Claire Saffitz
Contributor
Claire Saffitz is a freelance recipe developer and video host. Previously, she was Senior Food Editor at Bon Appétit magazine, where she worked for five years in the test kitchen. She hosted the series Gourmet Makes on the Bon Appétit YouTube channel, where she used her classical pastry knowledge to reverse engineer popular snack foods and candy.
Chocolate Éclairs
The éclairs will begin to get soggy as soon as they are filled, so be sure to wait until just before you're ready to make the chocolate fondant to add the pastry cream.
Cream Puffs with Vanilla Pastry Cream
For this cream puffs recipe, if you don’t have any pastry bags handy, cut off the tops with a serrated knife and carefully spoon in the pastry cream.
Chouquettes with Chantilly Cream
When properly baked, the puffs should have a firm but not crusty exterior, and a moist but airy center.
Slow-Cooker Beer-Braised Brisket
Broiling the brisket gives it a nice crisp top layer, but you can skip this step and it will still be delicious. Braising the meat with beer in the slow cooker, however? Absolutely necessary.
Cauliflower-Cashew Soup With Crispy Buckwheat
Simmering vegetables in a covered pot over low heat so that they steam in their own liquid—a French technique called à l'étouffée—is the ticket to achieving a soup with pronounced depth. We love this method with cauliflower, but also try it with celeriac or rutabagas.
Double-Dark Chicken Noodle Soup
Our best-ever chicken stock begins with wings, which have a high skin-to-meat ratio. Browning the wings results in lots of caramelized nooks and crannies that imbue the stock with a deep, savory flavor.
Kale Minestrone
Skip expensive store-bought stock: you can extract cleaner, stronger broth from water and a few pantry items you probably already have on hand (think bacon, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns, a Parm rind, and, of course, kosher salt).
Lemon Bars
Baked lemon bars will be stable and set at room temperature. Unbaked bars should be refrigerated until ready to serve, otherwise the lemon curd will soften. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Lemon Marshmallow Pie
The addition of gelatin is what makes the meringue-like topping stay billowy but firm, without weeping, even at room temperature.
Beer-Braised Brisket
Serve brisket with sauces, slaw, pickles, and rolls so guests can assemble into sandwiches.
Blistered Edamame
Pass the Pods C'mon, who doesn't love edamame? Consider this the adults-only version: sautéed, spicy, and highly snackable.
Gooey Brown Butter Blondies with Pecans
The ribbon of brown butter plays a raw cookie dough role in the center of these pecan blondies.
Hogs in a Pretzel Blanket
Put a tray of these in the oven when the first guests show up.
Buffalo Wing Popcorn
Why this spicy caramel popcorn didn't already exist, we have no idea.
Herb and Spinach Salsa Verde
Blanching the garlic neutralizes some of its bite, and the spinach lends an earthy base note. This goes great with our beer-braised brisket.
Cold-Brined Vegetables with Jalapeño
Cold-brine is just another way of saying pickled. Packing the vegetables separately prevents the colors from bleeding.