Stay in to eat out, using author’s ‘secret’ recipes

It all started with a cookie.

Todd Wilbur was working as a TV news anchor and reporter in Yuma, Ariz., in 1987 when he came across one of two cookie-recipe chain letters that were circulating at the time. According to the letter, which was both scurrilous and spurious, an innocent had gone into a Mrs. Fields cookie shop (the other letter involved Neiman Marcus) and asked if they'd be willing to share their recipe. Sure, she was told, for "two-fifty," which she took for $2.50, and was therefore shocked when $250 was charged to her credit card. That was a lot more in 1987 than it is now; in revenge, the story went, the woman was sharing the recipe, for free, with everyone she could find.

Wilbur had no idea if the story and recipe were authentic (they weren't, in the case of either company), and didn't much care; he was fascinated with all the attention the letters were getting. Mrs. Fields stores, he recalled, had to post signs explaining that it wasn't even their recipe.

"So I observed all this, and I thought, people love secret recipes, I guess," said Wilbur, a resident of Las Vegas. "What if I tweaked it, made it better, actually made it taste like a Mrs. Fields cookie? And I developed a pretty good clone."

He decided he liked the challenge.

"What else can I clone?" he wondered. "How about the world's most famous hamburger, the Big Mac? So that was No. 2."

And many more would follow. Wilbur's recipe-cloning efforts were drawing attention, and he soon found himself on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." By that time, still working in TV, he was living in Allentown, Pa., and had written a cookbook, which he said was more like a pamphlet, with 40-plus recipes.

"They printed initially 10,000 copies, and after I went on that show, they couldn't print them fast enough," he said. "That kind of cemented my career in food hacking."

To date, Wilbur's books have sold millions of copies, and he recently published his 11th, "Top Secret Recipes Step by Step." He also had a television show on CMT that lasted just eight episodes in 2011.

"It got great ratings and a great review from The New York Times and was doing very well," he said. After four episodes aired, the network decided to give the slot to a struggling show, and switched his night. The ratings went down.

"It was the first cooking show CMT had," he said. "It was probably not the best network; CMT isn't known for their fine cooking programs. I'm really proud of the show, but it was the wrong network."

But those eight episodes got him information he wouldn't have had otherwise. The premise of each episode was that Wilbur would get three days of access to a company's headquarters, then would create a clone and then would try to fool three judges chosen by the company.

"I got to go to Mrs. Fields headquarters in Salt Lake City and actually watch them making Mrs. Fields cookies," he said. The improved access gave him the information he needed to improve his original clone recipe. The judges were Mrs. Fields employees, and he still managed to fool one.

"You could not tell by looking at them; there's no way," Wilbur said. "If you make these at home, you will be fooled. You will not know the difference."

Occasionally, rather unusual obstacles arose.

"The guy who invented Dippin' Dots handed me a Styrofoam cup and a needle and said, 'This is how I invented Dippin' Dots," he said. "The way he created this is he poked holes in the cup and let it drip into liquid nitrogen."

But while testing the cloned recipe for banana-split-flavored Dippin' Dots in his hotel room, Wilbur ate the dots too soon after their liquid-nitrogen treatment.

"I was gushing blood," he said. "I ripped the taste buds off — which grew back, thank God; my career was on the line. It was a very painful clone."

And as a result, he couldn't really taste his recipe.

"I way over-bananaed my banana-split Dippin' Dots as a result," he said. "Every judge nailed me."

Was it all worth it?

"It's not a practical recipe," he said. "I don't know if anyone's going to do it, because you need liquid nitrogen. It's more expensive than getting the real thing," while in the case of most of his cloned recipes, making it yourself costs about half as much as buying the finished product.

Both recipes are in the new book, along with lots of new recipes and some re-engineered versions. (Because of reader requests, this book also has abandoned Wilbur's customary schematic drawings in favor of photography.)

"I didn't know as much about cooking back then," he said. "I took a lot of shortcuts. The only way to do it right is to make these recipes from scratch. You've got better clones now that may take more work, but the end result is way better."

Asked to name a favorite recipe, Wilbur demurred. The Mrs. Fields' clone is a sentimental favorite, he said, because it was his first.

"KFC (Original Recipe Fried Chicken) is a good one, too, because it's such an iconic American recipe," he said. "That was the first show. Seeing the actual kitchen where Colonel Sanders developed his recipe was very cool."

Most popular among visitors to his website, he said, are KFC coleslaw, which is virtually tied with Wendy's chili. Among the long-established brands whose recipes he tackles in his new book are entries from newer companies, including Raising Cane's and Chipotle.

And his work, it seems, is far from done.

"I want the most iconic, most popular dishes," Wilbur said. "These chains never stop making new stuff. There's always new things popping up at fast-food restaurants, casual chains. There's plenty of things I have yet to do that are older items as well."

