Jerrelle Guy

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Say hello to a timeless drink from my new cookbook “We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special” (S&S/Simon Element, 2026); the cocktail is named after me and inspired by an Arnold Palmer. My middle name, Andrica, has become an incantation when I need to dissolve my anxiety and slip into a state of peace, and this drink has a base of calming tea made visually dazzling with a bobbing floater of bright red cherry juice or red wine, both of which contain melatonin.

Jerrelle Guy · Black Girl Baking

There’s a doughnut shop tucked away in the corner of the Boston Public Market not too far from Faneuil Hall. One day, I walked into the large building exhausted from a stroll through the rambunctious produce stalls at Haymarket, and might’ve passed by the small countertop had it not been for the glorious, wafting incense of buttery cinnamon and cider seeping toward my walking path. These people’s apple cider doughnut holes can and will steal a crowd just by turning on a ceiling fan. And I’m sure anyone living on our apartment floor will say the same about this monkey bread. I love knowing I can grab people’s attention so subtly. This recipe brings me back to my first-ever monkey bread Christmas morning.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

There are a few recipes throughout my life that stick out in my mind, and my Auntie Nae’s special recipe for her spicy Creole tetrazzini is definitely one. I finally recreated the recipe for my new cookbook “We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special” (S&S/Simon Element, 2026). At least I think I did? She’d make her noodles so peppery and creamy, and here, I try to keep in that same spicy spirit with not only a generous bit of black pepper, but also Creole seasoning and a little bit of cayenne, too. If you’re scared, don’t be: The cream cheese helps temper some of that heat. My favorite thing about this recipe is that I’ve spent years on a winding, wondrous journey trying to figure out how to recreate it from memory. If you like, toss ½ pound cubed chicken or sliced mushrooms into the pot with the sizzling butter and spices and cook until browned, or, for color, fold in ½ pound halved grape or cherry tomatoes right before sending everything into the oven.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This banana bread-inspired granola uses real mashed banana, coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and toasted nuts. Keeping it simple allows the subtle banana flavor to shine through, but you can tweak the recipe by adding dried coconut flakes, sesame or pumpkin seeds, more spices, or even chocolate chips or dried fruit. Breaking the granola into large clusters halfway through baking ensures the granola cooks evenly. Allow the granola to sit for at least one hour on the counter to harden completely. Double the recipe if you’d like to stock up your freezer. It will keep at least three months there, at the ready for snacking, or can be served for breakfast, in bowls with milk and freshly sliced banana.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This cobbler substitutes fresh, juicy kernels and corn milk for traditional heavy cream, taking advantage of the sweetness of seasonal corn and adding texture to a buttery crust. Grating two large ears of corn should produce enough liquid for the topping, but, if not, you can grate a third ear, or add cream or milk. The rich, crumbly crust also gets some of its moisture from the filling, which is extra syrupy from the mashed blackberries. Serve the cobbler warm with a splash of heavy cream, a dollop of coconut yogurt, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Finishing it all off with a drizzle of dark rum, while not necessary, is especially sweet.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Whenever you have a little extra time to simmer berries into a simple compote, do — then try stuffing it into hearty French toasts and dusting them with confectioners’ sugar. They’ll almost remind you of a jelly doughnut, even more so if you use brioche hamburger buns as your bread of choice. (But regular white sandwich bread, challah or any other enriched bread works, too.) You can adjust the sugar in the berries, depending on how sweet they are, and, if you prefer a smoother compote, press the cooked fruit through a mesh sieve once cooled to remove any seeds.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Brussels sprouts are shredded and baked in a rich Gorgonzola cream topped with crushed, crispy fried onions in this lush casserole; its silky sauce is built in a blender to prevent clumps. To “shred” the brussel sprouts, discard any wilted or dark outer leaves, and using a sharp knife, trim off the ends, then thinly slice the sprouts across the core. But you can also slice them in a food processor equipped with a slicer blade or buy them pre-shredded.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Caramelizing onions can be a lesson in patience, but you need to cook these onions for only half the usual time, just enough to break them down and turn them a light golden brown. Once cooked, they make up the bulk of the filling for these sandwiches. Folding the warm onions into the goat cheese softens the cheese, helping it glide easily over the bread. The cheese helps bind everything together, so nothing slips out while the sandwich is toasting in the pan. You can use apples or pears here; either adds some fresh crunch. Seasoned with woody thyme and zippy kalamata olives, this sandwich makes a hearty lunch, or a light supper paired with soup or salad.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

The taste and appearance of corn grilled directly over a charcoal flame is unparalleled. The kernels become bright yellow, firm and plump, both smoky and sweet, speckled black, with bits of char. To make them even more stunning, the ears are coated with a sweet, tangy goat cheese spread that melts into every crevice, a fun, welcome alternative to simply basting cobs with butter.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

