Hillary Hawkins, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Hillary Hawkins has tested.

Pumpkin swirl brownies, uncut, in a large rectangular baking pan.

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

These pumpkin swirl brownies are just as outrageously rich as you’d expect thanks to pumpkin spice cheesecake colliding with a pan of fudgy brownies.

A loaf of gluten-free pumpkin bread lying on a table with 3 slices, with a butter knife and flowers in the background.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread

Our testers universally loved this quick bread that’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo friendly. And no one will ever know the difference. Swear.

A plate with parchment paper filed with squares of vegan walnut fig bars.

Vegan Walnut Fig Bars

A quick, healthy, vegan, fruit and nut-filled snack. Not too sweet but still good when you’re craving something less granola and more like dessert.

5 unwrapped squares of apple cider caramels beside a pile of wrapped caramels.

Apple Cider Caramels

The 8th wonder of the world? These insanely satiating caramels are made simply with apple cider, sugar, and spice.

A s'mores cake, topped with toasted marshmallows and graham cracker crumbles on a cake stand.

S’mores Cake

A campfire classic elevated to proper dessert status. The parts you know and love are here, but now they’re covering a lush brown sugar cake. And no mosquitos!

A person slicing a loaf of milk rye bread on a wooden cutting board.

Milk Rye Bread

A pleasing rye flavor. A subtle sweetness. A dough that’s exceptionally easy to handle. That whole-grain goodness thing. Just a few of the many things this rye bread has going for it.

A fancy Bundt Kentucky bourbon cake on a silver platter.

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

This Southern classic is like a pound cake given its decadent amount of butter and its tender crumb. But oh, baby, wait’ll you taste the bourbon glaze.

A cream cheese pound cake with a lemon glaze

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Everything you would imagine in a pound cake. Buttery. Indulgent. Moist. Rich. And with a perfectly balanced and ever so slightly puckery lemon glaze.

Three orange madeleines in a medeline tin.

Orange Madeleines

Tender, buttery, and enhanced with a subtle citrus lilt. Just as Proust would have wanted. (No madeleine tin? No worries. They’re just as lovely when made in a mini-muffin pan.)

A glazed pumpkin pound cake on a plate--a pumpkin Bundt cake with a milk-sugar poured glaze.

Glazed Pumpkin Pound Cake

If you’ve been thinking maybe you’re done with pumpkin everything, wait’ll you experience this aromatic pound cake that boasts the perfect balance of sweet and spice.

A glass spice jar filled with cinnamon sugar, lying on its side with some cinnamon sugar poured out.

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar

Yes, a recipe for cinnamon sugar. Because ‪‎so often life leaves us wanting to be a kid again. And this proportion of cinnamon to sugar is the bomb.

A loaf of Galician rye bread with a slice cut off to show the airy texture.

Sourdough Rye Bread

It’s no longer difficult to find a decent loaf of proper rye bread. This homemade beauty is surprisingly easy to make, milder than most, and doesn’t require any yeast.

A small rubber-sealed jar of rye sourdough starter.

Rye Sourdough Starter

This rye sourdough starter doesn’t require any yeast yet creates a better-than-bakery loaf of proper sourdough rye. You’re welcome.

Eight vegan fudge brownies on a marble surface.

Vegan Fudge Brownies

Proof that spectacularly fudgy, messily gooey, intensely chocolatey brownies can be made without butter or eggs.

A blood orange pound cake on a wire rack with glaze and sugar syrup, three slices cut.

Blood Orange Pound Cake

Buttery, rich pound cake is ribboned with a marmalade layer, steeped in blood orange syrup, and finished off with a tartly sweet orange glaze. Sigh.

One whole wheat chocolate chip cookie pulled in two

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

We pinky swear these whole wheat chocolate chip cookies don’t taste healthy. Not even remotely. Quite the contrary. Experience why folks are calling this their new go-to cookie recipe.