Plum pudding tastes best when it’s made days, weeks, or even months ahead of time, according to American culinary legend James Beard. “It was customary to make it in early Advent—the religious season before Christmas Day—and use it the following year,” Beard wrote when he published this recipe in 1963. “Everyone in the family was … Read more
We love a lot of things about hand pies. They can be sweet or savory; enjoyed with a group or stashed in the freezer to bake off individually night after night; and eaten for dessert, breakfast, or an afternoon pick-me-up. Plus, you can fill them with pretty much anything you’d find in any of our … Read more
In a perfect world, Halloween cookies don’t compete with the annual bonanza of candy corn, peanut butter cups, and other sweets that vie for candy lovers’ attention this time of year. Instead, my ideal Halloween treats celebrate that bounty. That’s why I was immediately on board with my test kitchen pal Kat Boytsova’s idea to … Read more
Step 1 Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat oven to 350°. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Step 2 Whisk 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, 1½ tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground nutmeg, and ¾ tsp. ground cloves in a small bowl to make pumpkin pie spice. Whisk 3 … Read more
These banana chocolate chip muffins have range. Serve them at brunch, take them to a housewarming party, or make a batch to snack on throughout the week—no matter the time or place, they’re sure to please. Overripe bananas have the best texture and richest banana flavor, so wait until yours are brown and speckled. To … Read more
The best apple crumble recipe starts with choosing the right apples, so consider your fruit wisely. Baking apples “can range from sweet to tart to everything in between,” says cookbook author (and expert baker) Abby Dodge, who developed this recipe for Epicurious. Dodge recommends a combination of McIntosh and Golden Delicious. McIntosh apples are sweet, … Read more
If a brownie and a cheesecake had a baby, it’d be these cream-cheese-stuffed brownie cookies. A combination of melted chocolate and Dutch-process cocoa powder gives the cookie dough a deeply fudgy texture. Bite in to reveal a soft core of sweetened cream cheese filling. Err on the side of underbaking the cookies. They’ll continue to … Read more
A portmanteau of chocolate cake and flan, chocoflan is often referred to by bakers as “pastel imposible.” It’s easy to see why: The Mexican dessert is composed of layers that mysteriously switch places as it cooks, but simple science can explain the seemingly impossible feat. The dish starts with a roasty homemade caramel set in … Read more
Caramel cake is hyper-regional, an icon of the American South thought to have originated in the Mississippi Delta region. For the uninitiated, picture a cloud-soft yellow cake encased in a golden frosting with the taste and texture of fudge, the kind you might buy on holiday in a seaside town. It’s the frosting that gives … Read more
For some events, nothing but a towering layer cake will do. But most of the time, we want fuss-free sheet cake recipes that easily feed a crowd or carve neatly into snacky slivers and slices. While there are good reasons to construct a multilayered situation using cakes baked in a sheet pan, this collection is … Read more