172 big big recipes

Old-school cocoa drop cookies made with buttermilk and whole wheat flour, topped with a glossy homemade chocolate frosting. Quick to mix, quick to bake, and yields a big batch of 4 dozen.

Big-batch Texas-style chili from Tyler with 2 lbs ground beef, seven cloves of garlic, jalapenos, and a serious triple-pepper spice blend. Simmers for 3 hours until thick, rich, and fiery.

Beef and pork chili with four pounds of ground meat, pinto beans, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano simmered for two hours. A big-batch, no-shortcuts meat chili topped with cheddar.

Oxe frosted brownies are big-batch cocoa brownies studded with walnuts, baked in an oversize pan, and finished with a smooth cocoa fudge frosting. Three dozen fudgy squares for crowds and bake sales.

Chili verde stew for a crowd: browned pork simmered with potatoes, corn, green peppers, and tomatoes in a cumin-and-oregano broth. A hearty big-batch stew built to feed a hungry party.

Big-batch Texas-style chili with 5 lbs of rough-ground beef and pork simmered in beer, sour mash whiskey, jalapenos, and a heavy hand of cumin. No beans. No compromise. Pure cowboy heat.

Tex's chili with coarse-ground beef, kidney beans, both hot and mild ground chiles, cumin, oregano, and Worcestershire sauce simmered for an hour. A big-batch Texas-style chili with real ground chile heat.

Too much fruit salad is a big-batch medley of pineapple, melon, citrus, peaches, kiwi, and banana bathed in apricot nectar and chilled overnight so the flavors meld. A bright, make-ahead crowd salad.

A thin, fudgy chocolate sheet cake with sour cream for moisture, topped with a warm boiled cocoa icing poured on while still hot. Bakes in a jelly roll pan and feeds a big crowd fast.

Sliced smoked turkey sausage stir-fried with fresh vegetables in a ginger-soy brown sugar glaze, served over steamed rice. A quick, flavorful skillet dinner that brings big Asian-inspired taste to the weeknight table.

Saag vali khichri is a soothing Indian rice and mung bean porridge stirred with fresh spinach, cumin, coriander, and ghee. Nourishing comfort food with Ayurvedic roots, gentle on the stomach and big on warming spice.

Mexican-style chili with ground chuck, kidney beans, three cans of tomatoes, and green chili salsa simmered low for three hours. A big-batch chili built to feed a crowd, freeze well, and taste better on day two.

Fresh corn and summer squash sauteed in a cream sauce infused with whole cloves, coriander seeds, cinnamon, and jalapeno. A refined seasonal ragout with serious depth.

Super fudge cupcakes soak chopped dates in boiling water before folding into a chocolate batter studded with chips and nuts. Date-sweetened, intensely fudgy cupcakes with a tender crumb.

Citrus cranberry raspberry preserves: tart cranberries and sweet raspberries cooked with orange juice and zest into a glossy ruby jam with no added pectin. Holiday gift jar perfection.

No-fail rocky road fudge made by melting chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk, then folding in peanuts and mini marshmallows. No candy thermometer needed, just melt, mix, chill, and cut.