jenncc's Reviews
1256 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date 
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Website: The New York Times
I love these! They are fluffy and thick, definitely rich, and some how a little custard-y without feeling undercooked. I used cottage cheese and Greek yogurt which I processed, along with the egg yolks, in the vitamix. Be warned, the batter was quite thick, and takes a little longer to cook but be sure to keep the heat at medium low as directed or they will not cook thru before burning.
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Website: food52
Though I am sure this would be great with lamb, I used this sauce as both a marinade and a dressing for skirt steak. It was very good but a bit "sharp" with the red wine vinegar and the lemon juice - next time I will skimp on the vinegar.
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Website: The New York Times
Took a little less time in my oven (around 30-33 minutes total) but came out fantastic! Some reviewers did not appreciate the Feta but my household really enjoyed it. I followed others suggestions and threw in the unpeeled garlic (along with all the small bits of cauliflower) later so it would not burn.
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Website: The New York Times
These are excellent as long as you don't over bake! Mine took 12-13 minutes for a chewy cooky with crisp edges - any longer they were more of an all around crunchy cookie. The flavors are wonderful (Earl Grey Tea and orange zest) but I also think this recipe could be infinitely adaptable (chai with cardamom, chamomile with lemon zest etc).
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Website: Half Baked Harvest
This is excellent! I only had 8.5 oz log of goat cheese so I used 3 oz cream cheese to keep the flavors balanced. The only thing I will do differently next time is either omit the fig jam or be more carful which one I reach for - the one I used was far too sweet (even with the salty olives), though I only used a fraction of whats called for. The balsamic, shallots, sun dried tomatoes and honey provide enough sweetness in this dish.
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Snacking Bakes: Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More
By Yossy Arefi
Clarkson Potter - 2023
These are certainly thick and slightly chewy. I really enjoyed them but felt they were just a bit too sweet. Do not cook longer than 10 minutes and keep in mind they stay pale and do not spread.
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Website: The New York Times
This falls somewhere between good and very good. I stuck close to the recipe - only having to replace Chinese sesame paste with tahini and cutting the sugar a bit since my peanut butter seemed very sweet. I also added a squeeze of lime. My main complaint is that once it cools the sauce becomes very thick, a bit grainy and almost dry. I am hoping when the leftovers are heated it will become viscous and smooth again.
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Website: The New York Times
I thought I was going to love these! I love rosemary in sweets, I LOVE lemon in anything, I love the cornmeal crunch, I love a chewy cookie.... I just do not love these. They spread way too much (almost like a lacy cookie) and just didn't have the right flavor. And they are really greasy. Maybe these would be more successful with less butter? More flour? I followed the recipe and even made the huge cookies as called for but they just weren't great.
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Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook: A Cookbook
By Sohla El-Waylly
Knopf - 2023
This is a wonderful banana bread with bananas as the star and brown butter in the supporting role. No spice, no chocolate chips and no nuts needed. My 4 bananas came in closer to 400-410 grams and the bread needed a little longer in the oven (tented the last 15-20 minutes). Also I believe the recipe could be better written/needs an edit. She should probably have started with the brown butter since it needs to sit in the fridge until creamy (after browning). This takes at least 20 minutes. I would do this before mashing bananas etc., even could be done ahead of time. Also the ingredients list calls for 2 whole eggs (and 1 yolk), but in the directions there is only reference to one egg to be added to bananas. I used 2.
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Website: The New York Times
Not sure if this is authentic but I found it to be simple and delicious! Sauce looked very thin at first but thickened up with the pasta and cheese. Finished with a grate of nutmeg and sprinkle of salt.
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Website: food52
I was skeptical but decided to try it - and so glad I did! It was delicious! Creamy but not heavy and the perfect compromise between red sauce and Alfredo.
It is quick and simple, and all ingredients I keep on hand. The recipe did say to cook the garlic first then add onions - I believe this can leave you with burnt garlic, so I always cook onions for a few minutes before throwing in the garlic.
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Website: The New York Times
This came together easily and was so comforting, creamy and delicious! I made half a recipe and used a little less than three cups of water (based on others reviews). I never achieved the crunchy sugar topping but maybe a minute under the broiler would fix that. Made 1/2 recipe again topping with only 3 T. turbinado sugar and 1 sliced banana - so so good!
