Annie Barron, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Annie Barron has tested.

A muffin tin half filled with baked carrot muffins.

Carrot Muffins

These little lovelies contain sugar and spice and everything nice–including an oh-so-buttery oat streusel and a batter so enticing you’d never, ever guess it’s good for you.

Pain d'Épices Cookies stacked in a pile of five glazed and garnished with candied orange peel.

Pain d’Épice Cookies

There’s a bit of France in these cookies, which evoke all the familiar flavors of the traditional pain d’epice bread in a far more festive form.

A salted caramel tart on a white cake stand on a table

Salted Caramel Tart

A ridiculously creamy–and relatively simple–homemade caramel filling graces this properly flaky pastry. Salted butter–lots of it–lends this dessert just the right amount of indulgence.

A square metal dish filled with brownie ice cream and a metal ice cream scoop removing a scoop from the dish.

Brownie Ice Cream

The soul-satisfying collision of brownies and ice cream has been around since we were kids. In case you’ve ever wanted to recreate it at home, here’s the best way we know.

Three glass bowls filled with scoops of strawberry cheesecake ice cream.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

This nifty little number has all the uber richness of cheesecake and all the luxe creaminess of ice cream but with barely any effort. No ice cream maker required.

A partially sliced loaf of challah on a wooden cutting board.

Challah

As buttery and airy as brioche but with a far weightier responsibility than its breakfast chum, challah ensures a sweet new year in Jewish tradition. We’ll break bread to that.

Squares of care-package brownies on parchment paper.

Care Package Brownies

Designed to maintain their just-out-of-the-oven loveliness for days, these are ideal for sharing something sweet with the ones you care, whether via the USPS or porch delivery. Or save ’em all for yourself.

Two slices of no-knead pumpkin-sunflower seed bread on a white plate with the remaining loaf next to it on a separate plate.

No-Knead Pumpkin-Sunflower Seed Bread

A sturdy, healthy whole-wheat loaf brimming with nutty goodness, this bread takes its crunch from pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds. Fantastic as toast and for sandwiches.

Two homemade toaster tarts on a sheet of parchment drizzled with glaze.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Though we dearly loved Pop Tarts as kids, even then we thought the packaged pastries ought to be better. Flakier. Fruitier. Fresher. Just like these. And they’re quite simple to pull off.

A slice of a creamy onion tart, with a flaky crust and tossed mixed salad on a white plate.

Creamy Onion Tart

This tart wooed and wowed us with its sophistication, simplicity, and sturdiness. And unlike that other round eggy thing in a crust, this certainly won’t call into question anyone’s manhood.

An apple cake on a ceramic platter

Apple Cake

What’s easy peasy to make, lovely to look at, even lovelier to taste, and certain to impress? This cake.

a sheet of raw black pepper cookie dough with shapes--men, stars reindeer, hearts--cut into it

Black Pepper Cookies

It’s no surprise that a traditional Scandinavian cookie would be warming. Chalk it up to an inspired melding of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, and cocoa.

Nut and cherry nougat cut into squares and piled up against a white background.

Nut and Cherry Nougat

This unorthodox Italian nougat, or torrone, adds cherries and almonds to the classic pistachios. Talk about being decked out in Christmas bling.

A potato piroshki cut in half, revealing the filling, on a plate with a pickle wedge

Potato Piroshki

Potato piroshki are the classic hand pies of Russia. Filled with potato, onion, and dill, the piroshki can be fried or baked. One of our must-make piroshki.