A whimsical hybrid of two beloved breakfast pastries – the flaky, sweet cheese Danish and buttery croissants, this recipe is the perfect, elegant but also warming centerpiece for any brunch or dessert table. Butter croissants are chopped and soaked in a flavorful brown-sugar custard and topped with a lemon cream-cheese filling, then baked in a loaf pan for easy slicing, and finished with a drizzle of icing. To freeze ahead of time, slice the loaf and place in a freezer-safe bag, separating each slice with wax or parchment paper, and tuck into the freezer. When ready to serve, reheat in the microwave.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

For all the cobbler and crisp lovers, here’s a simple dish that you can eat for breakfast or dessert. Chewy clusters of almonds and oats brown in the oven after getting coated in a nutty and floral browned-butter honey syrup. While the granola clusters caramelize, the bed of sweet cherries they rest over turns tender and juicy. Warm out of the oven, this crisp belongs in a bowl with your favorite yogurt, some of the warm cherry sauce drizzled over top, and maybe even a good shaving of dark chocolate or orange zest, if you have some.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This snackable pile of lightly sweetened popcorn is reminiscent of buttery cinnamon toast and the perfect treat for two or four (or one!). You can easily make another batch to serve a crowd. Popcorn is coated in syrup and toasted in a pot to create a shell of caramelized sugar that’s dusted with cinnamon. Five minutes out of the pot, the popcorn cools to a soft crispness, but if you bake it for just 10 minutes, the popped kernels dry all the way through and become crunchy to their core. This treat is delicious on its own or as part of a dessert board with gingerbread biscotti, iced oatmeal cookies or any other cookies of your choice.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This crowd-pleasing dessert imitates the velvety custard and caramelized sugar shell of a crème brûlée, with the added bonus of a flaky crust. A food processor makes easy work of the all-butter pie shell, which can be chilled, then baked, a day in advance. Unlike with traditional crème brûlée, there’s no need to simmer the cream on a stovetop or use a blow torch, ramekins or water bath to pull this dessert together. The filling is simply blended together, baked in the pie shell, then chilled. Broil the pie just before serving to achieve that characteristic crackle on top; like a typical crème brûlée, the filling will be delicate, loose and delightfully wobbly.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Like a good pitcher of eggnog, this French toast is rich, sweet, boozy and covered in nutmeg. Slicing the bread but keeping the base connected not only makes this an attractive breakfast centerpiece, it also feeds family and friends with little effort since all the servings bake simultaneously. Allowing it to soak in the refrigerator overnight deepens the dish’s flavors. Don’t worry about forcing the bread pieces apart when pouring in the soaking mixture: The loaf will flower naturally as it bakes. This dish is sweet enough to eat without a final drench in maple syrup, but it’s great with a mountain of fresh, tart berries. A little homemade whipped cream wouldn’t hurt either.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This pasta features a back-pocket sauce that credits its complexity to black garlic, garlic aged under low heat and high humidity until it becomes dark and chewy, like dehydrated fruit with pungent savory notes and a molasses-like sweetness. You can buy black garlic online or at health or gourmet shops, and smash it into dressings, marinades or into this pasta sauce made with cream cheese. The hot noodles instantly melt the cheese into a velvety cream, so the dish requires no complicated technique or extra cooking, yet still manages to feel luxurious. Dress up the finished dish with sautéed mushrooms or shrimp, braised greens or even frozen peas.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Despite being flourless, these beet brownies bridge the gap between fudgy and cakey, offering the best of both worlds. Raw beets make the brownies dense and moist, helping them stay luscious and soft long after they’ve finished baking. Though the beets bring their own natural sweetness, pulsing the chopped raw beets in a food processor with some additional granulated sugar breaks down the hard root into a vibrant red base. In fact, the food processor does most of the work in this recipe. Baked until just cooked through, the resulting brownies are rich, subtly sweet and deeply chocolatey. If you prefer your brownies a little sweeter, sub the bittersweet chocolate baking chips for semi-sweet baking chips. You can top them with a little flaky sea salt out of the oven. Serve them warm with ice cream for dessert or at room temperature with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Have a hot cup of coffee ready for dipping these spiced, crunchy biscotti. Like most Tuscan biscotti, these include no fat, which makes for an extra-dry cookie. That means it saturates quickly when dunked, turning it into something like silken cake while also sweetening your coffee. Pops of chewy candied ginger and a slick of dark chocolate make this biscotti a little more special. And while the ingredient list may be longer than some, each item builds upon the last, creating a symphony of warming flavors and smells. To help keep track of the many spices while assembling your ingredients, measure them into small piles on a dinner plate.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This cookie, from my new cookbook “We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special” (S&S/Simon Element, 2026), fulfills all the wildest dessert desires, as it’s sort of a cookie, but also a cake and Danish all in one. (Plus, it’s huge!) It requires just enough care that you’ll feel like you’re creating something thoughtful and special for yourself, yet it’s doable because it’s a single cookie that no one even has to know is being made — no one except you and your air fryer (though you can also bake it in an oven).

