Milk & Cream
3644 recipes found
Buttermilk Pie
Buttermilk pie is one of those desserts that can be made with pantry staples whenever the fancy strikes: a make-do pie, if you will. It belongs to a category of pies, also called desperation pies, that home cooks turned to when ingredients were scarce. Start with a store-bought crust or your favorite pastry and then fill it with a deliciously simple custard flavored with the appealing tang of buttermilk and lemon and the creamy richness of butter. Blind baking, or baking an empty crust with pie weights, is an important step for many custard pies. The baked custard slightly softens the underlying crust, but blind-baking sets the crust and gives it a head start towards crispness. Be sure to fill the empty, chilled crust with enough pie weights, beans, or rice to come all the way up to the top so that the edges don’t slump down while it bakes.
Éclair Cake
Lush and creamy, éclair cake is a dessert popular in the Midwest and beyond that’s perfect for any gathering, celebration or potluck. Inspired by the flavors of the classic French éclair pastry, this no-bake American iteration is reminiscent of an icebox cake. Typically, graham crackers are softened under layers of a pillowy smooth mix of vanilla pudding and whipped topping, and covered with rich chocolate. This version uses homemade crème légère (a fluffy mix of pastry cream and whipped cream) and a simple homemade semi-sweet chocolate ganache. The crème légère might sound fussy, but the preparation here is streamlined (no tempering of eggs required) and makes for a just-sweet-enough creamy filling. (Of course, in a pinch, you can swap in store-bought pudding and whipped topping.) Éclair cake needs chilling time, which makes it a great make-ahead dessert, and is best served after 24 hours in the fridge.
Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings are a mainstay of the American South—though similar dishes exist worldwide—where there are generally two versions: stewed chicken with unleavened, chewy, noodle-like dumplings that are rolled out before being dropped into the broth; and fluffy leavened dumplings that are much like drop biscuits, which get dolloped on top of the stew, where they puff up as they poach. The dish works beautifully translated to the slow cooker because the chicken and vegetables can braise slowly, intensifying the flavor of the chicken broth. This variation uses leavened drop-dumplings with a touch of cornmeal for sweet-earthy flavor and buttermilk for tenderness and tanginess. This dish is traditionally made with a whole chicken cut up into parts, but this streamlined adaptation uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Best Apple Pie Recipe
Our best apple pie recipe perfect for Thanksgiving.
Chewy Brown Butter Cookies
Chewy, yes, but these big cookies still have that essential crisp ring around the edge and also include crunchy bits of pecans throughout. Cooked in browned butter, the nuts take on a toasty depth and taste even richer if you start with Elliot pecans, a sweeter, fattier variety grown primarily in Georgia. It’s worth seeking out very dark maple syrup too, which is labeled as such. Intense and complex, it’s ideal for baking because it’s strong enough in taste to act as a seasoning. Even with standard pecans and other shades of syrup, these thoughtfully salted cookies come out caramelly.
Junkberry Pie
Underneath a firm, thick layer of sweet and tart cream lies a deep sea of berries, a combination known as “Junkberry” at Royers Round Top Cafe in Round Top, Texas. Husband and wife owners JB and Jamie Royer added the fruit pie to the menu in 2011 after Mr. Royer’s father’s 60th birthday, when the cafe’s baker at the time brought a pie with a similar topping to the party. That dessert inspired the junkberry version — a mix of berries, peaches and apple — which became one of the top sellers at the small town restaurant, located about 90 minutes east of Austin. Utilizing frozen berries and peaches makes this pie accessible year-round, but fresh fruit can be used in their places. Follow the cafe’s lead and serve it with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Kalakand
This no-bake dessert, or mithai, is commonly found in sweet shops across South Asia. Kalakand is typically made by cooking milk and sugar until the milk almost solidifies — a process that takes many hours. This version uses a shortcut: condensed milk and grated paneer. The use of these two ingredients cuts cooking time down to about 10 minutes. Top with any mix of nuts to balance the sweetness and add texture. The result is a milky, decadent, soft and chewy dessert that is fantastically and complexly sweet. Kalakand does need a minimum of 2 hours in the fridge to set, which requires some planning ahead. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week in the rare case of leftovers. If soft, crumbly paneer is not available, opt for ricotta.
Peanut Butter-Banana Bread With Chocolate Chips
Peanut butter and bananas make a delightful sandwich. Why not put them together in a loaf? The peanut butter gives the banana bread a pleasant savory edge. Be sure to use sweetened, conventional peanut butter, but the texture — chunky or smooth — is up to you. The chocolate chunks already give this bread a dessert vibe, but if you’d like to go all out, finish the cooled loaf with this salted caramel glaze (stirring in a tablespoon of peanut butter along with the sugar).
