By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.

skippyjon/flickr

Are you addicted to KFC super crunchy topping? Do you drool at the thought of Carl Jr.’s Bacon Cheeseburger? Is Applebee’s your favorite “reward yourself” restaurant? Do your kids beg to stop for IHOP shortcake pancakes?

We all know when you go to a restaurant you are paying for convenience. The quality is generally lower and the cost is generally higher than if you made those foods yourself. The food is more often than not low in nutritional value, though there is a lot to be said for no dishes. But it tastes sooo good. What’s a body to do?

Thankfully, there are several sites that specialize in revealing the deep, dark secret ingredients (or copycat versions) of well known restaurant items. When  you make these recipes from scratch at home, you can avoid a great deal of the preservatives normally found in fast food to increase shelf life. You can also toss in extra vegetables and use higher quality meat than you normally get when you go out to eat.

Here are some fast food recipe sites to try out:

• SecretRecipes.com

• PastryWiz.com

• RecipeSecrets.net

• CopyKat.com

• cdkitchen.com

There is even a yahoo group for people interested in finding “secret” or copycat recipes. You can also find numerous books on the subject on Amazon.com, Half.com, Swap.com, PaperbackSwap.com or your local library.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Starbucks crumb coffee cakes. I’ve noticed the quantity of the “crumbs” is crumbling. I’m tired of paying $2 for a small piece of it. Now I’m going to make it myself using this copycat recipe from Bakespace.com:

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (plus ingredients on back of box)
• 2 Sticks cold salted butter
• 2 1/4 Cups flour
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 3/4 Cups sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla
• Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Directions:

PREPARE cake mix in large bowl according to directions on box. Spray 9X13 pan with non-stick spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until center is just barely set.

WHILE cakes are baking, prepare crumb topping. In large bowl of electric mixer combine, butter, flour, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla until all crumbly.

IMMEDIATELY after cake is removed from oven, break crumb topping into marble size pieces with fingers, sprinkling over top. Put back in oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes (topping will begin to look a little less wet/raw). Let cool fully then dust with powdered sugar, using a sieve.

CUT into squares and serve. Yum!

OK, this is NOT the most nutritious copycat recipe that I could pick, but it sure will make everyone in my family happy!

Have you tried a copycat recipe? Did it taste the same or better?

Tagged: budget, copykat recipes, fast food secret recipes, fast food secrets, food, Frugal Living, recipe secrets, recipes, restaurant recipes, restaurant secrets, secret recipes on Thursday, October 21, 2010 · 1 Comment »