Recipes with butter

Basic tart pastry with butter and shortening for a flaky, tender crust. Rolls thin, fits one large or six small tart pans, and blind-bakes golden in 15 minutes.

Surprise devil's food cake with hidden beets: a deeply rich, moist chocolate cake with cocoa, buttermilk, and grated beets stirred in for extra tenderness. Kids will never guess.

German beer-braised carrots (Karotten in Bier Gedunstet) with butter, a pinch of sugar, and salt. A simple 5-ingredient side that turns humble carrots into a malty, glossy vegetable.

Peanut butter cup muffins with chocolate cocoa batter and pockets of melty peanut butter chips. A bakery-style breakfast or after-school muffin that tastes like a candy bar.

Pumpkin raisin cookies with canned pumpkin, cinnamon, and raisins, topped with a simple butter-vanilla frosting. Soft, cakey fall cookies that stay moist for days.

Vegetable baked fish sandwiches a fillet between layers of sliced zucchini, peppers, tomato, and onion, baked together so the vegetables steam the fish into flaky tenderness.

Chicken with apples: a Normandy-style braise of browned chicken flambed with brandy, then baked with apples, onions, cider, and tarragon sour cream. A French country dinner for four.

Sopa de elote is a creamy Mexican corn soup made from pureed corn simmered in milk with sweet and hot peppers. Garnished with fried tortilla strips and crumbled cheese.

Mexican chocolate sauce made with unsweetened chocolate, Kahlua coffee liqueur, cream, butter, and corn syrup. Rich, pourable, and keeps in the fridge for up to three months.

Pressure cooker New England fish chowder simmers white fish, potatoes, and corn in milky broth with thyme and bay. Classic Yankee chowder ready in under 45 minutes.

Cinnamon and cloves perfume these twisted Greek sesame cookies with golden crusts and soft centers. Makes 72 cookies perfect for Mediterranean holiday cookie exchanges or gift tins.

Pan-seared sea scallops sauteed with mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and scallions in a butter and white wine sauce. A restaurant-quality seafood dinner with a rich, lemon-bright pan sauce.

Chocolate walnut torte is a flourless-style European cake built on bittersweet chocolate, butter, ground walnuts, and whipped egg whites. Dense, fudgy center with just enough flour for structure, finished with a chocolate rum glaze.

Butter-dipped carrots coated in crispy cornflake crumbs and baked until golden. A retro side dish with a crunchy coating that makes carrots irresistible to kids and adults alike.

These bars are very pretty with their dark chocolate swirls throughout. The dessert is a sweet treat to any lunch-bucket meal.

Julekage, the traditional Norwegian Christmas bread scented with cardamom and studded with dark raisins and candied citron. Made fast with a food processor instead of hours of hand-kneading.