815 crackling recipes

Strawberry rhubarb pie with a cinnamon sugar crumb topping, thickened with quick tapioca for clean slices. The classic spring fruit pie with a crackly streusel finish.

Oatmeal chocolate chip sheet cake with a boiling-water oat soak for a tender, moist crumb. Topped with walnuts and extra chips for a crackly crust.

Falling chocolate cake with raspberry sauce: individual molten-centered chocolate cakes with a cracked top and gooey interior, served with bright raspberry sauce and ice cream.

Roasted Cornish game hens slathered with ginger-five-spice butter and stuffed with lemon and onion. Crackly, fragrant skin and a white-wine pan sauce for an elegant dinner.

Lighter honey vanilla cheesecake made with reduced-fat cream cheese, cottage cheese, and fat-free ricotta on a gingersnap crust. Sweetened with honey instead of sugar and baked with steam for a silky, crack-free top.

Espresso cheesecake with a toasted hazelnut-cocoa crust, baked in a water bath for a silky, crack-free finish. Reduced espresso and Kahlua deliver bold coffee flavor in every bite.

Black pepper and walnut biscotti pack toasted walnuts and a serious dose of cracked pepper into a brown-sugar dough. Italian-style twice-baked cookies that pair with cheese or coffee.

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.

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.

Classic creamy cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, vanilla and almond extract, and sour cream for tang. Baked low and slow with a cooling oven rest for a crack-free top.

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.

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.

Six-ingredient butterscotch blondies with a chewy, caramelized center and crackly top. Brown sugar and melted butter boiled together give these bars their rich toffee-like flavor.

Raspberry and fig gratin with sour cream and broiled brown sugar crust. Four ingredients, 15 minutes, and the caramelized sugar cracks like creme brulee over warm fruit.

Pan-seared chicken breasts crusted with cracked peppercorns, thyme, and bay leaf, finished with a white wine pan sauce. Bold flavor from a simple herb-pepper blend.

Almond praline bell made from toasted ground almonds and honey-sweetened hard crack candy, shaped in a mold for a stunning edible centerpiece. A classic showpiece confection.