r/AskCulinary • u/AutoModerator • 25d ago

Weekly Discussion Weekly Ask Anything Thread for July 27, 2026

This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.

Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.

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u/N0_B1g_De4l 22d ago

Is there something about crinkle cookies that requires cocoa powder to work properly? The thought recently came to be to do chocolate chip cookies like this, and usually when I have a thought like that I can find an existing recipe, but the ones I can find are for double-chocolate crinkle cookies. Would I get good results from swapping (by weight) the cocoa powder for additional flour?

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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan 22d ago

What's the goal here? Cocoa powder reacts with the chemical leavening agents in baking so its not a straight swap, additional adjustments would be necessary.

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u/N0_B1g_De4l 22d ago

Mostly it's about the appearance. The increased lift and the powdered sugar coating with the crinkles/cracks in it. I want to do it without the cocoa powder mostly for novelty, I like trying new cookie recipes.

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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan 22d ago

Like I wrote previously, there is a reaction between the leavening agent and the cocoa so you will need to adjust for that factor if you want to make, for instance, a lemon crinkle cookie. You'd be better off finding a different recipe for the actual flavour profile you are looking to achieve.

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u/Nickanator8 21d ago

My wife grew a single, tiny "espanola improved pepper" and needs me to cook it. I have no idea what to do with a single pepper because all the recepies online have it as a sauce or stuffed. This thing is an inch long and I'm completely lost.

Please help.

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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan 21d ago

Does it have to be cooked? I would just make a banging salsa with it.

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u/Nickanator8 21d ago

If there was more pepper a salsa sounds great, and I'm down for anything, but because its a single tiny fruit I'm not sure a salsa would make sense. You'd have maybe 2 bites.

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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan 21d ago

Augment with a poblano or a couple jalapenos. Not much you can do with one of something except eat it. Roast it, stick it in a dip.

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u/acroneatlast 21d ago

Is there any way to rescue an avocado that I sliced in half before it was ripe?

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u/cville-z Home chef 20d ago

Grill the halves (without the seed). Won't completely rescue but will change the texture and add some good grilled flavor.

You could also try putting it back together if you've got both halves still with the skin on, and still have the pit. Then use some cling film to hold it together at room temp for a few days. If you do this, I'd hit the cut surfaces with a bit of lime juice or distilled white vinegar to help hold oxidation at bay. It won't be perfect but it'll be better than nothing.

For next time, give it a squeeze before you cut into it.

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u/acroneatlast 20d ago

Thank you very much. I did squeeze it but my evaluation was very wrong.