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Website: Sally's Baking Addiction
This is a nice, typical buttercream that is easy to put together, highly pipe-able but can also be spread smooth. Like most buttercream, I found it too sweet for my taste. I think it worked best on my dark chocolate cupcakes (which offset the sweetness a bit). Made half a recipe to frost 14 chocolate cupcakes.
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Website: Add a Pinch
Smooth and decadent without being overly sweet. I used mostly regular cocoa powder, subbing about 1/3 cup with Hershey's special dark c.p. This frosting was easy to spread with a smooth finish and pipe-able. This made exactly enough for frosting a filling a three layer, 8 inch cake.
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Website: Add a Pinch
This is a very quick, simple recipe, and a darn good cake too. I made a three layer cake (8 inch) without having to adjust the recipe and filled it with her Perfect Chocolate Buttercream. Moist and chocolatey without being overly rich and heavy. I will use this recipe again for sure!
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
Really enjoyed this! I used leftover short grain brown rice and added green onion and a little jalapeno. Quick and easy.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
I'm not the chocolate lover in the house, but this was well received by everyone who tried it. I thought it was slightly dense and, at least in my oven was ready by the 25 minute mark. The frosting is very good but mine definitely needed a couple tablespoons cream to be smooth, glossy(ish), and easily spreadable.
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Sweet Enough: A Dessert Cookbook
By Alison Roman
Clarkson Potter - 2023
This was good but not a stand out recipe. Toasting the rice and cinnamon gave it nice flavor for sure but also made the rice break down faster. Not wanting to overcook my rice I took it off while still a tiny bit milky which I don't really mind (and is much better then mushy rice!). I did find it too sweet even though I cut back on the sugar by a few tablespoons.
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Website: The Spruce Eats
Love these cracker/cookie snacks. They are a little salty, a little sweet and very versatile - great with cheese or fruit but also nice on their own. These came together easily. The flavor is buttery rich without being heavy, with a slight caramel flavor. I didn't have quite enough brown sugar so I used a couple tablespoons of golden syrup. Also added pecans. I did cook the extra 5 minutes for a crunchier texture.
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Website: food52
This was delicious. I used dried Udon noodles, only making half a recipe and I happily have plenty of leftovers! There are several components but they come together easily. Make sure the mushrooms are well caramelized before adding the aromatics.
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Website: Fifteen Spatulas
These are delicious but not as fudgy/gooey as my usual blondies. This was more of a wonderful brown butter snacking cake with great caramel, brown butter flavor. Perhaps beating the eggs 2 minutes is a bit much for that gooey texture? Doesn't matter the flavor was wonderful and this texture might appeal to more people anyway.
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Website: food52
I really enjoyed this salad! It's hearty enough as a stand alone meal but could also be a side or topped off with tofu or chicken. Love the tang and spice of the dressing and it def doesn't hurt to make extra.
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Website: joy the baker
Hmmm.. This should have been everything I love in a cookie, soft/chewy with crispy edges, warm spices and easy to throw together, but they just missed the mark. Mine were very bland even with freshly purchased/grated spices. I think the oil might give a nice texture at first (slightly crisp layer) but eventually the cookies become too soft and fall apart easily.
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The Cake Bible
By Rose Levy Beranbaum
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1988
This is falls somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. Mine was slightly dry. Liked the flavor - could up the spices a bit. Good use of leftover egg whites.
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Website: Sally's Baking Addiction
These were as promised, soft and chewy, flavor is good and easy to throw together. My first batch spread a little too much perhaps because my dough got a little warm. I refrigerated the rest of the dough overnight and will update once baked. A note on baking time mine were still a little underdone at 12 minutes but didn't need more than a minute extra.
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Website: Sally's Baking Addiction
Mine were "Four Stars" but this recipe deserves 5! I made the mistake of not covering with foil halfway into the bake (as is recommended in the recipe) and they got too brown. Still delicious, just a little drier than they should have been. These are easy to make, have great fluffy, soft texture and taste delicious. I made the dough the night before, allowed to rise 2 hours and then refrigerated overnight. The next morning they sat out about 1 1/2 hours (in a very cold kitchen) and then I shaped as directed. While I like this shaping method for its ease and speed, I may roll them into a more traditional round roll next time. And don't skip the honey-butter topping!
