I'd be surprised if beating the butter w/the sugar and molasses, as opposed to by itself, would make any difference. Even though the recipe says not to cut until cool, I'm wondering if cutting them while still warm would reduce the crumbliness. You could try cutting while warm but not actually separating them until they cooled. (?) The ingredients sound wonderfully tasty, but the 1/2 cup of cornstarch is a bit surprising to me. Can that be right? This could be one of those cases where the next issue of the magazine says " In our last issue, in the recipe for Ginger Cookies, the ingredients should have read one half teaspoon cornstarch, instead of 1/2 cup." LOL

Jessyf. I lost two very precious maltese's, my little babies, just nine months apart from each other, one just this past Sept. I can't help but wonder if they weren't poisoned w/their food. My little one was only 7 yrs & my other was 12. Just makes me wonder because the info that we're feed maybe slow or hidden for the "Money is Everything" attitude! I can't help but wonder how long we've been getting these poisons in our food products, whether it be human or pet products. It makes me want to scream at the F*&%!!! AH's that continue to allow anything from them coming into to the food chain. I'm sorry, I'm just so very upset over this. Lucy

I was wondering that myself Sally, since that was my last can of the pears. That type of canned pear is so yummy I'm debating whether to make some more with store bought pears just to have on hand. I have also made pear upside down cake with canned pears, and pear parfaits with the pears in port and vanilla pudding. Both were super yummy. Just the pears warmed up with a dab of whipped cream is good too. When I make this again I probably won't have the pears in port, so I might use canned pears and soak them in some type of sweet wine if I was really going over the top. But then again, I'll bet this cake is yummy with just plain old canned pears OR as the recipe calls for, regular ripe pears. What I thought was wonderful about it is that it is a special cake that you could whip up even if you didn't have fresh fruit on hand. I mean it was 8 o'clock at night before I had to go into work the next day, and when I could not find my traveling round cake pan and I realized that the pear upside down cake was out of the question, I was able to whip this thing up instead, which was good. I really love those secret recipes where you can pull off something special with seemingly nothing. The crystalized ginger is another thing to keep on hand which you can pull off as your secret weapon, and it would work with other cakes too. Another thing you could add would be raisins soaked in some kind of sweet wine with a clove or two thrown in for good measure. When I make this again if I don't have fancy fruits, I'm going to add maybe 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice to the mix, since the canned pears were spiced. So my new secret weapons for jazzing up plain old cakes are crystalized ginger, sweet wine, and the sanding sugar. That is actually "sugar in the raw" which I have had sitting around for ages. I have some apricots that have been soaking in brandy for a year in the fridge now. They will make something special sooner or later I think. No trouble to have on hand for special effects.

I agree with Linda. I've only used malt powder, and it was sweet like molasses, but of course has its own distinct flavor. I think if you used 1-1/2 tbsp molasses and half a tsp of brewers' yeast, you might get a somewhat similar flavor. Since I haven't tried this, I would recommend combining the yeast with the molasses and see how it tastes. This is pure speculation on my part, but I think the flavors are similar. You could also use maple syrup instead or make your own malt substitute from sprouted wheat berries. Lars Here is a link that might be useful: Make your own malt substitute