Recipes

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Producing a classic baguette with a thin, shattering crust and tender, slightly sweet interior at home requires both practice and a few pieces of special equipment (see Tip) — using a scale is highly recommended — but it’s an incredibly rewarding process. For the greatest flexibility, start the recipe in the morning the day before you want to bake and refrigerate the dough overnight. You can bake the loaves at any point the next day.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Chocolate macarons are beloved for a couple of reasons: First, the bitterness of cocoa and barely sweet ganache is a good foil for the sugariness of the meringue shells. Second, the cocoa in the batter masks any color the meringue might take on during baking, so there’s a wider margin of error for your oven temperature compared with other flavors.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Most of the pistachio flavor in these macarons comes from the filling, which contains pistachio spread (sometimes called pistachio cream), a sweetened mixture of ground pistachios and sugar. Look for it in specialty food stores or Italian grocers.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Just a small quantity of pulverized freeze-dried raspberries in the batter of these macarons adds a surprising punch of tart fruitiness. Just know that it can also encourage the shells to brown rather quickly, so turn down your oven by about 25 degrees for the second batch if the first turns a little golden.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

A few techniques produce these ultra-pillowy and lightly bready cinnamon rolls: The first is scalding the milk, which leads to improved gluten development in the dough; the second is cooking a portion of the liquid and the flour into a rouxlike mixture called a tangzhong, which, when added to the dough, increases its ability to hold onto liquid; and the third is a long, slow mix, which fully develops the gluten network and allows the buns to trap air as they bake in the oven.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

The texture of this oil-based chocolate cake strikes an ideal balance between dense and fudgy and light and fluffy. It’s ultratender thanks to cake flour. The frosting, a variation on German buttercream, uses a chocolate pudding base whipped with butter to create a complement to the cake that’s both rich and airy.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This easy cheesecake tart comes together in the food processor and bakes without a water bath. The key to the smooth texture of the filling is a very low oven, which means it bakes for a long time, so if you’re serving it on Thanksgiving, definitely bake it the day before to free up oven space. The shiny cranberry topping is made from unsweetened cranberry juice and whole cranberries that are just barely poached, so they preserve their bright, fresh flavor and satisfying pop. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Toasted, maple-coated pumpkin seeds baked directly on the surface of the filling gives otherwise one-note pumpkin pie a little bit of crunch. Thoroughly parbaking the crust before adding the custard as directed prevents a soggy bottom. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Heavy cream is a nontraditional addition to Thanksgiving stuffing, but in combination with the stock and eggs, it lends a special custardy richness to this otherwise classic, no-frills recipe. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This tart layers toasted, sugared pecans over brown-buttery pecan cream, recreating the flavors of traditional pecan pie but with greater depth of flavor and a lot less sugar. To prevent the filling from puffing and pushing out the walls of the tart during baking, it’s baked inside a 9-by-13-inch pan. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This pie dough requires no special equipment but uses two techniques to produce an ultra-flaky and tender crust: first, bringing the dough together on the work surface with a bench scraper, which keeps it cool and prevents over-working, and second, stacking it in layers, which creates a flaky texture. You can double the recipe to make two crusts at a time, but know that you’ll need to work a little more quickly to prevent the butter from warming up. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Separating the dark green outer leaves from the lighter green cores of brussels sprouts allows you to roast them so they’re both tender and crispy. Prep them ahead of time for an easy side dish. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