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

These extra craggy oatmeal cookies start by beating sugar with eggs, instead of mixing the typical way: creaming butter and sugar first. This method gives the cookies a crusty exterior, which eventually cracks, creating deep fissures along the surface over centers that are still gooey and chewy. With a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice) and vanilla for flavor, they make a wonderful and simple pantry cookie to bake over and over again. Don’t skip the final step: These cookies are visually and texturally incomplete without their classic coat of glossy white icing.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Sweet roasted beets and extra-virgin olive oil add earthiness to this delicate Bundt cake, a baking project that promises stunning results. Roasting the beets beforehand concentrates their sweetness, and stacking thick layers of batter — one flavored with olive oil, the other with beets — creates bold swoops of red within the baked cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing to avoid blurring the lines. Because of its lightly sweet notes, this cake is equally at home at breakfast or brunch, as a snack or dessert. To dress it up further, serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This fast weeknight recipe uses your favorite store-bought mayonnaise and bottled fish sauce in an easy Caesar dressing. And then, in an even more resourceful move, it uses that same dressing to coat salmon fillets, to help prevent overcooking, and to adhere a Parmesan crust. As the fillets broil, the layer of cheese bubbles and caramelizes to form a crispy, salty coating, a texture that only enhances the crisp lettuce. (For a vegetarian version, you can also use this method on avocado halves.)

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This recipe proves that the perfect summer pound cake takes no special equipment or skill to pull off. Once you’ve prepared the peaches, this is essentially a dump-and-whisk cake. Puréed peaches (plus an extra egg yolk) keep the cake from drying out. Diced peaches add bursts of fresh fruit, and a peach glaze lends another layer of flavor. Use sweet, ripe peaches for best results, but frozen work fine here, too. If you’re looking for a spin on classic peaches and cream, serve a slice with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

As plums bake, their tartness mellows and their juices jelly — just a couple reasons why they do so well in pies, cobblers and this crumble, which is essentially an upside-down graham cracker-crusted pie. If you don’t have graham crackers on hand, vanilla wafers will work nicely too, but you’ll need to cook a little longer. Be sure to press the graham crackers into a single layer instead of scattering clumps of it over the plums; doing so creates a sturdy but delicate topping that won’t drown in a sea of plum juice. Keep this plum crumble simple, or add extra spices like ground ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Perfume the house and decorate the table with this whimsical wreath made of buttery, sweet cinnamon rolls. Arranging the rolls into a ring makes it easy to tear away individual servings. The extra protein in bread flour yields a sturdier dough that’s easier to shape, but all-purpose flour works too. If you assemble these a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight before baking them the next morning, be sure to let the rolls rise three-quarters of the way before placing them in the fridge. A few hours before baking, allow them to come to room temperature on the counter. Have fun, and complete the wreath decoration with dehydrated orange wheels, cinnamon sticks, sugar-dusted cranberries or even a red ribbon bow.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Scrambling eggs with tomatoes is a classic comforting pair, particularly in Chinese cuisine. But instead of cooking the tomatoes along with the eggs, here, the eggs are cooked separately, while the ripe tomatoes break down, their flavors concentrating when left to sit in a sweet soy-sesame dressing. Pile the scrambled eggs and the tomatoes onto crusty bread to soak up all the flavor. Add chunks of avocado to the marinated tomatoes too, if you like.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Here’s a clever trick for making a big batch of pancakes that will save you from spending all morning at the stove: Bake them all at once on a sheet pan. In this recipe, the batter comes together like biscuit dough by cutting the cold butter into the flour before adding the liquid. This cuts down on gluten production, which means fluffier pancakes. For wonderfully crisp edges, heat the sheet pan in advance, so the batter starts cooking as soon as it’s poured into the pan. If you like, you can stir a teaspoon of vanilla extract into the batter, sprinkle it with finely chopped fruit, or mix and match toppings to please the crowd.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

For an effortless way to prepare a full breakfast for a crowd, turn croissants into golden, crispy crumbs to serve as a bed for oven-baked eggs, fresh spinach and tangy feta. The crumbs toast as the eggs cook and the spinach wilts. If you prefer your eggs over easy, bake them for only 9 minutes, just until the whites have set. Scale the recipe up or down depending on the number of guests, or vary the toppings to suit your preferences.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Two spiced shortbread cookies are soaked with a little coffee, then layered with a light pumpkin whipped cream in this rich, elegant icebox cake. You don’t need to be precious with the cookies or the cream while preparing them — they're fairly foolproof — yet they come together into a stunning make-ahead dessert. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice but have a relatively well stocked spice cabinet, you can make your own homemade version (see Tip).

