Recipes

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

Simple but satisfying, these little snack cakes check all the boxes: They have a buttery, vanilla-scented crumb and the perfect amount of chocolate. They look like dessert, but could also make a sweet, transportable breakfast. They are perfect as they are, but if you’d like to dress these cupcakes up for a party, you can dust them with powdered sugar or frost them with some chocolate buttercream.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

These lightly sweetened, chewy little bars are made with rolled oats, apple butter, cinnamon and maple syrup — all the essentials for a cozy breakfast. Try them freshly baked with a hot latte, or top them with a little bit of yogurt, fresh berries and a drizzle of honey for a fun breakfast sundae. You could even finish the day with a square tucked under a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Is it cake? Is it a breakfast? You decide.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

These pies require a fairly simple ingredient list — cream cheese, canned pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice and other baking staples — but one stands out: The butter, melted and browned until the milk solids toast, adds an intoxicating nutty flavor and aroma. The simple step takes the filling to the next level. The flavor of browned butter can easily be lost when mixed into batter and baked, so here, the fragrant butter is instead whipped into a classic cream cheese frosting. Sandwiched between two fluffy, delicately spiced pumpkin cakes, it really shines.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

Like a boxed cake mix, but better, this homemade confetti cake is made with cake flour for a soft crumb, — perfect for birthdays or any occasion.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

This may seem like a, everyday, birthday yellow cake. Rich with vanilla and topped with a chocolate sour cream frosting, the cake hits the mark.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

These little cuties are light and fluffy, with just the right amount of chocolate flavor to complement but not overpower the salty-sweet peanut butter frosting. Made with oil instead of butter, the batter can be made by hand in minutes, and the resulting cupcakes stay nice and moist. They’re sure to be hit at the next bake sale or picnic.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

Malted milk powder, made from barley malt, milk powder and wheat flour, adds a subtle toasted, nutty flavor to baked treats. It pairs beautifully with chocolate and is used here to add a hint of roasted sweetness to both the chewy, fudgy brownies and the glaze. Don’t skip the crushed malted milk balls, which really take these brownies to the next level. Extra malted milk powder can be sprinkled over ice cream, whisked into milkshakes or hot chocolate, or stirred into frosting.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

In a cookie emergency, why waste time scooping out individual mounds of cookie dough and baking cookies in batches when you could knock the whole process out in one shot? Not only is a skillet cookie easier, but you can eat it with a spoon while it’s still warm. Plus, the edges are chewy and the center is soft and gooey. Add in toffee bits, salty snacks, leftover candy, chocolate chips, nuts or whatever you like to this kitchen sink cookie and you’ve got a great way to make dessert — and to clean out your pantry. For the tastiest combination, make sure to select a mix of sweet and salty treats.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

These holiday cookies take all the best parts of a towering coconut cake — the buttery, yellow cake and billowy cream cheese frosting — and shrink them down to the cutest tiny treat. Sweetened shredded coconut and unrefined coconut oil (for the most coconutty essence) in the dough is the source of their signature flavor, while a finish in glaze and more shredded coconut — tinted in whatever color you like — gives them their bright flourish. If you’re tight on time, though, skip the frosting and drizzle the cookies with some melted chocolate or toss them in powdered sugar to finish. They'll still look like they're ready to party.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

Brownie brittle is the perfect treat for that person in your life who loves the edges of the brownie. It’s deeply chocolaty and gives a very satisfying crunch with every bite. This version is topped with chocolate chips, but you can dress them up any way you like. Consider a trio of chocolate chips, crumbled graham crackers and mini marshmallows for s’mores fans. Or try broken candy canes and chocolate chips for a wintry mix. Freeze-dried raspberries and toasted coconut could be a lovely fruity combination. Whatever you do, don’t skip the chocolate chips; they are essential.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

This bake-sale classic features a sandy, soft crust, a layer of caramel and pecans, and a final chocolate topping. These small bars go a long way: Usually, the caramel layer is thin and tends to melt into the crust, but this version doubles the caramel for a rich, buttery confection. Perfect for the lazy baker, the caramel cooks in the oven, making a candy thermometer unnecessary. The pecans toast while they simmer in the bubbling caramel, resulting in deep toasty flavors without much work at all.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

Not to be confused with macarons, macaroons are chewy coconut cookies that are super simple to make and naturally gluten-free. This version uses a bit of condensed milk to make them creamy and rich as well as some whipped egg whites to lighten them up. The result is a perfectly chewy and fluffy macaroon. A little almond extract and some toasted nuts make them reminiscent of Almond Joy candy bars and take them to new heights. If you’re short on time, skip the chocolate dipping step and simply drizzle them with the melted chocolate and sprinkle with nuts.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

What happens if you take carrot cake and cross it with oatmeal cookies? You get a lovely little portable snack that’s soft and tender (thanks to a bit of cream cheese in the dough), chunky in all the right places and drizzled with just the right amount of tangy frosting. Try the cookie recipe as written, or add in 1 cup of chopped walnuts or golden raisins for even more varied texture.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

Tahini, a smooth paste made from ground sesame seeds, is nothing short of a pantry superstar — both sweet and savory dishes benefit from a healthy swig of the rich, creamy sauce. Here, tahini flavors a one-bowl yellow cake, giving it a pillowy texture and nutty flavor. Swirled with chocolate, it’s reminiscent of your favorite halvah candy. Be sure to use semisweet chocolate – anything darker is too sour and would clash with the sesame.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

I could eat pastina, the simple Italian dish made from tiny pasta stars, chicken broth, egg yolks and Parmesan, every day. (In fact, I’ve gone on weeklong pastina benders when I’ve been deep in work and unwilling to go to the grocery store.) It’s fortifying, comforting and tastes like a hug. My sometimes tricky-to-feed 8-year old loves it too. Is it soup? Is it pasta? Who cares! It’s a slurpable supper that takes mere minutes to make. The only downside is no veggies! But I’ve come up with an easy solution. While it’s not traditional, the addition of shredded cabbage adds flavor and nutrients without signaling “vegetable!” to the kiddos in your life. It becomes meltingly tender when simmered with the pasta and adds a mild sweetness that goes beautifully with the cheese and butter.

Samantha Seneviratne · NYT Cooking

These melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies get their lovely tender texture from the addition of a bit of tahini in the dough and the use of egg yolks instead of whole eggs. While sesame and pistachio are a beautiful combination, you can feel free to use whichever nuts you like and have on hand. Rich macadamia nuts or toasted almonds would also be especially nice. For an even more pronounced sesame flavor, toast the seeds before using.

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Shortly after World War II, when Rosie the Riveter was exiled to her suburban kitchen, a conspiracy of processed-food suppliers unleashed a fusillade of bizarre concoctions -- like dumping tomato soup, sauerkraut and mayonnaise into cakes -- that masqueraded as fine cooking. Proceed, if you dare.

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

“Consider the madness of roasting a hen inside a hollowed-out watermelon with soy sauce and a lemon,” Rozanne Gold wrote in 1994, when she brought this recipe to The Times, part of a roundup of April Fools’ Day recipes. It’s an unconventional recipe, with roots in Hawaii and meant to surprise. (Step 5 encourages cooks to show the full chicken and watermelon to guests before carving.) Do, as one commenter suggests, and have someone on hand to record the reactions. And what to do with the leftover watermelon pulp? Take Gold’s advice. “With some sugar, champagne and a little imagination, it makes a decent sorbet.”

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Rozanne Gold

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Rozanne Gold

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Rozanne Gold · NYT Cooking

Rozanne Gold