Notes about Recipes in this book

• Southern-style peach and raspberry cobbler with pecan-crunch topping

  • jenmacgregor18 on August 07, 2021

    i used frozen fruit, as fresh peaches were less than ideal.... about 4# of peaches, blackberries & raspberries, thawed. used a 9x13 instead of an 8 x 8 pan. the biscuit dough came together quickly & was easy to work with. I forgot all about the pecan topping until it was already in the oven. The fruit was luscious and the biscuits light & tender. Nice proportion of fruit & biscuit. I'll just have to remember the pecan topping next time.

• Pear or apple brown betty with cake crumbs

  • Pamsy on January 06, 2026

    Having a freezer clear out, I found cake crumbs from a ginger cake made a few months ago. An EYB search led me to this recipe. For something so simple it's much more than the sum of its parts. Will definitely be repeated.

  • Pamsy on January 18, 2026

    Made again when Robert came for Sunday lunch, definitely needs about 50 mins in the oven and uncover for the last 15. Used Calvados. This was under baked at 35 mins, apples still kept their shape rather than being mushy! !

• Cranberry crumble with fall fruits

  • jenmacgregor18 on January 30, 2017

    I adapted this for what I had on hand: 12 oz of cranberries, the orange & since I didn't have pears, the bulk of the crisp was apple (Granny Smith & pink lady). It turned out really well. It was a nice balance of cran/apple with a little orange flavor. It looked lovely too. Served with vanilla ice cream. I'd certainly make this again.

• Apple mush

  • lisari on March 09, 2025

    This is like a cobbler but with cookie dough instead of biscuit or pie dough. Very sweet. Better cold imo.

• Light cannoli cream for fresh fruit

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 24, 2017

    dead easy and delicious.

• Lemon pudding cake

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 03, 2017

    This isn't really a cake. More of a soufflé with a thin sauce. The lemon flavor was good; but a little sharp for me. I think I had more issues with the texture than the flavor.

• Italian ricotta pudding (Budino di ricotta)

  • thekitchenchronicles on March 19, 2016

    This recipe is fantastic. Super easy and for me really nostalgic having grown up with Italian relatives. The pudding tastes a lot like cannoli filling with the candied fruit and cinnamon. It's really a cross between a pudding and a cheesecake - it holds its form but doesn't have a crust. Would highly recommend as a topper to an Italian meal. Featured it on my blog here: http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2015/10/29/italian-ricotta-pudding-budino-di-ricotta/

• Caramelized panettone bread pudding

  • jenmacgregor18 on December 26, 2022

    I couldn't get the sugar to caramelize properly. So, I skipped the caramel and added extra sugar to the bread pudding. I served it with orange marmalade. It was good, but I liked the panettone on its own better. I preferred the panettone bread pudding with ricotta and mandarines from Clifford Wrights Ultimate Casserole book

• Custardy prune pudding (Far Breton)

  • kshell on November 30, 2023

    This is very easy and satisfying. I usually use a rectangular or square pyrex, check if done early, at 45 min. I've steeped the prunes in just hot water, in Earl Grey tea, and in rum and my far and away favorite is rum. The best I ever made had the last dregs of a jar of vanilla bean paste mixed in.

• Sour cherry clafouti

  • lisari on June 22, 2025

    Just ok. Lacks richness, I think.

• John Thorne's lemon icebox crumbles

  • jenmacgregor18 on August 07, 2021

    I had extra yolks to use up & saw this. very quick to put together. one bowl to clean. excellent lemon flavor & light, crispy texture. winner all around.

• Gingerbread hermits

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 23, 2017

    Added 1/4c of chopped crystallized ginger instead of 2 T. These are very good, soft, and mild spice cookies. Not too much molasses. They lean little toward; but are not full-blown gingerbread. The instructions are good, including the cautions not to over-mix and be careful not to over-bake. They should be pulled while still soft. I just made sure a toothpick came out clean. With my third baking sheet, I left it in a little long and was a bit overdone. There was a big difference between that batch and the other 2. I'd repeat this one.

• Brown sugar shortbread wafers

  • Rachaelsb on December 21, 2013

    These area really delicious...I love this cookbook. It never fails me. Dough is sticky so like suggested, best to roll out in batches while remainder stays in fridge.

• Tennessee moonshine cookies

  • jenmacgregor18 on December 09, 2019

    I subbed dark raisins for golden and used dried pineapple, not candied. It called for 1 t cloves. I thought that may be too medicinal/bitter, so I reduced cloves to 1/4 tsp and added 1/2 tsp of allspice. The dried fruit must soak in whisky for awhile. I left it overnight. Otherwise, easy to put together. I ended up with 6 dozen. The candied cherries turned the batter a cherry pink. I might make these with dried & sweetened tart cherries next time. But they did turn out well. These are a lot of boozy fruit & nuts held together by a bit of batter. I may also do a bit of a whisky glaze/drizzle for the top.

• The originial Toll House cookie

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 09, 2020

    Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Rest batter in fridge 36 hours. On baking day, set dough out to warm up a bit. Scoop on to parchment paper covered trays. Freeze each tray 5 minutes before baking - they don't spread as much & texture is better.

• Chef Andrea's breakfast polenta cake

  • stacymarkow on August 05, 2020

    Subbed almond flour for the almonds and vanilla paste for the beans. Mine took 30 minutes to bake. Delicious tender crumb for a gf cake.

• John's brown sugar raspberry loaf

  • Melanie on April 03, 2015

    This is the original recipe that Diana Henry refers to in Food From Plenty (in her book, blackberries are substituted for raspberries). The cake had a simple and nice flavour however we thought it was too dense / not moist enough. It is possible that I over baked it slightly however the batter was quite thick.

