618 better recipes

Old-fashioned jelly cookies: buttery shortbread rounds sandwiched with red raspberry jelly and dusted in powdered sugar. The kind that gets softer and better as the jelly soaks in.

Three-bean salad packed with green beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, corn, celery, carrots, and pimientos in a sweet-and-tangy vinegar dressing. The classic potluck make-ahead. Keeps in the fridge for weeks and gets better with time.

Classic zucchini bread with grated zucchini, cinnamon, and a moist oil-based crumb. Bakes two 8x4 loaves at once, freezes well, and only gets better the next day.

Gulaschsuppe, a traditional German-style goulash soup with beef cubes, paprika, green peppers, caraway, and lemon juice in rich beef broth. Tastes even better reheated the next day.

Grilled tuna and roasted pepper sandwiches: meaty grilled tuna layered with sweet roasted peppers, capers, and parsley salad on focaccia. A Mediterranean pan bagnat style picnic sandwich that only gets better after chilling.

Four-layer coconut sour cream cake with a fluffy whipped topping filling and shredded coconut all around. Make-ahead Southern dessert that gets better as it sits.

Traditional German lebkuchen: honey-and-molasses spice cookies studded with citron and nuts, finished with a brushed sugar glaze. A heritage Christmas cookie that gets better as it ages.

A no-bake icebox torte layered with graham crackers, brown sugar whipped cream, and chopped black walnuts. Just 4 ingredients, zero oven time, and it gets better the longer it chills.

Sour cream pound cake with a vanilla-sugar crust sprinkled on top before baking. Rich, dense, and buttery with a tender crumb that tastes even better the next day.

New Mexico chili soup with browned ground beef, onions, tomatoes, fresh roasted green chiles, and warm cumin. A long-simmered Southwestern bowl that gets better the longer it cooks.

Mom's chili with ground beef, kidney beans, tomato paste, and a touch of ketchup simmered low and slow. A no-frills homestyle chili that gets better the longer it cooks.

Potato barley soup simmers pearl barley with carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes in beef or chicken stock for a thick, hearty grain-and-vegetable bowl that gets better the next day.

Stir-fried flank steak with ginger and scallions tossed with noodles, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, and celery in a light soy sauce. Better than takeout beef lo mein in 40 minutes.

Hearty low-fat vegetable soup with potatoes, zucchini, squash, carrots, pureed tomatoes, and kidney beans. Oil-free and loaded with garden veggies, this make-ahead soup tastes even better the next day.

Glazed honey spice cookies with cinnamon, cloves, mace, and allspice, finished with a thin vanilla sugar glaze. Old-world cookies that bake up firm, keep beautifully, and taste better the day after baking.

Butter Cookies are one of those traditional Christmas cookies that everyone adores. This homemade butter cookie recipe is much better than what you find in the tins at the store during the holidays.