292 cracked recipes

Smoked salmon canapes on crisp jicama triangles with lime-spiked Neufchatel cheese and cracked black pepper. A light, no-cook appetizer that looks like it came from a caterer.

Grilled beef tenderloin coated in cracked black pepper, stacked on toasted croissants with aged cheddar, peppery watercress, and a punchy horseradish mayo. From grill to plate in 25 minutes.

Chinese-style caramel fried apples or bananas battered and deep-fried, then coated in crackly spun sugar with sesame seeds. Dipped in ice water for a shatteringly crisp shell.

Dairy-free fettuccine Alfredo made with soy milk and soy cheese for a creamy, cholesterol-free weeknight pasta. Tossed with garlic, steamed vegetables, and cracked pepper in one pan.

Sliced ripe Roma tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, fresh minced herbs, and cracked black pepper. A 5-minute Italian appetizer or side with only 4 ingredients. Vegetarian and naturally low calorie.

Traditional Swiss Basel Leckerli: honey-spice cookie bars with cinnamon, cloves, candied peels, kirsch, and almonds under a crackly sugar glaze. Makes 50 to 60 bars that keep for weeks.

A whole fish sealed in a salt-and-egg-white crust with fresh thyme, then baked until the flesh is impossibly moist and seasoned to the bone. Crack, reveal, devour.

Ginger snaps roll molasses-spiked dough into balls and bake into crackly-topped, snappy spice cookies. Brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon give the classic chewy-crisp texture in 36 cookies.

Thyme focaccia made simple with a bread machine: a dimpled, olive-oil-rich flatbread scented with fresh thyme, cracked black pepper and flaky kosher salt. Crisp edges, soft airy middle.

Spinach salad is a little plain, in this recipe, we add figs and walnuts into it, much more flavour. And much more nutrition!

Blueberries in black pepper Syrah syrup soaks fresh berries in a reduced red-wine syrup laced with vanilla and freshly cracked black pepper. A sophisticated make-ahead dessert for dinner parties.

Chewy walnut squares made with brown sugar, one egg, and just half a cup of flour. A no-butter bar cookie that stays soft in the center with a crackly top.

Thin chicken breast slices crusted in cracked black pepper and dry mustard, pan-seared with garlic, then drizzled with a rich sherry reduction. A 30-minute French bistro classic for two.

Chocolate sugar cookies made with melted unsweetened chocolate and butter, rolled in sugar for a crackly, sparkly crust. Chewy centers with crisp edges, ready from one bowl with no mixer needed.

Grilled pork loin on the bone, rubbed with fresh rosemary, cracked pepper, and salt, then slow-roasted over indirect coals until the crust crackles and the center stays juicy and pink.

Ritzy chocolate-covered nuts are candied slivered almonds with a crackly sugar shell, roasted to toasty perfection and dipped in melted chocolate. A three-ingredient homemade holiday candy for gift tins.