Cooking Method: Bake

French Apple Cake

  This simple dessert is less cake than sautéed apples set in a thick, buttery custard encased in a golden crust. We liked using two varieties of apples here, one tart and one sweet—the variation in the apples’ sweetness gave the cake a full, complex flavor. The cake is delicious served unadorned, but it’s equally […]

Sausage Lasagna

We wanted an extra-cheesy sausage lasagna that was full of all the flavors of Italian sausage and that held up structurally when served (rather than slipping into a flat mess on the plate like so many others). The right choice of ingredients—and our precise layering technique—make for the most flavorful and structurally sound lasagna we’ve […]

Chicken, Leek & Roast Potato Pie

  I nearly always make too much rice, too much pasta, and too many roast potatoes. If you’re the same, this dinner is the perfect way to use up a handful of crispy potatoes. It’s one of the most comforting pies I’ve ever made. Just serve it with some roasted veggies.

Philadelphia Pork Sandwiches

This recipe is inspired by the sandwiches we sampled in Philadelphia. To re-create these famous Philly sandwiches at home, we opted for a boneless pork butt roast and braised it in chicken broth. This made tender and flavorful pork, and the juices from the pork mingled with the chicken broth during cooking to create an […]

Cheesy au Gratin Potatoes

Few foods seem as all-American as potatoes. But what you actually get from au gratin potatoes can range from curdled cream and unevenly cooked potatoes to cheese that's barely there and slices that fall into sloppy heaps. This American classic needed perfecting.The choice of potato was critical for our Cheesy au Gratin Potatoes. We settled […]

Chocolate Biscotti with Pistachios, Almonds and Dried Cherries

The late Maida Heatter has about a dozen cookbooks to her name, all of them focused on baking sweets. These biscotti, our adaptation of a recipe from “Maida Heatter’s Best Dessert Book Ever,” are made with a combination of cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate. With a flavor boost from instant espresso powder, they’re dark and […]

Chocolate Cream Cupcakes (Hostess Cupcakes)

You can keep your Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, and Ring Dings-our heart belongs to Chocolate Cream Cupcakes!Cream-filled Hostess cupcakes conjure memories of lunch box envy and beloved after-school snacks. But fond reminiscing aside, we knew America's most iconic cupcake could stand some improvement-starting with the weak chocolate flavor. We prefer stiffer marshmallow crème in this […]

Roasted Pepper Frittata with Fontina Cheese

Nothing says Sunday brunch like an oversized Italian omelet. Sliced like a pizza, this easy-to-prepare egg pie features smoky, sweet roasted red peppers and creamy Italian Fontina cheese.

Skillet Pastitsio

  Every Greek cookbook has a recipe for pastitsio, a layered casserole consisting of ground meat, tomato sauce, pasta, a creamy béchamel, and a sprinkling of cheese. When well prepared, it is comfort food at its best.We began our pastitsio recipe by cooking ground lamb and draining the excess fat before adding the other ingredients, […]

Braided Lemon Bread

  There's just something about lemon that brings a smile to even the dullest of days: its bright yellow color and zippy taste can't be beat. This Braided Lemon Bread is a sweet, egg-enriched dough surrounding a sweetened cream cheese filling with a luscious layer of lemon curd and a sprinkling of pearl sugar. The […]

Crispy Onion Scalloped Potatoes

These Fried Onion Scalloped Potatoes are slices of russet potatoes smothered in a creamy cheese sauce, and topped with crispy, golden-fried onions – a delicious twist on a classic recipe.

Chocolate Birthday Cake

  This tender, dark chocolate cake, layered with a fluffy, not-too-sweet, white Ermine icing, also known as boiled-milk frosting, is inspired by the memory of a Chuck E. Cheese chocolate birthday cake from the early 1990s. This style of devil’s food cake is also a staple of the refrigerated cases in supermarket bakeries, and starts […]

Dakota Bread

This hearty loaf from the breadbasket of America can contain a daunting number of flours and seeds. We rely on seven-grain cereal mix to shorten the ingredient list while still providing hearty texture and complex flavor to the Dakota bread. Starting the bread in a hot oven creates an initial “spring,” and lowering the temperature […]

Dry-Roasted Tomatoes in Olive Oil

  These dry roasted tomatoes in olive oil are a great way to use up an abundance of summer cherry tomatoes while creating a perfect component to use in a few meals throughout the week. Enjoy them as a sauce, spread, dip, or flavor boost to other meals. For a standard tomato confit, the tomatoes […]

Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Chips and Almonds

  Because coconut macaroons are gluten-free and unleavened, they have been a long-standing staple in Jewish communities, especially during Passover. This version dresses up the classic coconut-based sweet treat with milk chocolate chips and slivered almonds. By using egg whites and sugar as the base of our macaroons, along with sweetened shredded coconut, we created […]