MRS. FIELDS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

5 ounces (Â¾ cup packed) dark brown sugar

5 ounces (Â¾ cup) granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons Madagascar vanilla extract

14 ounces (2Â¾ cups) all-purpose bleached flour

1Â¼ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 12-ounce bag (about 2 cups) premium semisweet chocolate chips (Guittard or Ghirardelli suggested)

Combine the butter with the sugars and salt in a large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed until it's the consistency of peanut butter.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

In a separate large bowl, combine the flour with the baking soda and baking powder. Pour this dry mix into the wet stuff and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Use an ice cream scoop (or Â¼ cup measure) to scoop out Â¼-cup portions 2 to 3 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Place a 2½-inch ring mold (or biscuit cutter, or empty 2½-inch-diameter can with the ends cut out) over each portion of dough and press down on the dough with your fingers so that it is formed into a disk. Remove the mold while holding the dough down with the fingers of your other hand. Place the dough disks into your freezer for 1 hour or until the dough is frozen.

Preheat a convection oven to 300 degrees (or a conventional oven to 325 degrees).

When you are ready to make the cookies, flip over each of the frozen dough pucks onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet (so that the smooth side of the pucks is on top) and bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a couple of the cookies show slight browning around the edges. If using a conventional oven, rotate the sheet of cookies halfway through the cooking time.

When you take the cookies out of the oven, immediately slide the parchment paper with the cookies on it off the baking sheet onto your countertop to prevent further cooking. Allow the cookies to cool there for 5 to 10 minutes before handling.

Makes 20 cookies.

— Recipe from "Top Secret Recipes Step by Step" by Todd Wilbur

ARBY'S CURLY FRIES

1 medium russet potato

6 to 12 cups vegetable oil

For batter:

3½ ounces (’ cup) all-purpose flour

2½ tablespoons paprika

1Â¼ teaspoons salt

Â¾ teaspoon garlic powder

Â¾ teaspoon onion powder

Â¾ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup water

Cut off both ends of the potato, then slice the potato in a spiral curly fry slicer

Remove the odd-shaped little bits of potato and the slices that are too thin with the skin on them. Drop the rest into a large bowl and cover with water as hot as you can get it from your tap. Let the potato slices sit in the water for 20 minutes, then strain.

While the potato soaks in the water, preheat the oil in a deep fryer or a large saucepan with a thermometer attached to 375 degrees.

Make the batter by whisking together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then whisk in the water until smooth.

Drop the sliced potatoes into the batter and gently coat all of the pieces. Arrange the coated fries on a rack or screen so that the excess batter can drip off.

When the oil is hot, par-fry the fries for 30 seconds in batches, then freeze them for at least 2 hours. You can keep the fries for several days in a sealed container in the freezer at this point and finish the frying later, or go ahead and fry them now.

When you are ready to finish the fries, heat the oil to 350 degrees. Fry the fries for 2½ to 3 minutes or until crispy. Remove to a rack or paper towel-lined plate and lightly salt the fries. Serve them right away.

Serves 2.

— Recipe from "Top Secret Recipes Step by Step" by Todd Wilbur

SABRA CLASSIC HUMMUS

1 16-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

½ cup water

Â¼ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

3 tablespoons canola oil

2Â¼ teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Â¾ teaspoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Â¼ teaspoon plus ’ teaspoon citric acid (sour salt)

Â¼ teaspoon white pepper

Pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Pour the canned garbanzo beans into a strainer over a bowl to catch the liquid.

Combine the strained garbanzo beans, ½ cup of the liquid (toss out the rest) and the water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the beans from the heat, cover the pan and let them sit for 10 minutes.

Pour the hot garbanzo beans and all the liquid in the pan into a food processor and add the remaining ingredients. Process for 3 minutes on high speed or until smooth. Store the hummus in a covered container in your refrigerator until chilled.

Makes 1Â¾ cups

— Recipe from "Top Secret Recipes Step by Step" by Todd Wilbur

PEPPERIDGE FARM MILANO DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 ounces (Â¾ cup) powdered sugar

3 egg whites

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

’ teaspoon salt

2½ ounces (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

2½ ounces (½ cup) cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 12-ounce bag Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers (or similar dark dipping chocolate)

Heat oven to 275 degrees.

Combine the butter with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Mix for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a whisk until foamy but still in liquid form, then add to the butter/sugar along with the vanilla and salt. Beat with the mixer for 1 minute.

Combine the flours and baking powder in a medium bowl, then add it to the wet ingredients. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag with a No. 12 round tip and pipe 2Â¼-inch-long and Â¾-inch-wide tubes of batter 2 inches apart onto a baking sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment paper. The cookies will spread out as they bake, so give them room to grow. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes or until beginning to brown around the edges. Cool.

Melt the chocolate on high for 30 seconds in your microwave. Stir. Melt the chocolate again if necessary in 15-second intervals until it is completely smooth when stirred. Use a butter knife, frosting knife or spatula to spread a thin layer of the melted chocolate on the face of one cookie. Place another cookie on top, sandwiching the chocolate in the middle. Repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate.

Makes 25 cookies

— Recipe from "Top Secret Recipes Step by Step" by Todd Wilbur

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.