681 best recipes

Taffy apple cookies: tender shortbread cookie balls dipped in melted caramel and rolled in crushed peanuts, with a toothpick stick so each one looks like a miniature caramel apple. A fun, nutty fall treat, no apple required.

An old-fashioned apple nut pudding with barely any flour, just enough to bind chopped apples, walnuts, and warm spice into a chewy, candy-like baked dessert. Quick to mix and lovely warm with cream.

Best apple raspberry pie: tart Granny Smith apples and jewel-bright raspberries spiced with cinnamon under a flaky, folded lard crust. A sweet-tart twist on classic apple pie.

Cuban-style black beans and rice with sofrito of onion, garlic, and green pepper, finished with a splash of vinegar, hot sauce, and honey. Served with a tableside oil-and-vinegar drizzle.

East Texas red chili built on rehydrated ancho peppers pureed into a deep, smoky base, with a sneaky milk chocolate bar melted in for that mole-like roundness. Pure Lone Star comfort, simmered until the meat falls apart.

Bob Hope's lemon meringue pie with a bright cornstarch-thickened lemon curd in a baked pie shell, topped with sweet meringue and baked to a golden, lightly browned cap.

Cantonese shrimp in lobster sauce with ground pork, fermented black beans, garlic, and silky beaten egg ribbons. The takeout classic, made from scratch.

A hearty vegan chili non carne that uses TVP and crumbled veggie burgers for meaty texture, simmered with kidney beans, tomatoes, green chilis, and chili powder. A fast, high-protein, meat-free bowl.

From the McCalls Great American recipe collection, a classic American carrot cake for the microwave.

Best Sex in a Pan is a retro layered icebox dessert with a walnut shortbread crust, sweet cream cheese filling, vanilla and chocolate pudding stripes, and a Cool Whip topping finished with shaved chocolate.

Easy crusty French-style bread with just five ingredients: flour, yeast, water, sugar, and salt. Baked with steam for a crackly golden crust and chewy interior.

Pork and chile burritos simmer cubed pork with tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro, and warm spices into a tangy, fork-tender filling rolled into flour tortillas, broiled with melty cheese.

Tortellini and fettuccine pasta salad with blanched snow peas, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives tossed in Italian dressing with Parmesan. A colorful, crunchy potluck favorite.

No-bake low fat Snickers pie made with sugar-free chocolate pudding, frozen vanilla yogurt, and creamy peanut butter. Just 4 ingredients and a freezer.

Vegetable lasagna roll-ups: noodles wrapped around a three-cheese, spinach, eggplant, and white bean filling, baked in a robust red wine tomato sauce. Individual vegetarian lasagna portions, no layering.

Red velvet cake made from scratch with a buttermilk-and-vinegar tang, a whisper of cocoa, and a tender oil-based crumb. Crowned with classic cream cheese frosting for the real Southern bakery version.