If You Care Baking Cups

Dear Readers: I am in the midst of doing some xmas cooking/baking right now so today I have nothing to share in the way of a new recipe. In fact I'm enjoying leftovers of last nights' Creamy Chunky Broccoli Soup as I'm browsing through all my past posts trying to decide what to bake and/or cook and put in the freezer just so I don't get caught off guard when the calendar all of a sudden hits December 24th. I'm just starting on my first batch of Tofu Croquettes - Dutch Style . Anyhow this rambling is leading to today's topic of "If You Care Baking Cups". I ran out of my old supply of baking cups and purchased new ones recently. However the new ones were so different it floored me. Here I am always pumping them up on my blog because indeed the old ones were amazing. I had several failures of trying my own cupcake & mookie recipes whereby there was some serious sticking and/or not baking properly at all. I was questioning my own sanity. However I decided that the fault had to lie with the baking cups as that was the only part of the equation that was different -- and obviously so. They felt, looked and handled so poorly. I decided that the only thing to do was to send an e-mail to the office of If You Care and you can read my e-mail as I sent it here:

"I have totally loved the baking cups and have bought them many times. However my latest purchase has not been as pleasing. What happened? They seem way way less non-stick then before. Before they practically fell off the muffin the minute you took them out of the oven. Now you must wait until they are totally cool and then there is still a lot of crumbs left behind. Very crazy -- as the ones I used to get were simply amazing and awesome and I told everyone I could about them. However now I'm scratching my head and saying what happened here? Can you explain. code number inside box says 47200019-03 if that is any help. I live in Edmonton , Alberta and purchased them -- six boxes of them at Planet Organic. This is my second box and it's just as bad as the first. Some of the paper cups in my first box had pieces cut away in them so I had to discard them -- also strange. About the size of a 1/2 quarter coin I'd say at the top. I look forward to your response."

So anyhow I'm pleased to say they responded immediately, with apologies and acknowledgement that there is indeed an issue and they are working on it as quickly as they can. They are going to keep me updated and provide me with "new improved samples" as they become available. In the meantime they have offered (and I have gratefully accepted) to send me some baking cups from their supply of old stock which they still have on hand in their warehouse. I am so excited -- I can't wait to get them. So, anyhow my purpose in today's lengthy post is just to let everyone know that if you feel something is not performing the way it used to DO contact the company because you're probably right! Hopefully they will be as honest and forthright as the If You Care people were with me. In the meantime I'm going to advise you not to buy the current If You Care baking cups on the shelves because they certainly won't live up to the praises I've lavished on them in previous posts! It seems the non-stick finish is totally missing and they are now like ordinary paper baking cup liners. Therefore they could possibly be adequate enough for muffins or cupcakes containing moderate amounts of fat but for what I mostly need them for they won't work. That would be for the lower fat and/or gluten-free items.

I'll do another posting in the future to let you know when the new, improved product (that works like the old product) is available on the shelves. Hopefully we here in Canada will also be getting the two new sizes that they have incorporated into their line. I'd love to make some low-fat mini muffins that release easily from their liners because when their product works like it's supposed there is nothing better on the market that I know of. If anybody does please e-mail me and let me know.

I do have some new recipes I'd like to try but I'm awaiting some "special" supplies from Karmavore, the online vegan shopping store, located in Vancouver. Amongst the special supplies I'm awaiting are some Dandies marshmallows, Daiya Cheese and White Chocolate Bars. The Daiya cheese is supposed to be the hottest new thing to hit the vegan cheese scene so I'm looking forward to trying some recipes with that in the new year! In the meantime I'd like to wish a Happy Holiday Cooking Extravaganza to all the busy little kitchen elves everywhere.