Why It Works Toasting the hazelnuts before enhances their nuttiness. A blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cardamom gives the cookies a warm spiced note. Over the years, I’ve eaten thousands and thousands of Christmas cookies. Lebkuchen were never among them. In fact, until I started hiring German au pairs to help with my

Why It Works Refined coconut oil is odorless and flavor-neutral, but rich, so the cookies won’t dry out as quickly as those made from butter alone. Coconut oil keeps the dough pale and minimizes browning, for pale cookies that are easy to decorate or dye. A pinch of baking soda raises the dough’s pH, giving

This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy. This crack chicken noodle soup is absolutely irresistible! It’s packed with shredded chicken, bacon, ranch seasonings, and noodles, all in a deliciously creamy broth. One bite, and you’ll be hooked! Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

Why It Works Using all-purpose rather than bread flour keeps the dough tender and light. Baking soda regulates the dough’s pH, helping it brown in the oven. Unflavored dental floss or butcher’s twine cuts through the dough without squishing it flat. Nothing kicks off a holiday celebration quite like waking up to the smell of

Why It Works Parcooking the sliced apples in a skillet before baking deepens their flavor and ensures the filling and the topping bake at the same rate. Baking the pie on the bottom oven rack guarantees the bottom crust turns crispy at the same rate that the crumble topping turns golden brown. A mixture of

Why It Works White whole wheat flour offers an earthy, nutty flavor while keeping the dough tender. Incorporating cornstarch softens the proteins in the flour to produce a shortbread with a pleasantly crumbly texture.  Evenly coating the flour particles with fat in the form of melted butter makes it harder for gluten chains to form

Why It Works Brown butter gives the cookies a toasted, nutty flavor. Ricotta helps the cookies spread out lacy and thin. Baking soda improves browning and spread. Two days after Christmas, while playing around with some leftover ricotta, I made a delicious mistake. The goal had been to make a batch of Italian ricotta cookies