707 cracked recipes

Crispy, chewy, loaded cookies packed with oats, crushed cornflakes, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans. Flatten with a sugar-dipped glass for crackly edges. Makes 4 dozen in just 30 minutes.

Basler Brunsli are flourless Swiss chocolate almond cookies spiced with cinnamon and cloves, cut into festive shapes. A traditional Basel Christmas cookie, chewy inside with a crackly crust.

Flourless chocolate espresso torte for Passover with a full pound of chocolate, espresso, butter, and eggs. No flour or leavening needed. Dense, crackly-topped, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Pumpkin cheesecake with a buttery shortcrust pastry, spiced cream cheese filling with allspice, ginger, and cinnamon. Slow-baked and cooled in the oven to prevent cracking.

Luxurious Brie and leek soup with half-and-half, chicken broth, and a pound and a half of melted Brie strained silky smooth. Garnish with fresh chives and cracked pepper.

Italian biscotti with candied cherries, chopped nuts, and a hint of star anise. Twice-baked for that signature dry crackly snap, perfect for dunking in coffee, espresso, or vin santo.

Halloween popcorn crunch: popped corn, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and banana chips coated in hard-crack vanilla caramel. The fall snack mix that puts caramel corn to shame.

Strawberry fool with crushed berries folded into whipped cream and sour cream, drizzled with a spiced port wine syrup. The classic English dessert updated for summer dinner parties.

Chocolate coconut cake roll spirals a light cocoa sponge around a fluffy cherry-coconut whipped cream filling. Rolled warm so it won't crack, then chilled and dusted with powdered sugar. A retro showstopper.

Sea scallops sauteed with shallots, garlic, tomato, and fresh oregano, served on garlic-rubbed French bread toasts. An elegant appetizer with a light, lemony pan sauce.

Classic New York-style cheesecake with cream cheese, sour cream, and lemon juice on a graham cracker crust. Baked low and slow with a one-hour oven cool to prevent cracking.

Fresh blackberries macerated in aged balsamic vinegar, layered with creamy Greek yogurt and honey, then topped with a crackly torched sugar crust. A no-bake crème brûlée that's elegant enough for a dinner party.

Simple steak au poivre with cracked black pepper crust, hot chili oil sear, and cognac pan sauce. Bold pepper-crusted sirloin strips flamed with Armagnac for smoky depth.

Grilled bread salad with fresh figs, roasted red peppers, basil, and a balsamic-lemon vinaigrette. A summer grilled panzanella that turns stale bread into a smoky, fig-sweet main course salad.

Garlicky black pepper shrimp and black-eyed peas is Low Country Southern cooking in one skillet: bacon, holy trinity, bay-scented peas, and wine-splashed shrimp finished with cracked pepper.

Crispy sesame chicken just like takeout: chicken cubes in a light, crackly batter deep-fried golden, then coated in a glossy sweet-and-tangy sesame sauce and showered with toasted sesame seeds. Serve over rice.