Secret RecipesRecipes developed & tested by Gloria Pitzer, the Recipe Detective™
PISTACHIO PUDDING CAKE By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Mostly 4-Ingredient Recipes (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; April 1986, p. 67). INGREDIENTS: 18-oz box white cake mix 4-oz box instant pistachio pudding powder [or banana] 1 cup club soda 3 eggs ½ cup oil INSTRUCTIONS: Stir dry cake mix with dry pudding powder, […]
CARAMEL APPLES – Inspired by Disney’s (Los Angeles, CA) By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Top Secret Recipes Al’a Carte (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Sep. 1979, p. 11). INGREDIENTS: 14-oz caramels 1 cup mini marshmallows 2 TB peanut butter 2 TB water 8 apples, on wooden skewers finely crushed pecans or peanuts (optional*) INSTRUCTIONS: […]
APPLE SQUARE PAN PIE – like Marie Calender’s Shoppe (Los Angeles, CA) By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Copycat Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; April 1988, p. 75). I borrowed this idea, for the crumbled top crust, from my very first visit to Marie Calender’s Pie Shoppe Restaurants in the Los Angeles area […]
BOSTON CREAM PIE ALA FAST By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Second Helping Of Secret Recipes (National Homemakers Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; July 1977, p. 8). INGREDIENTS: 18-oz box yellow cake mix 4-oz box instant vanilla pudding (prepared with ¼ cup less milk than box calls for) 1-lb container Betty Crocker Chocolate Frosting ¼ […]
HUDSON’S BUTTERSCOTCH BISCUITS By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 17). The bakery counters at the several Hudson’s stores in the metropolitan Detroit area always offered these special buns, which I chose to imitate this way… INGREDIENTS: ½ cup brown sugar, packed […]
SANDERS’ STYLE ANGEL FOOD CAKE By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Secret Restaurant Recipes Book (National Homemakers Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; Jan. 1977, p. 40). I prefer angel cake unfrosted. Do not cut it with a knife. Tear it with one of the special implements sold for this purpose or with your fingers. It […]
PUMPKIN SEEDS By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Cook is a 4-Letter Word! (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; November 1984, p. 46). INGREDIENTS: 1 cup table salt + ¼ cup extra 8 cups water 2 cups cleaned, pumpkin seeds 2 egg whites INSTRUCTIONS: Dissolve 1 cup salt in 4 cups water, over medium heat, in […]
COOKIE SHEET PREPARATION By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Mostly 4-Ingredient Recipes (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; April 1986, p. 43). Whenever you see (*) by ‘prepared cookie sheet’, in one of my cookie recipes, I want you to prepare the cookie sheet in this manner… INSTRUCTIONS: Spray cookie sheet with Pam, evenly. […]
PERFECT PUMPKIN PIE, From Ruby Christmas Tree Farm By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Second Helping Of Secret Recipes, Revised (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; November 1978, p. 24). Ann & Warren Reuter’s cider mill and Christmas tree farm pumpkin pie, as they served it at their Ruby, MI location… INGREDIENTS: 1½ cups […]
FRANKENMUTH HOT GERMAN POTATO SALAD – Like Zender’s By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 40). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).] INGREDIENTS: 1-pound sliced bacon, cut in 1” pieces […]