4,353 tender recipes

Classic two-layer yellow butter cake with creamy maraschino cherry frosting and chopped cherries between the layers. A vintage cake recipe with sour milk for tenderness and pink cherry-juice frosting.

Anadama bread for the bread machine: New England's classic cornmeal-and-molasses yeast loaf, hands-off via the dough cycle. Slightly sweet, deeply moist, with a tender crumb that begs for butter.

Best spicy meatball soup simmers tender salsa-and-cumin beef meatballs right in a Tex-Mex broth of tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, and salsa. Poached, not fried, then loaded with cilantro, scallions, and sour cream.

Smothered pork chops simmered in a tangy ketchup and hot sauce gravy with mushrooms and green peppers. Iron skillet comfort food, fork-tender in under an hour.

Tender beef chunks simmer with bay leaf and red pepper, then bake with rice, kidney beans, bell peppers, and curry powder in this hearty one-dish meal.

Oven-baked BBQ brisket rubbed with seasoning and liquid smoke, sealed in foil, and slow-roasted until fork-tender. Overnight marinade for maximum flavor.

Buttermilk coffee cake baked in a tube pan with a cinnamon-sugar and toasted pecan streusel swirled through the center and on top. Tender and egg-free.

Nancy's ice cream kolacky: a three-ingredient Eastern European-style cookie where vanilla ice cream replaces liquid and eggs, creating a tender pastry dough filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. A Christmas cookie-tray favorite.

Hush puppies are deep-fried cornmeal fritters with chopped onion and a touch of sugar. A Southern fish fry classic with crisp golden shells and tender corny middles.

Irish buttermilk bannock studded with raisins, leavened with baking soda and baking powder. A no-yeast soda bread with a tender crumb and traditional cross-scored top.

Wok-braised asparagus with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, celery, and fresh mushrooms. Start with a high-heat stir-fry, cover and braise for tender-crisp results, finish with cashews.

Calamaria Gemista: traditional Greek stuffed squid filled with rice, pine nuts, currants, and fresh herbs, then slow-simmered in wine and tomatoes until fork-tender.

Steak and kidney pudding with diced beef and kidneys in a suet pastry crust, steamed for 4 hours until the meat is meltingly tender. A proper British steamed pudding done the traditional way.

Beef stroganoff with a splash of Coca-Cola in the braise. The cola tenderizes the chuck and balances the sour cream gravy with caramel sweetness. Mid-century classic.

Blueberry corn pancakes: hearty cornmeal and whole wheat flapjacks studded with fresh blueberries. Honey-sweetened buttermilk batter for tender Southern-style stacks.

Scottish shortbread fingers with the secret cornstarch swap for an ultra-tender, melt-in-the-mouth crumb. A four-ingredient traditional biscuit from Edinburgh tea-room tradition.