread crumbs

• Cornstarch / for thickening
• 2 Tbls all-purpose flour or
• 2 Tbl powdered mashed potatoes or
• 4 to 6 tsp quick-cooking tapioca

Eggs - Liquid egg substitute

• Egg yolks plus water in cookies
• Dry egg powder and water 

Flour / all-purpose / add 2 ½ tsp baking soda per cup of flour substitutes listed below/ Yield 1 Cup

• 1 ¼ cup rye flour or
• ¾ cup rice flour or
• 1 cup corn flour or
• 1 1/8 cup cake flour or
• 1 ½ cups bread crumbs or
• 1/3 cup cornmeal, or soybean flour plus 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Lemon / Yield 1 teaspoon

• ½ tsp vinegar

Mayonnaise / Yield 1 Cup

• ½ cup yogurt and ½ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing or
• 1 cup sour cream or
• 1 cup plain yogurt or
• 1 cup cottage cheese pureed in blender

Milk / Whole

• 1 cup powdered milk plus 2 ½ tsp butter or margarine or
• ½ cup evaporated milk plus ½ cup water

Milk, sweetened condensed / Yield 1 ¼ cups in the blender

• Combine 1 cup instant non fat dry milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup boiling water, and 3 Tbl margarine. Blend until smooth. To thicken let set in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Shortening, melted / Yield 1 Cup

• 1 cup cooking oil only if recipe calls for melted shortening

Sour cream cultured / Yield 1 Cup

• Blend until smooth, 1/3 cup buttermilk, 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 Tbl lemon juice or
• 1 1/8 cup non-fat dry milk powder, ½ cup warm water, 1 Tbl vinegar. Chill to thicken 2 hours. Or
• 1 cup plain yogurt, in cooking add 1 Tbl cornstarch to keep from separating or
• 1 cup cottage cheese, 3 tsp lemon juice, puree in blender

Sugar white / Yield 1 tsp or 1 Cup

• ¾ cup maple syrup, reduce liquid called for in recipe by 3 Tbl or
• 2 cups corn syrup, reduce liquid called for in recipe by ¼ cup. Do not replace more than ½ of the sugar called for in a recipe with corn syrup. Or
• 1 cup molasses plus ½ tsp baking soda, reduce liquid ¼ cup, substitute for no more than half the sugar in the recipe, or
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed, or
• 1 ¾ cup confectioners sugar, or
• 1 cup honey, decrease liquid by ¼ cup. Add ½ tsp baking soda for every cup of honey used.

Tomato juice

• ½ cup tomato sauce plus ½ cup water

Tomato Sauce /Yield 15 ounce can

• 6 ounce can tomato paste plus 1 cup water

Wine

• 13 Tbl water, 3 Tbl lemon juice, I Tbl sugar, or
• ¼ cup balsamic wine in place of meat in spaghetti sauce

Worcestershire sauce

• Bottled steak sauce

Yogurt, plain

• 1 cup buttermilk, or
• 1 cup sour cream, or
• 1 cup cottage cheese blended until smooth

Write to me in the comment section with any questions you may have. I enjoy reading your comments. Have fun experimenting with your own recipe faux pas. Don’t forget to save an extra few brownies to share with someone. The more Aloha we spread and share, the more Aloha there will be in the world. Food is the best way to someone’s heart. Remember the Recipe Rescue Doctor prescribes a daily dose of Aloha wherever you live.