• Grandma's banana cake

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 03, 2017

    Heed instructions not to over mix or over bake. I was having issues with my ancient mixer and overdid the mixing a bit. Otherwise this turned out well. Good flavor even with just 2 bananas; and moist. I used cream cheese frosting instead of chocolate.

• Ligita's quick apple cake

  • Melanie on April 03, 2015

    Great weeknight dessert - quick and easy to put together and tastes delicious when served warm as a pudding out of the oven. The apples are sliced and mixed with cinnamon and sugar at the base of the pan and topped with a browned butter batter.

  • jenmacgregor18 on October 02, 2021

    This was easy to put together. I liked the crunchy cake on top of apple filling. My apples were mediocre. I don't know if they were in storage for a while or what. I'm going to have to try it again with some good apples.

  • h0lly on April 09, 2025

    I’ve been making this on repeat since the book came out. Do not miss this sleeper of a recipe. It’s easy and absolutely delicious.

• Quintessential coffee cake (brown sugar buttermilk crumb cake)

  • TiaGoats on June 10, 2020

    Super-delicious simple, old-fashioned coffee cake. Very good with peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples mixed into the batter.

• Indiana orchard apple crumb pie

  • Rachaelsb on September 22, 2013

    Pie crust is deceptively simple and tastes delicious. Even with 9" pan can still take 10 apples.

• Down-East cranberry apple pie

  • stacymarkow on December 29, 2019

    Cranberry relish is delicious. Apple mixture was too sweet. Would cut back sugar next time.

• Buttermilk silk pie

  • Tatiana131 on May 18, 2019

    I’m amazed that a cup of buttermilk and a few eggs make a pie but they do. It’s creamy and silky and comforting and not really close to cheesecake at all, more like a pudding. We added strawberries the second time and it was great. The pie will come out quite wet in the middle still and we cool it in the fridge to set it. We make it with bought pie crust a lot and it’s super easy.

• Best-ever pumpkin pie

  • JKDLady on November 30, 2015

    Substituted 3 T maple syrup for 3 T white sugar, as suggested in the recipe. This was excellent. I couldn't believe people had seconds of it on Thanksgiving.

  • MissKoo on December 01, 2024

    Made this to bring to Thanksgiving gathering of friends. Flavor was exceptional. Rave reviews. Used my go-to Bon Appetit crust recipe. Even though well chilled the crust did shrink considerably when blind baked. I did a second crust in a pyrex rather than metal pan and the results were even more disastrous. My recipe is very similar to the one Richard Sax suggests using so not sure what the issue was. Because of the crust issue there was about 1/2 cup+ of filling left over. Nonetheless, the pie itself was excellent, the best pumpkin pie I've had. Spice combo was perfect and the rum added nice back note of flavor.

• Hoover toffee ice cream pie

  • Rachaelsb on May 04, 2020

    Very good. Careful making the toffee. Recipe recommends 8 minutes for caramel...way too long. More like 6.5 to 7. Flavor combination is great treat.

• John Thorne's best-ever pecan pie

  • jenmacgregor18 on November 25, 2016

    Tried this one out for thanksgiving. It uses Lyle's Golden Syrup (cane syrup) instead of corn syrup- 2/3rds of a cup instead of 3/4ths of a cup. 2 T of spiced rum. I didn't get a piece; but it disappeared quickly. My sister usually finds pecan pie too sweet; but loved this one. She asked me to keep this recipe and to make her another pie--now! It rivals the Bourbon & butter pecan pie from Bill & Cheryl Jamison's American Home Cooking, which uses Steen's cane syrup & bourbon/whisky).

  • dcegelston on November 27, 2020

    This is delicious, and the ingredients fit perfectly into a 9-inch tart pan. Will definitely make this again.

  • MissKoo on December 01, 2024

    It really is the best-ever pecan pie, and very easy to put together. I've made it a number of times for Thanksgiving gatherings, with family and with friends. The Lyle's Golden Syrup makes all the difference. Most pecan pies are far too sweet. This one is perfect. Love how rum enhances the flavor. I have a note in my cookbook that 1 teaspoon of vinegar cuts the sweetness too. I didn't do that this year but have in the past. Definitely a keeper recipe.

  • h0lly on April 09, 2025

    This is it. The one and only pecan pie for me.

• Green tomato and apple mincemeat pie

  • kshell on August 11, 2023

    I liked this pie. I would not go out of my way to get green tomatoes to make this. But I garden, and they happen. This ranks way higher on my list than frying or pickling them. I had a tomato cage mishap leading to a glut of immature, green tomatoes. I was short on time and used a store-bought crust. I look forward to making this again with a proper crust after our first frost.

• Greek custard-filled phyllo pastry (Galaktaboureko)

  • lisari on July 31, 2025

    Delicious. No changes. Recipe is straightforward & easy to follow.

• Schrafft's hot fudge sauce

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 07, 2017

    This has a very good chocolate flavor; definitely better than store bought. I halved the recipe. I used 1.25 oz of dark choc & .25 of milk choc, since I didn't have any semisweet on hand. The recipe says to simmer over medium until you hit 220 degrees about 8 minutes. I don't know if my candy thermometer was off (it's older & I inherited same); but it took a slightly higher heat & 7 minutes longer to hit 220. When it cooled it was just a tad too thick. So, next time, I'll just simmer for the 8 minutes & say 200 degrees is good enough.

• Spiced sour cherry compote for ice cream

  • jenmacgregor18 on January 29, 2015

    I didn't taste too much of the spice. I may double next time. But very good with vanilla ice cream & sliced almonds.

• Dorie Greenspan by Dorie Greenspan

  Only Richard could have written this remarkable book. He’d been collecting and perfecting the recipes for this book for years; it was the work he was meant to do.

  Full review