10 Top Secret Recipes Finally Revealed

Ever get those pesky midnight cravings for something salty, sweet, or fatty? But who wants to drag themselves out of bed and trudge over to the nearest fast food joint to get their fix? Well, maybe you don’t have to. Some of the most closely guarded secrets of the food industry are, well, no longer secrets. Now, anyone can make a close approximation to their favorite food products at home. When those pesky cravings set in, the farthest you have to go is your own kitchen.

McDonald’s Big Mac

The Big Mac is the quintessential fast food burger. Big, beefy, saucy, mouthwatering—it’s the sandwich all other sandwiches aspire to be. The only problem? Your mileage may vary from restaurant to restaurant. To guarantee a perfect burger every time, you’ll just need to make it yourself.

Ingredients for Sauce

1/4 cup Miracle Whip, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons french salad dressing, 1/2 tablespoon sweet relish, 2 teaspooons dill pickle relish, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon dried, minced onion, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon ketchup, 1/8 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Burger

1 regular sized sesame seed bun, 1 regular sized plain bun, 2 beef patties (2 ounces each flattened to bun size), 2 tablespoons Big Mac sauce, 2 teaspoons reconstituted onions, 1 slice real American cheese, 2 hamburger pickle slices1/4 cup shredded lettuce

Preparation

To make the sauce, mix together all ingredients and refrigerate for about an hour.

To assemble the burger, cook the two beef patties just like regular burgers. Discard the top half of the plain bun, retaining the heel. This will be the middle bun. Toast both sides of the middle bun, then toast the undersides of the sesame bun.

After the buns are toasted, put one tablespoon of sauce on each of the heels. Then add 1/8 cup shredded lettuce to each. On the sesame bottom bun, place one thin slice of American cheese on top of the lettuce. On the the middle bun, place two pickle slices on top of the lettuce. When the meat patties are done, place them one at a time on both prepared buns. Stack the middle bun on top of the bottom bun, and put the crown on top.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. From the U.S. to Mexico, to China, India, and Japan – the sweet, bubbly beverage is beloved worldwide. Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to duplicate the recipe yourself. This is because one of its principle ingredients, the coca leaf, is highly illegal to import. In fact, the Coca-Cola company is the only company in the United States authorized to import the leaves.

As you may have surmised, coca leaves are a crucial ingredient in another recipe: cocaine. The modern day incarnation of the beverage no longer contains significant amounts of it, but it still relies on those leaves for flavor.

We’ll give you the recipe anyway, in the off chance you have all the ingredients needed. You’ll notice the process of making Coke more closely resembles a laboratory experiment than a recipe.

Ingredients:

Sugar (2.4 kg), Caramel (37 grams), Caffeine Powder (3.1 grams), Phosphoric Acid (11 Grams), Coca Leaves, Kola Nuts, Lime Juice, Alcoholic Beverage with 20% ABV, Alcoholic Beverage with 95% ABV, Lemon oil, Orange oil, Cinnamon oil, Nutmeg oil, Vanilla extract (1.5 grams)

Preparation:

1. First, mix 2,400 grams of sugar with just enough water to needed to dissolve it. You’ll want to create a thick, syrup-like concoction.

2. Now add 37 grams of caramel, 3.1 grams of caffeine, and 11 grams of phosphoric acid.

3. Extract the cocaine from the coca leaves and dry it. You can use toluol for the extraction. This is purely hypothetical, because no matter how much you try and convince them, it’s doubtful the police will believe you were only extracting the cocaine to make home-made cola.

4. Powder the coca leaves and kola nuts. Soak them in 22 grams of 20 percent alcohol. California white wine fortified to 20 percent strength was used as the soaking solution in the early 1900’s, but Coca-Cola may have switched to a simpler water and alcohol mixture.

5. After soaking, discard the coca and kola powder and combine the liquid with the sugary syrup you made earlier.

6. Add 30 grams of lime juice.

7. Mix together 0.88 grams of lemon oil, 0.47 grams of orange oil, 0.20 grams of cinnamon oil, and 0.07 gram of nutmeg oil. Add to 4.9 grams of 95 percent alcohol.

8. Shake well.

9. Add 2.7 grams of water to the alcohol/oil mixture and let stand for twenty-four hours at about 60 °F (15.5 °C). Soon, a cloudy layer will separate.

10. Skim off the clear part of the liquid only and add the syrup.

11. Add 19 grams of glycerine and 1.5 grams of vanilla extract.

12. Add water to make 1 gallon of syrup.

13. Carbonate.

KFC Coleslaw

Coleslaw is one of those polarizing, love it or hate it type foods. But everyone can agree, KFC makes a mean slaw. And making it at home is relatively simple!

Ingredients:

8 cups finely diced cabbage (about 1 head), 1/4 cup diced carrots, 2 tablespoons minced onions, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Finely dice cabbage and carrots.

2. Pour cabbage and carrot mixture into a large bowl and stir in the minced onions.

3. Using a regular blade on a food processor, process the remaining ingredients until smooth.

4. Pour over a vegetable mixture and mix it all up thoroughly.

5. Cover bowl and refrigerate several hours before serving.

KFC Chicken

If you aren’t content with just a side-dish, why not whip up some homemade KFC chicken? Shockingly, the infamous eleven herbs and spices are nowhere to be found.

