Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “Chocolate crinkle cookies are usually tooth-achingly sweet, with just a couple of wide gaping cracks instead of a crackly surface. For cookies that live up to the name, we use a combination of unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder (plus a boost from espresso powder) for a deep, rich chocolate flavor. Using brown sugar instead of granulated lends a more complex, tempered sweetness with a bitter molasses edge that complements the chocolate. A combination of both baking powder and baking soda gave us cookies with the right amount of lift and spread, helping produce…
-
See the RecipeRecipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “For bright citrus flavor, successful lemon bars depend on ample amounts of fresh lemon juice, yes, but also a generous amount of lemon zest, which provides round, floral notes. We used four lemons for our lemon curd filling, which yielded a whopping 2/3 cup of juice and 1/4 cup of zest. The other major ingredient for lemon curd is eggs, and lots of them. Two whole eggs and seven yolks gave us a luxurious curd with good thickening properties. To tame the curd’s pucker power and make it ultracreamy, we added a small…
-
See the RecipeRecipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “For our ultimate flourless chocolate cake recipe, we wanted a texture somewhere between a substantial marquise au chocolat—that dense, buttery, and just slightly aerated chocolate mousse with a characteristic dry but creamy texture—and a heavy New York-style cheesecake, which requires the mouth to work for just a second before the stuff melts and dissolves with sublime flavor. To achieve this texture in our flourless chocolate cake recipe, we beat whole eggs into a foam and gently folded in bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and strong coffee or liqueur. Then we baked our cake in…
-
See the RecipeRecipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “When we set out to develop a recipe for a make-ahead pumpkin pie—one that we could fully bake and then freeze for up to two weeks with no negative effects—we knew a steep challenge lay ahead of us. Custard pies typically don’t survive freezing because the eggs in the custard contain a lot of water and tend to split into weepy mush once frozen. During the course of testing, we discovered that substituting gelatin for the eggs was the answer. The gelatin suspended excess water in a flexible network, so the filling remained…
-
See the RecipeRecipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “This is an old-fashioned dessert that has nothing to do with soup: It’s a light, lemony pudding made by whipping lemon gelatin with whipped evaporated milk. The surprise in making this dessert was that cold evaporated milk actually whips to the consistency of whipped heavy cream, but the evaporated milk must be cold in order to whip properly.”
-
See the RecipeAmerica’s Test Kitchen recipe which states, “The freezer dehydrates food, so we added extra chicken broth to keep our Make-Ahead Shepherd’s Pie moist. The filling looked soupy when we froze it, but once reheated, it mimicked the original. Our potato topping soaked up too much of the beef mixture as we reheated the pie, so we strategically layered our other ingredients to create a makeshift barrier. To prevent the topping from turning grainy, we turned to waxy red potatoes. They packed fewer amylose molecules, the culprit behind a coarse mash.”
-
See the RecipeRecipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “Do not trim the fat from the chicken thighs; it contributes to the flavor and texture of the pulled chicken. If you don’t have 3 tablespoons of fat to add back to the pot in step 3, add melted butter to make up the difference. We like mild molasses in this recipe; do not use blackstrap. Serve the pulled chicken on white bread or hamburger buns with pickles and coleslaw.”
-
See the RecipeRecipe from America’s Test Kitchen which states, “Despite its status as a classic comfort food, there’s nothing comforting about the many steps and piles of dirty dishes that shepherd’s pie usually requires. Using the cast-iron skillet as our sautéing, baking, and serving pan streamlined the process. We used ground beef as our base and added tomato paste, garlic, and thyme to bump up the flavor. Flour, chicken broth, and Worcestershire sauce were all that we needed to create a rich gravy, and a final addition of green peas added a pop of freshness. To give our potato topping needed structure,…
-
See the RecipeTest recipe from America’s Test Kitchen who state, “Our goal was a pan pizza with a well-browned crust, tender crumb, and crisp, cheesy outer edge.” “This pizza is baked in a 12-inch cast iron skillet, and the dough requires a 12- to 24-hour rest in the refrigerator before shaping. For best results, we recommend weighing the flour and water. Our winning brand of whole peeled tomatoes is Muir Glen. We prefer the rich flavor of whole milk mozzarella cheese; use a block cheese, not fresh mozzarella. Avoid pre-shredded cheese; it contains added starch (to prevent clumping) which gives the melted…
