Do you ever find yourself tweaking a recipe, just a little here and there, because you want to give it your own unique flair? Perhaps the recipe calls for eggs, but you’re vegan or maybe you’re allergic to eggs, so you have to replace them with another ingredient? I know we’ve all altered a recipe at one point or another, I certainly have. I like to think that sometimes cooking and baking experiences are more fun when the end result is somewhat of a mystery! The term we use here at Key Ingredient for “recipe tweaking” is CLONING.

You will find the “clone” option on the left hand column of your profile page when you visit a member’s recipe page. By clicking “clone”, you’ll be able to recreate someone else’s recipe while still giving credit back to the original cook. Once you’ve cloned the recipe, you can locate it on your recipe roll, then later edit and save the recipe after adding your choice of ingredients to the original.

But what happens to the first edition of the recipe?
When you click on the “about” tab located on the widget, you’ll notice that it has a link back to the original recipe owner’s page. Cloning makes everyone happy; you get to experiment and be creative with someone else’s recipe, but the credit still goes where it is due. Plus, it’s a great way to make friends; who doesn’t like being thanked for coming up with a recipe that’s been used over and over again by so many who were able to give it their own touch?

Below you’ll find a recipe I cloned this weekend. I made these muffins a little lighter than the original ones, I also discovered they make the perfect midnight snack (then again, I could eat breakfast foods at any time of the day…and, yes, I did take a bite out of that one muffin!).

Growing up, my family had somewhat of a Saturday morning breakfast tradition. We’d usually have the staple breakfast foods, like pancakes and eggs, but on special days, we’d have the works! I’ve tried starting a tradition like this with my husband, who really isn’t an earlybird, but he will definitely get out of bed at the first smell of bacon, and I know the thought of eating pancakes made from scratch also helps! A few weeks ago, I cloned 1SWEDEGIRL’s recipe for buttermilk pancakes and the results were fabulous. I’ve made homemade pancakes before, but never have they cooked-up so light, flavorful, and fluffy the way these did; I know the buttermilk definitely had something to do with it. The great thing about this pancake recipe is that it can easily be adjusted to include your favorite ingredients. If you’re a banana fan, try mashing up a banana in a cup before mixing it in with the batter, I also think cinnamon adds a nice touch; sprinkle walnuts on top and you have banana-walnut pancakes. Chocolate chips will also work well with this recipe. The possibilities are endless! Try cloning this recipe yourself, what kind of pancakes will you come up with for your family?

This weekend I plan on making criscrossqz’s French Breakfast Muffins. They are said to have a cake donut taste, but they’re muffins! Sounds like my kind of breakfast snack.

Chocolate is one of the most versatile baking ingredients. Unlike others, chocolate can be eaten alone, turned into a fruit dip, or even used to make a great frosting or batch of chocolate brownies. Speaking of chocolate brownies, brakij07 shares a recipe that will delight the chocolate-espresso loving crowd. His posted recipe for Chocolate Espresso Brownies with Chocolate Glaze is loaded with two kinds of chocolate. What about that rich topping? The whipping cream will certainly mix well with the chocolate chips to create a smooth, dark glaze that sets these brownies apart from the more traditional ones.

Be sure to have a tall glass of milk around when you take the first few bites of Kstetler’s Double Chocolate Treasures. She takes chocolate to another level with these “treasures” that are mixed with oatmeal to create sweet, cookie-like dessert balls that get rolled in powdered sugar before getting baked up in the oven.

If you’re like Jenniferdube, then you’re definitely a fan of the traditional chocolatey dessert that melts in your mouth, fudge! She has fudge covered with recipes like Two Tone Fudge and Cyndy’s Chocolate and Butterscotch Fudge. If you’re in the mood for something sweet, but definitely like a little chocolate in your desserts, your taste buds will be more than satisfied with her Two Tone Fudge. It’s loaded with butterscotch and even marshmallow creme. Don’t forget to add the walnuts, they’ll give this fudge crunch and take it to another level, as all these chocolatey desserts will do to you if you give them a try!

If you come across a delicious recipe on Key Ingredient that you’d love to share with a friend in an email, but fear she might accidentally delete the recipe before trying it out, there is a solution to your dilemma! If you send a recipe to your own email address, you’ll notice the link beneath the recipe at the very bottom that reads “See it on Key Ingredient”. That nifty link will take you directly to the recipe page, where you can add it to your online recipe collection and save it for future use. This feature makes things so much easier! You no longer have to worry about possibly deleting it from your inbox, or even copying the recipe onto a blank document then saving it. Instead, you can save it right away and keep it for as long as you want!

This was a fun and easy soup to make! The color definitely reminds me of Spring; all that’s missing is the beautiful weather, at least here in our corner of the world. As I was making the soup, I realized that this is a kid-friendly recipe. It has a pleasant taste, and you’d never guess the soup is loaded with three different kinds of veggies, so you might just be able to fool the anti-veggie kiddos! Anyhow, I was able to finish up the last of the leeks; it was a pleasure getting to know them! From now on, they will definitely be on my weekly grocery list.

Spring pea soup, another recipe I’ve yet to try. It’s the perfect post wisdom tooth extraction meal, and what I’ll be making for lunch tomorrow after my husband’s oral surgery procedure. A creamy soup with a good amount of spices and vegetables, I’m expecting this recipe will be a winner. Since the soup calls for chicken stock, I think I’ll try following the same recipe I used yesterday. Hopefully, this time around, my walls and kitchen floor won’t get the first taste! I also plan on making sticky toffee pudding this weekend, among other soft and delectable edibles. If you all have any recipes that fall under that category and would like to share them, feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions!

Despite being traumatized by my first attempt at making chicken broth, I do plan on using this recipe again. I love how fragrant the broth came out, and the smell literally filled my entire kitchen after the lovely chicken juice splattered all over the place. (Note to self: Do not use a high temperature setting when cooking chicken broth in a dinky pressure cooker.) Yes, now you know why it ended up in puddles all over my kitchen floor instead of in my bowl. Since I’ve finally figured out how to make chicken broth without getting third degree burns in the process, I think I’ll find a recipe that will require me to use a pressure cooker. I will face my deepest kitchen fear and report back with details later!

Chicken soup defines comfort food; it’s what we eat when we’re coming down with a cold, or when we want a meal that’s simple but still satisfying and flavorful. Though the vegetables give the soup its texture, they also enhance the broth’s taste. Since the broth itself can make or break the soup, it’s important to use the proper vegetables and ensure that they’re in season before the soup-making begins. This particular chicken stock recipe that I’ve cloned here on Key Ingredient calls for leeks, and since they’re in season (and I still have a bundle left-over from this weekend), I thought it’d be a good idea to use them and try out this classic recipe. I’ll report back with details tomorrow, so stay tuned!

This soup literally came together in a matter of minutes, so it was the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon meal. The ham and leeks worked great together, because the ham was more meaty and flavorful while the leeks were light and slightly crunchy. Part of what contributes to this soup’s character is the thyme, which gave the soup a mildly sweet, herby taste without taking all the attention away from the natural vegetable flavors. If you forget to buy the peas and carrots before making the soup, but have some stashed away in your freezer, the frozen ones will do just fine. If the frozen veggies are smaller than you’d like, you can add more. Also, if you prefer your broth a little heartier, you can add a few tablespoons (2-3 depending on how much you’re making) of flour and/or unsalted butter.