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Somewhat of a cross between a muffin top and a biscuit, these sweet breakfast treats are foolproof and easy: No rolling or cutting is required, and everything is mixed in a single bowl. They bake up craggy and crunchy on the outside, but are tender once you break them open. The heavy cream adds richness, and the additional water creates just the right amount of steam while baking to keep the biscuits light and fluffy. Salted butter works nicely here, but if you’re using unsalted butter, just add ¼ teaspoon or so of fine salt to the dry ingredients. If you don’t have strawberries, feel free to swap in the same amount of fresh blueberries, raspberries or diced stone fruit.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Classic strawberry muffins get a few modern twists in this cheery take. First, egg yolks replace whole eggs, resulting in a richer, more flavorful crumb. The muffins get a double dose of strawberries: diced fresh berries in the batter and an optional dusting of freeze-dried strawberries on top. Finally, a reserved egg white is tossed with sugar and sliced almonds to make a crunchy topping for the muffins. As always, for the best flavor, pick the ripest, brightest strawberries of the bunch.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This is a wonderful but simple summer pie inspired by strawberry pretzel salad, a popular Southern dessert. The classic recipe consists of a crumbled pretzel crust, a whipped cream cheese and Cool Whip filling, and a top layer of strawberry Jell-O. In this fresher adaptation, crushed pretzels form the foundation of an easy shortbread crust, followed by a fluffy cream filling and a pile of fresh strawberries, omitting the use of gelatin. If you’re making this pie in advance — especially with juicy, height-of-season berries — complete Steps 1 to 3, then cloak the filled crust with plastic wrap and chill up to 24 hours. Just before serving, toss the berries in sugar and pile them on top.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This unfussy cake with a top layer of jammy strawberries is so gooey it’s best to serve the whole thing with a spoon. The batter comes together quickly with minimal effort, using basic pantry ingredients and a small handful of berries — frozen or fresh. If you’re using frozen, be sure to defrost them in the microwave first. Extract as much juice as possible from the fruit by macerating and mashing it, so that it lends the cake additional moisture while baking. Add a dash of freshly ground cardamom or ground ginger on top before baking it off, if you like, or some ribbons of fresh basil once it’s hot out of the oven. Whatever embellishments you decide on, burrowing warm spoonfuls of this cake beside scoops of vanilla ice cream is the most important thing.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

There’s a little black pepper in this cake, which provides just enough heat to enhance the sweetness of the cherries. If you’re worried about the pepper, cut back on the amount called for, but if you’re excited about it, you may want to double it. This is a sweet, rustic and rich upside-down cake that’s sturdy enough to hold up to its juicy fruit topping. Once the finished cake gets inverted onto a platter, the extra cherry juice soaks back into the cake as it cools, which means it gets better as it sits. Serve the cake with lemon whipped cream made by beating cold heavy cream with the leftover lemon juice and some sugar until stiff. It’s helpful for covering up any imperfections in the cake, too!

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

This showstopping dessert, which is inspired by the classic Thanksgiving side dish, is really a pie baked in a springform pan. (Don’t try it in a pie pan because the filling will likely overflow.) What makes this dessert a winner is the textural contrast between the creamy sweet potato filling, the crisp pecan crust and the gooey marshmallow topping. Here are a few tips for best results: Roast the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them because it enhances their flavor, and use smaller sweet potatoes because they are naturally sweeter than larger varieties. Also, it may seem fussy, but chilling the cooked potatoes, then aggressively whipping them aerates them, resulting in a silkier texture. Once baked and cooled, refrigerate the pie until right before it’s time to serve.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

Sweet potato pone is a baked custard pudding-like dish that’s something like a crustless sweet potato pie. This version is made with whole shreds of sweet potato, which is how it’s often served during the holidays throughout the Caribbean and parts of the American South. It’s a versatile dessert that can be made with other warming spices like ginger, nutmeg or clove, a little orange zest, or even rum-soaked raisins. This is a simplified version that replaces half of the sweet potatoes with shredded apple, which adds natural sweetness and a bit of creaminess as it cooks down. Choose from baking varieties like Honeycrisp, Fuji or Gala. Serve the pone warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Jerrelle Guy · NYT Cooking

A touch of honey complements the nutty flavor of the whole-wheat flour in these muffins. The zucchini and applesauce provide moisture and flavor, and the crunchy cinnamon topping makes for the perfect textural contrast against the soft cake. These muffins are a great addition to your morning cup of coffee. Store them on the counter, uncovered, to help preserve their crunchy coating. They also freeze well and can be reheated in a low-temperature oven or thawed at room temperature.