Toffee

Our favorite thing about banoffee pie isn’t the bananas, toffee, or whipped cream. It’s that you can make it without turning on the oven.

These gooey, blondie-like English toffee squares are grandmother-approved.

For those who like their baked goods chunky and nutty, these cupcakes, inspired by the popular bar cookies, are nearly bursting with cashews, butterscotch chips, and toffee bits. If you can’t find toffee bits, chop a small chocolate-covered toffee bar, such as Skor or Heath, to use instead.

Brown butter is simply butter that has been cooked until it takes on a delicious, subtle nutty flavor and aroma—which explains its French name, beurre noisette, or “hazelnut butter.” Be sure to keep an eye on it as it cooks, to avoid burning.

These scrumptious bar cookies are dense with plenty of cashew chunks, toffee bits, and butterscotch chips.

GINA My man is the quarterback of the house—and I love him for it! He may call the plays, but when he does, I execute the sweetness all over the field. The dark-brown sugar gives these cookies the toasty football color, and the coconut, toffee-candy bits, and pecans will keep him from getting sacked. Who wrote that play, Coach? Maybe you should put me in!

My cousin Vera sent me this recipe from Ann (Mrs. Dan) K. Lucy, a regular at the Elderville Cemetery Association’s annual homecoming picnic held on the grounds of the modest East Texas church where my great-great-grandparents met. It did not look promising. How could a layer of common graham crackers with butter, sugar, nuts, and toffee tossed on top amount to much? Then I made them—and repented. (My sincerest apologies to Mrs. Lucy.) I have taken this confection to several potlucks and have yet to escape without someone (or two or even three fellow guests) begging me for the recipe. I have made them a day in advance and been unable to resist snacking on them—just a few at a time, mind you—so that by the time they arrived at their intended destination their numbers were severely diminished. These crisp little squares are divine, seriously addictive, and making them is almost as easy as dropping dollar bills into the church-offering basket.

Onions, garlic, winter squash, and silken tofu are all enveloped in the familiar flavor of potatoes, making this a wonderful vehicle for getting a lot of nourishing ingredients into younger (or fussier) soup eaters.

Chop your favorite nuts and dried fruit to fill this tart. If desired, use toasted coconut or chopped crystallized ginger instead of toffee bits for the garnish.

These confections combine melted chocolate, berries, and bits of toffee. Serve them with your after-dinner coffee or give them as a gift. (Keep refrigerated; let stand 30 minutes before serving.)

A topping of crunchy chopped chocolate-caramel toffee and a ring of candied pecans complement the sweet nuttiness of this pie's classic filling. It's a lot. But isn't that what you're looking for in pie? 

White bread is perfect for bread pudding—as long as it's hand-formed and (preferably) unsliced, like the old-fashioned white here.

"Each year we receive hundreds of reader requests for recipes from restaurants around the world. And this past year there was a clear favorite — cheesecake. One of the best we tested is from Zoom in Park City, Utah. Here's their delicious version. — The Editors At the restaurant, this is served with roasted pears. The cake needs time to set up in the refrigerator overnight, so begin making it at least one day ahead.

Cake and ice cream in one easy-to-prepare dessert — no baking required. You can make it up to two days before the celebration.

Instead of serving coffee, alter the usual dessert routine by offering a glass of Cognac or dry Sherry with these apples.