154 cracked recipes

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.

Italian macaroons made from almond paste kneaded with egg whites and sugar, baked into chewy, fragrant amaretti-style cookies. A short rest before baking gives them their crackly top and tender center.

Lemon drop cookies with fresh lemon juice, cream of tartar, and no eggs. Crispy, tangy, and eggless. A simple drop cookie that bakes fast at high heat for crackly edges.

Insanely fudgy walnut brownies with a blender chocolate frosting. Baked low and slow for a dense, moist crumb with a thin crackly crust on top.

Cheese pepper bread for the bread machine with Swiss cheese and cracked black pepper baked right into the dough. Savory, aromatic, and completely hands-off.

Apple pie baked inside a paper bag for an unbelievably tender filling and a crackly streusel top. Pat-in oil crust, no rolling pin required.

Curry-glazed duck legs roast under a paste of jalapeno, ginger, garlic, and curry powder, then braise in orange-lime juice with chicken stock. The skin re-crisps for shatteringly crackly results.

White chocolate cheesecake with an almond-oat-graham cracker crust. Whipped egg whites folded in create an airy, cloud-like texture. Slow-cooled to prevent cracking.

Whole hard-shell crabs simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce with red pepper flakes, cracked and tossed over spaghetti. Messy, hands-on, and worth every napkin.

Pepper-crusted roast beef eye of round coated in Dijon mustard and cracked black pepper, served with a roasted red pepper and fresh basil compound butter. An elegant, simple roast.

A lighter peach brulee: ripe sliced peaches with orange juice, blanketed in tangy Greek yogurt and topped with a crackly broiled-sugar crust. The flavors of creme brulee with a fraction of the work.

Creamy sour cream cheesecake studded with semi-sweet chocolate chunks on a chocolate cookie crust. Baked, then slow-cooled in the oven for a crack-free, silky finish.

Truffle fudge cheesecake with 24 ounces of melted chocolate chips blended into a triple cream cheese filling on a cocoa-vanilla wafer crust. A dense, intensely chocolatey no-crack cheesecake.

Soda cracker pie is a vintage Southern meringue pie made with whipped egg whites, saltine crumbs, and pecans. No crust, no flour, just a crackly meringue that tastes like toasted pecan candy.

Peanut butter blossom cookies rolled in sugar and topped with a chocolate kiss while still warm. Soft, chewy centers with a crackly sugar coating and melty chocolate on top.

Easy homemade pie crust with a vinegar-and-egg dough that stays flaky and tender. Uses both margarine and shortening for a workable pastry that rolls out without cracking.