4,469 four four recipes

Braune Einbrenne is the essential German brown gravy built from a dark lard-and-flour roux. Ready in 15 minutes, it's the go-to base for spaetzle, dumplings, and hearty vegetable dishes.

Fry bread made from flour, baking powder, milk, and water shaped into thin discs and fried golden in hot oil. The puffy, pillowy base for Indian tacos, sweet honey drizzles, or savory toppings.

Single-crust pie pastry made with lard and a touch of shortening for a flaky, old-fashioned 9-inch shell. The traditional fat blend bakeries used before all-butter pastry took over.

Meltaway coconut shortbread cookies with butter, shortening, and flaked coconut, sliced from a chilled log and dipped in powdered sugar. Crumbly, tender icebox cookies.

Three-ingredient chocolate mint candies made with milk chocolate chips, sour cream, and creme de menthe. Piped into elegant bite-sized treats, no baking needed.

Light-as-air vintage pie with sweetened applesauce folded into stiffly beaten egg whites, baked until the filling puffs golden and sets into soft clouds.

Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish with raw cranberries, onion, sour cream, and horseradish. The famous NPR Thanksgiving recipe that's frozen then thawed for a shocking pink, tangy condiment.

Coconut fried shrimp with a beer batter and flaked coconut coating, deep-fried golden in under a minute per side. A crispy, tropical appetizer or main dish.

Homemade green pasta dough made with spinach, eggs, and olive oil. A classic Italian spinach pasta from scratch that rolls thin and cooks tender with a vibrant green color.

German pancake batter baked in a bread pan and topped with sliced apples or savory pork cracklings. Dust fruit version with sugar or salt the crackling one for traditional flavor.

Coffee muffins are simple yogurt-based breakfast muffins meant for the coffee break: just 5 pantry ingredients, no butter, no fuss. Tender crumb, ready in 30 minutes.

Laufabrauð (Icelandic snowflake bread): paper-thin rounds of dough decorated with intricate cut-outs, fried crispy in hot lard. A Christmas tradition from the Westfjords going back generations.

Sweet cinnamon fettuccine is a dessert pasta: egg noodles rolled and cut by hand, scented with cinnamon and lemon zest, then deep-fried into crispy golden ribbons. Dust with powdered sugar for an Italian fairground treat.

An air-dried roast duck glazed with Scotch, soy, honey, ginger, and brown sugar marinade until the skin turns deep mahogany. A Peking-duck-inspired showstopper for a special-occasion dinner.

Schneiderflecklesuppe is a German tailor's square soup featuring handmade pasta squares rolled paper-thin and simmered in rich beef broth. A rustic, soul-warming classic from the old country.

Swiss vegetable dip blends Knorr vegetable soup mix into sour cream and mayonnaise, then chills until the dried vegetables soften into a creamy, herby crudite dip. A make-ahead party classic with three ingredients.