15 fanciful recipes

Make your Kraft dinner a little bit fancier by adding some juicy cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley leaves. It looks colorful and tastes delicious.

Fortune cookies are a lot of fun to make . And homemade always tastes better than store bought! Try this recipe.

Quick fish sauce made with mayonnaise, sun-dried tomatoes, dill, lemon juice, and hot sauce. A no-cook dipping sauce for fish fillets or fish sticks.

Cat-shaped chocolate chip cookies with pecan ears, pretzel whiskers, and candy eyes. A fun baking project kids will love decorating and eating.

Homemade curry powder toasted in the oven with fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, cloves, and cinnamon, then ground with turmeric, mace, and cayenne.

Black Forest oatmeal cookies with white and semi-sweet chocolate chunks, maraschino cherries, toasted almonds, and almond extract. A bakery-style drop cookie.

Buttermilk biscuits in miniature form with a flaky butter crust and tender buttermilk crumb. A small-batch recipe perfect for two-person households or fancy hors d'oeuvres bases.

Brown sugar refrigerator cookies with a butterscotchy flavour and a hint of orange zest. The dough chills into a log, slices thin, and cuts into fancy shapes for a crisp icebox cookie that yields 4-5 dozen.

Grandma's baking powder biscuits use five pantry ingredients to deliver tall, flaky biscuits with crisp golden tops and tender layers inside. Cut, drop, or buttermilk variations all baked in a hot oven for that signature lift. Old-school comfort, no fancy gear needed.

Pound cake slices draped in a cloud-light mascarpone sauce with brandy, whipped egg whites, and fresh berries. An Italian-style dessert that looks fancy but takes 20 minutes.

Microwave orange chicken roulade with cinnamon-rice stuffing, finished with a glossy orange juice sauce and broken walnuts. A 30-minute dinner that looks dinner-party fancy.

Flaming Slow Cooker Chicken Jubilee. This recipe is perfect for a special occasion, a fancy dinner party, or a larger family dinner.

Microwave bran muffins with dark molasses, buttermilk, and brown sugar ready in just 15 minutes. Tender, fiber-packed, and no oven required. Toss in raisins if you're feeling fancy.

Bread machine pain de mie with semolina flour and buttermilk for a tight, even crumb. A Pullman-style sandwich loaf that slices paper-thin for canapes and fancy sandwiches.

Microwaved artichokes transform into edible bowls filled with tangy yogurt-dill sauce and crowned with tender poached shrimp for an elegant appetizer that looks restaurant-fancy but cooks in 45 minutes.