This recipe was born one quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon when I couldn’t work out if I wanted brownies or cookies. With the self-assurance of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planting their flag on the moon, I crowned a tin of brownies with a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, and haven’t felt bad about being indecisive since. If you don’t want to use raw egg in the cookie dough, replace it with 3 tablespoons of whole milk. You’ll need 40g less flour.
These incredibly easy cookie bars use cornflour (cornstarch) to make a wonderfully tender shortbread-style bar that is topped with a lime curd: impressive yet simple. While I would always encourage you to use homemade lime curd for optimal flavour, I will look the other way if you want to use a shop-bought version.
Recipe by Stella Parks. Introduction by Food52's Kristen Miglore.
Cottage cheese was a favorite of early colonial settlers, who made it at home in their “cottages.” I especially love it with warm egg noodles, a habit formed as a kid in my own home and at the homes of Jewish friends, where it was served as kugel. Over the years, I’ve gussied up the basic concept by adding creme fraiche, leeks melted in butter, and a sizable amount of dill (by far my favorite fresh herb). Lemon zest lends brightness, and a flurry of creamy feta adds salt and soul. My cottage-cheese-and-noodle dish is “good enough for company”—as my grandmother would say—while still satisfying my nostalgic craving.
The hallmark of Dutch apple pie is its creamy apple filling, but we didn’t rely on the traditional cream to achieve it. Instead we added melted vanilla ice cream to the apple filling for extra creaminess and a rich vanilla flavor that nicely complements apple pie.
Rillettes, so very French, are usually made with pork cooked in its own fat until it’s as spreadable as jam. These are lighter, made with both fresh and smoked salmon and miso butter. The butter gives the rillettes their luxurious texture (it also holds everything together), and the miso is the flavor that few people can identify on first bite. Serve the rillettes on toast or crackers with white or sparkling wine. Cocktail hour perfection.
Canned pumpkin puree adds a bit of subtle flavor to these muffins, but more important, it also makes the muffins ultramoist.
In order to achieve the perfect balance of cakey and gooey—that sweet spot that all brownies should hit—the cooking time is crucial. It will vary by a minute or so depending on where the pan is sitting in the oven, so keep a close eye on them.
Brushed with butter and sprinkled with sea salt, this slightly sweet old-fashioned pull-apart bread resembles Parker House rolls in texture. They are festive on a holiday table but easy enough to make any night of the week. The pans filled with unbaked rolls can be stored overnight in the fridge, too.