Ingredients:

4 chicken leg quarters, 3/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, 2 teaspoons MSG, 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 °F. Going any hotter than 400 °F is not recommended,

2. Cut chicken into 8 pieces. In a traditional KFC bucket, you’d get four legs and four thighs.

3. Mix all dry ingredients in a Ziploc bag.

4. Moisten chicken.

5. Put one or two pieces of chicken at a time into the Ziploc bag and shake well.

6. Then, put the chicken pieces on an oiled pan. Use Canola or Peanut oil so your chicken will not stick.

7. Bake approximately 40-50 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Half way through baking, spoon oil from the pan onto the chicken. This ensures it browns properly.

Reese’s Squares

Ever wanted an unlimited supply of those delicious, peanut-buttery morsels? Now you can make up a big batch and stock yourself up on candy for weeks, or days, depending on how much self-control you have.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 lb confectioners’ sugar (3 to 3 1/2 cups), 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, 1 cup butter, melted, 1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and peanut butter into a bowl and mix well.

2. Blend in some melted butter.

3. Press mixture evenly into a pan.

4. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave or in a double boiler.

5. Spread the chocolate over the peanut butter mixture.

6. Chill until just set and cut into bars, don’t let the chocolate get too hard as it becomes very difficult to cut.

Applebee’s Mudslide

Applebee’s is kind of a guilty pleasure. We know most of the food is frozen, microwaved, or just plain thrown together, but that doesn’t necessarily stop it from being delicious. Among their dessert offerings is the world famous, ever-so-slightly alcoholic Mudslide. In case you don’t feel like dragging yourself to Applebee’s just to satisfy that sweet tooth, you can make one for yourself at home.

Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla ice cream, 2 ounces kahlua coffee liqueur, Chocolate syrup, Canned whipped cream

Preparation:

1. In a blender, add two cups of ice cream and Kahlua. Blend until smooth.

2. Prepare a 16-ounce wine glass by swirling chocolate syrup around the inside of the glass. Hold the wine glass by the stem with one hand and twirl it as you squeeze the chocolate out. Slowly move the chocolate up toward the rim of the glass so that it makes a continuous spiral around the inside.

3. Pour the drink from the blender into the glass. Add a nice heaping pile of whipped cream to the top of the drink, and drizzle some additional chocolate syrup over the whipped cream. Enjoy!

Heinz Ketchup

If you go through a lot of ketchup, and there’s no shame if you do, you might want to consider whipping up a big batch of it yourself. It’s surprisingly easy to do!

Ingredients:

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste with garlic, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Preparation:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan, then set your stove-top to medium heat.

2. Stir consistently and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for approximately thirty minutes.

3. Keep stirring.

4. Remove from heat and cover until cool.

5. Keep refrigerated.

Taco Bell Quesadillas

Though there’s no hard scientific evidence, it’s a pretty widely known fact that Taco Bell is highly addictive. For you Taco Bell junkies, these homemade Quesadillas should ease those intense midnight cravings.

Ingredients for sauce:

1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons minced jalapenos, slices, 2 teaspoons jalapeno juice, from minced jalapenos, 3/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 dash salt

Ingredients for quesadillas:

4 flour tortillas, 4 chicken tenderloins, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese, 2 slices processed cheese

Preparation:

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a bowl and then stir until smooth.

2. Grill the chicken in vegetable oil and cut into thin slices.

3. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.

4. One at a time, lay tortilla into hot skillet and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of each shredded cheese and 1/2 cheese slice on one side of the tortilla.

5. Arrange about 1/4 cup chicken slices over tortilla on the same half covered with cheese.

6. On the empty side, spread about one tablespoon of sauce.

7. Fold over, and press gently with spatula.

8. Cook until cheese is melted and slice each into 4 pieces.

Neiman-Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

Neiman-Marcus is a company known for many things, not the least of which are their signature chocolate chip cookies. But when a box sets you back $30.00 or more, consider this an economical solution.

Ingredients:

2 cups butter, 4 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 cups sugar, 5 cups oatmeal, 24 ounces chocolate chips, 2 cups packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 (8 ounce) Hershey Bars (grated), 4 large eggs, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 3 cups chopped nuts of your choice

Preparation:

1. In a blender, blend dry oatmeal into a fine powder.

2. Cream the butter and both of the sugars.

3. Add the eggs and vanilla.

4. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda.

5. Add the chocolate chips, grated Hershey Bar and nuts.

6. Roll into balls and place them 2-inches apart on a cookie sheet.

7. Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 375F or until golden brown.

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

Starbucks’ pumpkin scones may be delicious, but at $5.00 a pop in some locations, eating too many of them could leave your wallet a little barren. Thankfully, they’re relatively easy to make at home.

Ingredients:

For The Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour, 7 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 6 tablespoons cold butter, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 3 tablespoons half-and-half, 1 large egg

For Sugar Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons whole milk

For Spiced Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 pinch ginger, 1 pinch ground cloves

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 °F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line one with baking paper.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Use a pastry knife, fork, or food processor to cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set it aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin, half and half, and egg together. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball.

4. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

Preparation For The Plain Glaze:

1. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk together until smooth.

2. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

Preparation For The Spiced Glaze:

Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.