If you need to quickly ice lots of cupcakes, just take each cupcake and dip their tops in a bowl of icing. Done. In regards to cupcakes turning out dry, keep in mind that an average size cupcake (one in which the cupcake pans were filled 3/4 of the way) takes 18 to 20 minutes to bake. But, you may start watching them after the first 15 minutes in the oven to avoid overbaking. I would recommend a couple of recipes, but it seems I may be too late. Anyway, best of luck. Sol

roselvr, do you make the Company Cheesecake from the BH&G cookbook? That's our "old reliable"... back when my dad was teaching he and I would bake twenty or so of them every Christmas for the other teachers and a very few other very lucky people. I much prefer their shortbready crust to the more common crumb crusts. I need a new copy of the OLD big book - the red plaid binder - mine's gone walkabout and they messed around with the recipes in the new version. (Did the same thing to Joy of Cooking. Irritating.) I broke the spine on the paperback in about six places ages back, it's held together with packing tape! Pie for breakfast was a staple at Grammie's when I was a little kid. No half and half though. Slab of apple pie with a hunk of "rat cheese" (very sharp cheddar) on the side - Gramp liked apple best for breakfast, other kinds were for dessert - with "Navy coffee" you could just about stand your spoon up in. (I once had a version where they tried to bake the cheese into the pie. It was vile.) She made terrible crust though. You could hurt someone with the "bone", the bit around the rim. Then she decided to go all "healthy" and the delicious breakfast pie disappeared in favor of a bowl of Wheaties. *mourn* golddust, I do so hate to disagree with you, but I've had enough people insist "oh, I just can't stand that store-bought pie crust", mumbling it around a mouthful of pie... made with that very product. *chuckle* About the third time it happened I decided not to waste precious energy on making piecrust anymore (when you have 4-6 usable hours in a day, you take your shortcuts as you can)... My mom makes kick-@$$ pie crust - perfect texture etc. - but she also smokes heavily so all her baked goods have a strong overtone of "ashtray" to the flavor. We usually give them away to friends who smoke who won't notice it. Oh! I forgot Oatmeal Pie. It's an old Amish/Mennonite recipe, IIRC. It makes a chewy-crisp top sort of like an oatmeal cookie and underneath that is a layer like the gooey part of a pecan pie. As I said above, many of our friends are allergic to nuts, so this is what I bring to a lot of wintertime potlucks as a "replacement" for pecan pie. 25 or so people will wipe out 2 or 3 10" pies and leave other desserts untouched. LOL I used to love making fancy desserts, but they are usually too time consuming for my limited time budget and our friends don't really appreciate them anyway. They'd rather have the simpler, homier stuff.

till it's done.... Seriously....maybe 25 minutes....then test it with a tooth pick in the center to be sure it's not gummy. The thing is....with a carrot cake in a big flat pan...the edges can get too done while the center is still gummy. I think I would bake it in 8 by 8 pans and put them together to look like a sheet cake. Linda C

yes add to cookie dough..or over ice cream... love2, my recipe comes from a Betty C ...yes butter...and it is a touch sticky..but I love to suck on it. I guess I could drop the temp a touch. I think I'll try the recipe I linked to below too. Almond Butter Crunch 1 c sugar 1 c butter 2 T water 1 T corn syrup 3/4 c chopped toasted almonds 1/2 c chocolate chips Butter square 9x9 pan well. Heat sugar, butter, water and corn syrup to boiling in heavy pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. (I swirl it and only stir a little to get the "edges".) Cook, stirring, to 290F 12-15 minutes, (mixture will be light brown and thickened); remove from heat. Stir in almonds. Spread evenly into pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, cover and let chips soften. Spread them over the top. Let stand at room temp 3 hours until chocolate is firm. I don't stir in the almonds..I sprinkle toasted sliced almonds on one half of the pan, over the just spread chocolate. I have also used almond meal sprinkled over a whole batch. Here's what Linda C is describing. Butter Almond Toffee