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Website: The New York Times
These were tart and tasty. I made them in a smaller pan to have nice thick, defined layers which worked out nicely. I liked, not loved, them, but others thought they were great.
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Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe
By Joanne Chang, Christie Matheson
Chronicle Books - 2010
Wanted to try a different Apple Pie for Thanksgiving, and because I love the Super Pumpkin-y Pumpkin Pie from this book, I thought I'd give the apple a try. It was good but still prefer the Apple- Brown Sugar Pie from Macrina Bakery - it's piled high with apples, while this one is a bit shallow, has just the right amount of juice (maybe because of the butter?) and spice, while this one was a slightly dry (filling never bubbled up thru the lattice) and flavor was pretty average. This recipe has you par baked the bottom crust before filling and adding the lattice, which may ensure a crisp bottom crust but also is kind of a pain to seal (top to bottom) nicely. The biggest problem however was I ran short on crust and some of my lattice wasn't long enough to cover the pie (even tho it was not a deep pie). That said I love this recipe for crust (Pate Brisee 2 from the book).
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Website: All Recipes
I never expected this to be "best ever", mostly due to the lack of butter (which IMO gives better flavor to a pie crust). I was short on butter and chose this all shortening crust recipe. It was very soft even after time in the fridge, making it difficult to roll out. Flavor was ok. I used this for a pot pie.
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Website: King Arthur Flour
Followed the recipe exactly and was rewarded with a delicious loaf. Docked one star because the exterior/crust is a little soft (even after extra minutes in the oven).
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Website: All Recipes
I have made this with meat, without meat (using mushrooms/veggies), with sausage, without sausage, with spicy sausage instead of sweet, etc.. I have even left out the tomato sauce, just using crushed and paste tomatoes. It really is best as written, but also infinitely adaptable.
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Website: The Splendid Table
This is a great recipe but docked a star here because oiling the pan did not work well for me. I baked some on a greased cookie sheet and some on parchment lined sheet. The cookies on the greased sheet burned around the edges at 8 minutes! The cookies on the parchment were much better. I will update this recipe once I have chilled the dough a bit. The milk powder and extra salt really adds a nice flavor. I love these salty sweet, perfectly chewy cookies!
I did not use a whole bag of chocolate chips.
Note: There are other versions of this recipe that calls for parchment paper, 375 (vs 350 degrees), as well as one that asks you to sprinkle these with 1/4 cup flaky salt (seems like a lot to me). Wish I knew which was actually Tosi's recipe!
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Website: The New York Times
This is delicious - creamy, comforting and just rich enough without the egg yolks. I made this with Arborio rice and it came out great using the same times, amounts etc. I was operating in an unfamiliar/not well stocked kitchen and ending up only having a generous 1/4 cup sugar, no raisins and no egg . I like that it doesn't make a huge amount.
Will be making this again maybe adding a yolk, but otherwise it was sweet and decadent enough for me!
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Website: The New York Times
I followed the recommendations of others and used twice as many pears, otherwise followed the recipe. Mine was cooked in about 55 minutes. It is probably a little denser than the cake pictured (due to the extra pears/juice) but I don't mind at all! This is delicious!
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Website: Budget Bytes
This was easy and a nice twist on the delicious combination of lemon and blueberry. I used low fat cream cheese and my own pie crust recipe.
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Website: Sally's Baking Addiction
This was a tasty little loaf. It's a bit dense and mine could have used an extra pinch of salt (could have been my error?) but was certainly hearty and delicious. I let this rest overnight in the fridge and it looked collapsed when I took it out, but bounced back nicely in the oven. I baked this in a preheated Dutch oven for about 35 minutes with the lid and 14 minutes without.
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Website: The New York Times
I wanted to try this recipe to compare to my usual oil based recipe (Flour Bakery). This one is slightly less fussy, uses brown sugar and less sugar, and calls for double the sour cream (or creme fraiche). I thought this was delicious, moist and like many banana bread, got even better the next day. I did add walnuts and my 3/4 cup brown sugar did not come out to 165 grams but I am ok with less sugar anyway. As for the butter vs oil I'm not sure that there was a notable difference in flavor - both call for a good amount of banana so that is the overwhelming flavor and both are very moist!
