American

These raspberry cheesecake brownies are tart, chocolatey, and cheesecake-filled, so stop reading and make them!

This banana bread is great with or without the crumb topping. I like to bake it in a cake pan instead of a loaf pan so it seems extra fancy.

Developed for baking in the mountains, this flavorful pound cake is a winner, especially when topped with creamy homemade chocolate icing.

Butter mochi is a mainstay at any island party: a perfectly chewy, slightly sticky, and just-dense-enough coconut-custard glutinous rice cake.

For this easy summer dessert, you’ll use rimmed baking sheets to make a giant cookie filled with store-bought ice cream. Swap out the peanut butter for any creamy nut butter you like.

The subtle aromatic flavor of azafrán (also known as safflower tea) is wonderful in this nutritious soup with fresh sweet vegetables.

Flavored with citrus, maple syrup, and cilantro, this slaw makes an excellent topper for tacos or huaraches.

My parents lived in Florida for decades and they vacationed there for decades before that. I don’t think there was ever a time when we kids were young that they didn’t come back with boxes of chocolate-coated coconut patties. I’m sure the coconut filling was supposed to be soft and chewy, as in a Mounds bar, but it was always a little dry (sorry to tell you now, Mom). Yet the candies still hold a sweet spot in my memory, and I thought of them when I started to make a Key lime pie.

This makes a simple and hearty one-pot meal. The meat becomes fork tender and the stock simmers down to a rich sauce. Leftovers are terrific served over corn cakes.

Without the savory crunch of fried garlic, my kitchen wouldn’t be the same. I use it on rice, noodles, soups, salads, vegetables, and anything else that benefits from a sprinkle of these magical golden flavor nuggets. For the Fried Garlic Noodles, I showed you how to make a quick version of fried garlic in the microwave. If you want to take your fried garlic game to the next level, though, you can fry it in large batches like we do at Tin Roof, since it will keep for several weeks. Though more labor-intensive, this cooking method produces a crispier, evenly browned fried garlic that packs a ridiculous amount of roasted garlickiness.

With a simple sweet onion dressing, roasted peanuts, and crunchy potato chips, this salad is an easy favorite. As the salad sits, it becomes even more flavorful.

There is a way to have your macaroni fix in the freezer: a custard-style baked mac ’n’ cheese. Instead of a cream-based sauce, this one uses eggs and béchamel to help bind a very cheesy filling with the noodles. The pimentos help to cut the richness with a little bit of acidity.

Doubling down on proteins in recipes shows sophistication and speaks to a hallmark of Soul cuisine—utilizing the entire animal. Chicken hearts are an underutilized part of the chicken. They provide an earthiness to dishes that allows fattier, delectable morsels of food to stand tall. You can find this same quality in mushrooms, but I think hearts are a fun way to explore new techniques.

Want deviled eggs, but don't want to *make* deviled eggs? This rich and flavorful spread uses the same base ingredients—boiled egg yolks, mayo, and Dijon mustard—for a smooth spread that's perfect for slathering onto toast.

Smoked oysters are succulent and salty with a creamy texture that pairs beautifully with bright, acidic flavors. The egg spread provides another layer of richness. These may seem like disparate components of a menu, but each one brings something to the meal in terms of flavor, texture, aroma, and appearance to create a memorable experience.

Is there a better combo than a peach, a porch, and some port-finish bourbon? In this whiskey sour riff, an easy vanilla-honey syrup compliments the flavor of the whiskey and peach nectar.

An easy press-in Nilla wafer crust cradles a silky layer of fresh banana cheesecake, which gets topped with a light and fluffy sour cream whip.

Every Soul and Southern kitchen has a good all-purpose seasoned flour to use for frying. This will keep for months in a cool, dry place or even longer in the freezer.