A citrusy cousin of coconut cream and chocolate cream pies, this pie is filled with a lemon pudding that’s tart like curd but is also light, smooth and creamy at the same time. Infusing the filling with fresh ginger gives it a more autumnal flavor, but omit it you prefer. For the crust, make sure to use only very thin, very crisp, wafer-style gingersnaps, otherwise it will likely slump as it bakes. If you can’t find those, graham crackers work just as well. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Roasting a Thanksgiving turkey can get complicated, but with so many other dishes to prepare, the best approach is to keep it simple and focus on sound technique, such as choosing a smaller bird, then thoroughly seasoning it, roasting it from room temperature so it cooks evenly and letting it rest sufficiently before slicing. It may not produce a burnished, show-stopping whole bird, but the results will be juicy, flavorful and never overcooked. If you need more servings, roast two birds. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This classic cranberry sauce, adapted from “Jambalaya,” a cookbook by the Junior League of New Orleans, is an ideal combination of tart, bitter and sweet flavors, with chewy bits of raisin and orange peel that provide much-needed textural contrast on the Thanksgiving table. A Saffitz family favorite, prepared every year by Claire Saffitz’s mother, Sauci, it keeps for weeks, so make it as far ahead as you like. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

A flavorful make-ahead gravy depends entirely on a concentrated stock, so try to use homemade rather than store-bought. And remember: Chilling the gravy before reheating it will cause it to thicken, so it’s a good idea to reserve a little bit of stock for thinning it out to the desired consistency before serving. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Like tarte Tatin, this pie combines the classic flavors of apples, butter, pastry and caramel, with no cinnamon or other warm spices needed. The filling is pre-roasted to draw out and concentrate the apple juices, ensuring soft, cooked fruit and a fully baked bottom crust in the finished pie. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This recipe uses a masher and a mixer instead of a ricer or food mill to make smooth and creamy mashed potatoes. As long as you don’t mix excessively, the potatoes will come out light, not gummy. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This broth is designed to be made in the days before Thanksgiving, which is why it calls for turkey giblets and trim pieces in addition to wings. Roasting the vegetables and turkey bits imbues the broth with the flavors of roast turkey drippings, making it perfect for make-ahead white wine gravy. Don’t be alarmed if your chilled broth gelatinizes – that’s a sign you extracted lots of collagen, a mark of good broth. (Watch Claire make Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish on YouTube.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Although the filling for traditional Sicilian cannoli is made with sheep’s-milk ricotta, which is a little funkier and more complex than cow’s milk, it’s hard to find in the United States, so just look for the absolute best-quality whole-milk ricotta you can find (preferably one that’s locally made). The ingredients are fairly easy to find, but you will need some equipment for this recipe: a set of eight 5 ½- to 6-inch cannoli molds, which you can easily purchase online.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

These rolled cookies are inspired by chocolate rugelach but are sliced to look like mini Yule logs. Cacao nibs and coarse sugar finish the outside to give these tender treats a little bit of crunch. A dusting with powdered sugar is optional, but makes them look extra festive, like part of a snowy scene.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Don’t worry: These cookies only look like slices of mortadella, getting their slightly chewy texture and marzipan flavor from almond paste and almond extract. It joins the tradition of fashioning “sausage” cookies, from chocolate kolbasa in Eastern Europe to the salami cookie that Brooks Headley has served at Superiority Burger in New York. Freeze-dried strawberries give them color and fruity contrast, and the dough comes together easily in a food processor, making it a one-bowl endeavor.

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

This large-format tarte Tatin is nontraditional — it’s made almost entirely in the oven in a jellyroll pan rather than getting cooked on the stovetop in a skillet — but the flavor combination of caramel, apples and buttery pastry is classic. The pan holds what feels like a bushel of tender, caramelized apples — a generous 5½ pounds of Pink Lady apples — and yields nearly twice as many servings as a traditional round tart. The “sheet pan” in this recipe title doesn’t mean quick; this is a project, requiring lots of peeling and several steps, but most of the time is hands off and you can divide the work over two days. The finished tart is an impressive and elegant dessert for a dozen or more. (Watch Claire make this dish in this video.)

Claire Saffitz · NYT Cooking

Banana is a natural addition to sticky toffee pudding, marrying seamlessly with toffee and dates to create a version that leans in the direction of banana bread. The bananas that end up on top of the finished pudding are sugared and broiled until caramelized and almost charred, which adds a little bittersweet balance to the dates and brown sugar. Serve it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if you like, but definitely serve it warm for the tenderest texture and most intense flavor. (Watch Claire Saffitz make this dish in this video.)