Simple Cooking

A very thick glaze with a bold, caramel-like flavor, this is an interesting way to use brown rice syrup in desserts. The intense flavor goes perfectly with spice or any strongly flavored cupcake. The texture of this glaze is very sticky at first but it well set up after an hour, or pop finished cupcakes in the fridge to speed it up.

This is our all-purpose “go to” frosting. It’s great for piping into lush, swirling mountains of frostiness and just as good for spreading onto a cupcake like rolling hills of heaven. It make a lot, probably 4 cups’ worth, so you can halve the recipe if you are going to be spreading the frosting rather than piping it.

Use one flavor (like pistachio) for this ice cream cookie sandwiches recipe, or mix it up: Each pint will yield enough ice cream for three sandwiches.

Making these sweet-tart wonders might be easier than remembering to buy ice cream.

Steeping saffron in hot water releases its color and aroma. If you want a pretty finisher without the expense of saffron, use extra sesame seeds.

To avoid the dreaded soggy pastry bottom, blind baking is a great technique to master. Baking the pastry case before any filling has been added allows it to crisp up, stopping any wet fillings seeping through.

Grilling the oranges gives this super-refreshing cocktail a touch of smoky flavor, which is balanced by bright lime juice and aged tequila.

These cookies are meant to be eaten frozen, so you might be surprised by the amount of salt. Don't be! Chilling dulls flavors and the extra salt gives them the boost they need.

Grilling the onions and half of the tomatoes adds smoky depth and sweetness to this riff on pico de gallo.

Store-bought tomatillo salsa provides a shortcut to spicy and flavorful guacamole.

Make this street-food favorite at home with flavor-packed chipotle mayonnaise and crumbly Cotija cheese.

Serve this versatile grilled steak over rice or set it out with tortillas and all the toppings for an easy Sunday-night taco bar.

Consider this larb-esque sauté your all-purpose weeknight protein: stuff it into lettuce wraps and burritos or scatter it over grain bowls and pizzas.

Don’t be afraid to let the food processor run the full 2 minutes. It’s one of the keys to super-smooth, aerated hummus.

For this avocado cups recipe, chopping pomegranate seeds breaks them up and releases their vivid color into the dressing.

Rose water is the little something that makes this cocktail recipe special.

Nduja is traditionally made with pork, but because salmon is a fatty fish, it works well too.

Walnuts can get bitter if toasted too long, so remove them from the oven as soon as they turn golden brown.

For this lamb burgers recipe, you'll want to splurge on good sturdy bakery buns that can absorb the extra liquid from the slaw and burger without disintegrating.