Ice Cream Peda
Peda, a fudgy, milky South Asian sweet, is a staple of mithai shop cases. In this recipe, the founder of Malai Ice Cream, Pooja Bavishi, smartly uses melted ice cream as a base, incorporating milk powder, cardamom and salt for a snackable treat that’s toasty and nutty in flavor and aromatic with spices. The melted ice cream gives the peda its rich texture and subtle, sweet undertow and makes the dough easy to handle and shape. If the dough starts to dry out as you are shaping the balls, just knead it again until smooth.
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Custard Creams
These sandwich-style cookies feature a silky, pale yellow custard powder–flavored buttercream between two crumbly rectangular biscuits.
Creamy Tortellini Soup
Store-bought, cheese-filled tortellini are immersed in an extra creamy tomato broth alongside Italian sausage and Tuscan (lacinato) kale, creating a hearty and comforting soup that comes together in 30 minutes. Paprika and dried fennel seeds give the soup an unexpected flavor profile that enhances the sweet creamy tomato broth. Kale is added in the last few minutes of cooking, ensuring it keeps enough of its bite. Lemon juice finishes off the soup, bringing a hint of brightness at the very end. Endless subs and additions are welcome for this recipe, with kale easily replaced with spinach, Swiss chard or cabbage. The sausage can be left out for a vegetarian option and the heavy cream can be subbed with whole milk or non-dairy cream for a lighter broth. And of course, the tortellini can be replaced with ravioli, which are basically the same thing, but shaped differently.
Prasad
Popular during Diwali, prasad or parsad embodies the evolution of religious food in Indo-Caribbean communities. Sweetened clumps of farina with the texture of very moist pound cake are garnished with a combination of coconut, raisins, fruits and nuts. Served in small paper bags that turn translucent with ghee, prasad is punctuated with the crunch of almonds, cashews and roasted chickpeas. The addition of mixed essence, a flavoring in Caribbean desserts that is available at Caribbean markets or online, and evaporated milk makes this an Indo-Caribbean version of the confection.
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Bites
Easy to bake and totally gluten-free, these pumpkin cheesecake bites are inspired by Japanese soufflé pancakes, which fold in whipped egg whites to create a fluffy, cloud-like texture. For best results, there are a few things to note when making these cheesecake bites: The ingredients you use should be room temperature, especially the cream cheese. (This helps them blend together smoothly and keeps you from having a lumpy cheesecake.) This recipe also asks for a water bath, which will help the cheesecakes bake evenly. The results will be well worth the effort.
Pumpkin-Peanut Rice Balls With Maafé
These pumpkin-orange rice balls, studded with crunchy peanuts, come from “Simply West African” (Clarkson Potter, 2023) by the chef Pierre Thiam and the writer Lisa Katayama. Canned pumpkin works just fine here, but there’s nothing like the jack-o’-lantern aroma of fresh steamed squash (see Tip). The action of mashing and stirring a fresh pot of rice until the loose grains hold one shape feels almost as if you’re kneading bread, though, Mr. Thiam says, a more accurate parallel would be the act of making fufu, the pounded meal that’s central to West African cuisine. Make the rice balls whatever size you like; they make excellent finger food, especially dipped in maafé, the velvety, rich Senegalese peanut stew (often called groundnut stew) that tastes like savoriness incarnate.
Crab and Artichoke Dip
Briny crab and artichokes, paired with creamy cheeses, sour cream and mayonnaise, set the groundwork for this American coastal favorite with regional variations. On the East Coast, this dip is sometimes referred to as Maryland crab dip, as it uses blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay and Old Bay seasoning; in the Pacific Northwest, Dungeness crab and artichokes are essential to the mix. This version pulls inspiration from both, and you can use whatever variety is available to you at your local market. You don't need to use lump crab. Instead, look for less expensive options, which have small pieces of crab that distribute more evenly in the creamy base. The cheese pull — that long, gooey string that extends as a result of cheese being pulled apart — is the telltale sign that a dip has reached peak richness. Here, fontina achieves maximum cheesiness and doesn’t overpower the other flavors. Serve with crostini, pita or a sleeve of saltines.
Butter Paneer
Paneer cubes are cooked in three types of fat here: ghee, butter and cashew butter for a luxurious vegetarian main. Traditionally, roasted and crushed cashews are puréed with cooked onions and tomatoes, but this version skips the hassle and achieves the same creamy, nutty richness. Red chile and fresh Thai green chiles layer in a touch of heat. Substitute firm tofu for paneer to make the dish vegan, and spoon the leftovers over noodles for another meal.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Deeply rich and slightly fudgy thanks to both cocoa powder and peanut butter, these bars live somewhere in between cookies and brownies. If crispy bits are your thing, opt for the edges — especially the corner squares — to get a little of that in every bite. This recipe is relatively speedy since there’s no chilling or rolling involved; after the ingredients are combined, the dough is simply pressed into a pan and baked. The cooling takes the longest, and it’s a necessary step to ensure the bars can be sliced without crumbling and to maximize the fudginess. Orange and yellow peanut butter candies like Reese’s Pieces offer a fun pop of color, especially for October celebrations, but can be swapped with chocolate candies for a less peanutty treat. For something extra-special, serve them à la mode.