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Website: Souvlaki For the Soul
This was a tasty bread pudding type of dessert. I did not expect this to puff up as much as it did - definitely did not look like the picture. I did notice this recipe called for more baking powder than others I looked at. I chose this recipe because it seemed to have less sugar and oil than others (and with all the syrup I was not afraid of it not being sweet enough). I added a cinnamon stick to my syrup and did not add it all to the cake.
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Website: The New York Times
This is a wonderful little cake! It is moist and coconutty with the perfect crumb. I forgot to top with toasted coconut but after reading reviews this may be a good thing as some report it burned (topping with untoasted may be better). I chose this recipe because I had a little over 1 cup coconut milk to use up and I did end up using a few extra tablespoons coconut milk, but cake was still done within 65 minutes. This one is a keeper!
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Dessert Person
By Claire Saffitz
- 2000
This is a very simple, very good tart dough. I love her technique of rolling the dough into strips and pressing into the pan. And truthfully that is probably the only way to work with this very soft dough, so soft I thought I had made a mistake! In the end it was crisp, browned beautifully, did not shrink too much and tasted very good.
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Website: All Recipes
This was simple to make and tasty. I think next time I will probably use a vanilla bean instead and perhaps a tiny pinch of salt. I used the entire amount for a 9 inch fruit tart piled high with berries.
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Website: Chocolate Covered Katie
These are good. I topped with flaky salt to give it a little oomph, otherwise a pretty basic cookie with good texture.
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Website: Running on Real Food
This was delicious - loved by all, vegan and non-vegan alike. There were complaints in the reviews that this was too dense and took forever to bake thru so I made it in 3 small loaf pans and it was perfect - moist, lemony and not too sweet. I ran out of almond milk and used about 5-6 tablespoons coconut milk.
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Website: Half Baked Harvest
Easy and delicious! I happened to have everything on hand and was very happy with the results.
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Website: food52
This is a winner! Super quick and easy as long as your chicken breast aren't thick. I had to cut mine lengthwise to have them cook evenly. The sage is great! I added a couple whole smashed garlic cloves to the sauce.
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Website: The Food Network
I love lemon and I appreciate the flavor of this cake, the texture unfortunately was a little dense. I may try this again, using room temperature ingredients, separating the egg yolks from the whites and whipping the whites before folding into the batter to see if I can get a lighter cake.
Made again following the recipe and still had a bit of a strange texture - slightly chewy (which I don't mind) and dense. This does not have a fine crumb, but more of a larger, (almost grainy?) crumb, which tho it may be unexpected it isn't bad/doesn't bother me. I do like how the lemon sugar syrup hardens slightly. I skipped the confectioners sugar glaze this time. Really closer to 3 1/2 stars. I like it, I'll eat it, but I won't make it for company.
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Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006
I love lemon and I appreciate the flavor of this cake, the texture unfortunately was a little dense. I may try this again, using room temperature ingredients, separating the egg yolks from the whites and whipping the whites before folding into the batter to see if I can get a lighter cake.
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Website: Epicurious
This is easy and delicious. I did feel that sauce was a touch too sweet even though I skimped on the honey - next time I may skip it altogether. The roasted garlic and caramelized lemon add enough sweetness. Served over cauliflower mash alongside a salad.
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Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple
By Dorie Greenspan
Mariner Books - 2021
Hmmm... I halved the recipe and used a loaf pan, maybe that was the problem? I am rarely disappointed with Dorie's recipes but this one was a miss for me. Perhaps the the halving, perhaps I over-whipped the egg whites, perhaps there was too much egg white (the eggs seemed a little oversized) or maybe I just don't love spongey cake?? This shrunk up in the pan, lacked flavor (in spite of me using extra zest) and had a weird texture. Because I love DG and her recipes are so reliable I may try this again, then again I may just go straight to the Chunky Lemon Cornmeal cake (also from this book) which is terrific!
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The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book: The Best You Ever Ate
By Marilyn M. Moore
Grove Pr - 1990
I had lots of Meyers on my tree and was looking for something simple and sweet which is exactly what this recipe is. I did get more lemon flavor by zesting 4-5 lemons instead of just one. I also used a bit of juice in the batter. This was super tender, slightly tart, and very easy to make. I will certainly use this recipe again with the extra zest (otherwise I feel it would be too subtle for my taste).
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