Recipe Sifter

Blond brownies with brown sugar and butter base topped with almonds and chocolate chips: butterscotch-flavored bars baked until golden, named for the A-B-C toppings.

French sourdough bread for the bread machine pulls real flavor from a half cup of starter, with gluten flour for chew and cornmeal for crust. Hands-off baking, true tang.

Pan-seared chicken chunks with garlic, lemon, mushrooms, white wine, and artichoke hearts. Quick 30-minute skillet dinner.

Yule log cookies shaped into scored logs, baked, sliced on the diagonal, and decorated with holly icing. Spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg.

Cake bread made in a bread machine using cake mix, flour, and yeast. A soft, sweet loaf with a tender crumb that tastes like cake but slices like bread.

Crispy Indian vegetable fritters (pakora) made with a spiced chickpea flour batter with cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Dip potatoes, cauliflower, and peppers, then fry until golden.

Easy Bake Oven chocolate cake made from scratch with just six pantry ingredients. A simple homemade mix replacement so kids can bake without the store-bought packets.

Chewy bread machine bagels studded with diced dried apricots, boiled then baked until golden for authentic New York-style texture at home.

Spiced ground lamb grills into crispy-edged slabs perfect for slicing thin and stuffing into warm pita with yogurt and fresh salad. This 15-minute doner kebab brings street food flavor to your kitchen.

Single-crust pastry pie shell with margarine, blind-baked at high heat until golden in 10 minutes. A basic flaky pastry that works as a base for cream pies, custards, and fruit fillings.

Lower calorie pie shell with less shortening than traditional crusts. Three simple ingredients, one hour chill, and a flaky crust for any pie recipe.

A quick microwave brownie made with Alba chocolate mix and artificial sweetener for a low-calorie chocolate fix. Mix, microwave for 7 minutes, and you're done. Just 6 simple ingredients.

Double chocolate snack cake made with no eggs or butter, using vinegar and baking soda for lift. Cocoa batter topped with chocolate chips bakes into a fudgy one-bowl treat.

Seared veal loin chops topped with a bold Italian sauce of mashed anchovies, capers, ham, and brandy cream. Briny, rich, and on the table in under 20 minutes.

Cream of mussel soup made the classic way: steam-opened mussels, a quick butter-flour roux, and a splash of cream stirred in at the end. Five ingredients, twenty minutes, restaurant results.

Georgia-style quail browned in butter and simmered in bouillon gravy until fall-off-the-bone tender. A traditional Southern game bird supper done simply.