Pasta With Spinach, Feta and Yogurt
In this speedy, verdant dish, pasta is coated with a tangy feta-yogurt sauce that’s garlicky, creamy and bracing from a dash of red-pepper flakes and some grated lemon zest. Frozen spinach adds just enough in the way of vegetables to make this qualify as a one-pot meal, and it truly needs nothing more to make for a satisfying and very easy dinner.
Jalapeño-Corn Dip
This much-loved and often devoured rich and spicy molten dip can be found at parties and potlucks across the Midwest and South. The heat from the jalapeños is present but tamed by sweet corn kernels, cream cheese, sour cream and melty Monterey Jack. While two jalapeños might seem like a lot, keep in mind that they’re seeded (feel free to leave the seeds in one or both if your palate favors spice — after all, the chiles are part of the dip’s draw). Frozen corn makes this a year-round dish, but of course, fresh kernels work just as well if the vegetable happens to be in season. Bacon can be omitted for a vegetarian version; in this case, skip to step 2, adding an extra tablespoon of oil and stirring in a teaspoon of smoked paprika for a hint of smoke.
Butternut, Tamarind and Coconut Stew
As the seasons shift, each brings its own type of comfort food, and this hearty dish adapted from “Ottolenghi Comfort” (Ten Speed Press, 2024) is a perfect fit for autumn. The butternut squash lends a gentle sweetness, which is beautifully contrasted by the sharpness of tamarind and the creamy richness of coconut, creating a warm and comforting stew. The recipe calls for Thai or Vietnamese tamarind concentrate for its tangy-sweet flavor. While tamarind purée or paste can be used as substitutes (see Tip), you’ll want to avoid any tamarind concentrates that use both the pulp and seeds, which produce a much darker, more sour, molasses-like product. If you don’t have a sauté pan handy, a pot or casserole dish works just as well for this recipe. Serve with naan, flatbread or a side of simple steamed basmati rice for a truly satisfying meal. Like most stews, the flavors deepen with time, making it ideal for leftovers.
Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes
Any dish with an “assemble-your-own” component is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, and these loaded baked sweet potatoes are no exception. The usual suspects — sour cream, scallions and shredded cheese — are here, along with crispy, spice-roasted chickpeas, which add a satisfying crunch and enough protein to boost this recipe into the dinner category. The sweet potatoes and chickpeas roast on one pan, making this dish a breeze for weeknights. On that note, lining half the pan might seem fussy, but it’s worth the extra step — the chickpeas need contact with the hot pan to get nice and crisp, and the foil or parchment under the potatoes makes for easy cleanup.
Cardamom Coffee Banana Bread
Adding cardamom to coffee is a well-loved practice throughout the Middle East and one that plays off each ingredient's traits. Sweet, floral cardamom mellows the acidity of coffee while coffee’s inherent bitterness keeps the peppery, menthol-like notes of the spice from overpowering. Here, the couple transforms a humble banana bread, perfuming it with extra warmth, while chopped dark chocolate adds richness. An optional coffee drizzle ensures this loaf is eye-catching but if you’d rather keep things simpler, sprinkle it with coarse turbinado sugar before baking to lend a touch of sparkle as well as pleasant crunch.
Charred Cabbage With Miso Browned Butter
There’s no excuse for not having cabbage in the fridge at all times. It’s affordable, it keeps forever, and keeping it stocked means you can have a perfect dinner side in just 30 minutes. You’ll want to sear the cabbage hard on the stovetop until its outer leaves have frizzled and developed a crispy texture and smoky flavor, while the leaves inside steam and tenderize. (Yes, you could also do this on the grill!) When the cabbage is out of the pan (or if you want to multitask with a second pan), the brown butter miso sauce comes together in minutes. Slather it over the cabbage so that it can sneak into every layer.
Sour Cream Pancakes With Cardamom Apples
Sweetened and sauced by buttery, sautéed cardamom apples and a two-ingredient maple-sour cream blend, these pancakes are a delicious way to ring in autumn. The pancakes are even special on their own, moist and light thanks to the addition of sour cream. Mixing the flour and the sour cream together before gently folding in the eggs makes for a fluffier pancake. The floral sweetness of the caramelized cardamom apples is a perfect contrast to the tang of the maple sour cream. This recipe can be easily doubled to feed a crowd or scaled down to feed just two.