Karen Taylor, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Karen Taylor has tested.

A tall glass mug filled with Irish coffee with whipped cream on top and a tumbler or whiskey in the background.

Irish Coffee

A better way to start your day. Uh, we mean, end your day. That’s what we meant. Yes. End it. Ahem.

Garlic mashed potatoes with melted butter and black pepper inside a copper pot, resting on a kitchen towel.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Silken, garlicky mashed potatoes manifest in mere minutes thanks to a super simple technique that’s perfect for when you’re entertaining or just plain hungry.

Apple spiced bourbon toddies on a tray in front of an outdoor fire, one being poured from a thermos in a gloved hand.

Apple Spiced Bourbon Toddies

Infinitely more complex than the toddy of yore, this little number owes its lure to apple-y cider spiked with a hint of star anise and quite an indecent glug of bourbon.

Three blueberry buttermilk pancakes and two slices of bacon, all drizzled with maple syrup, on a decorative plate with a fork resting beside the food.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

“Like the best diner pancakes of your life.” “This is going to replace my standard pancake recipe.” That’s what folks are saying about these ‘cakes.

Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs

“Simple.” “Perfect.” “The moistest chicken with the crispiest skin we’ve ever had.” That’s what folks are saying about this crowd-pleasing, weeknight-friendly chicken trick.

Three glasses of sweet tea cocktail on a wooden table.

Sweet Tea Cocktail

Sweet tea. Whiskey. Lemon juice. That’s all it takes to make a sassy summertime cocktail you’ll want to sip all afternoon long.

A cherry clafouti in a red dish with cherry dish towels

Cherry Clafouti

A simple, old-style French dessert that’s as easy to toss together as it is to tie a scarf.

A piece of miso cod in a skillet with an orange napkin next to it.

Miso Cod

This five-ingredient fix, a restaurant classic as well as a simple weeknight dinner, will have you practicing your acceptance speech for the best dinner ever.

A glass of ruby sangria with a skewer of fruit suspended over the glass on a floral serving tray.

Ruby Sangria

The official Spanish summer sipper. And, for those who don’t care for sodden, wimpy, mushy fruit in their cocktail, we include a nifty little party trick.

Seven Linzer heart cookies being dusted with confectioners' sugar

Linzer Heart Cookies

Baking a batch of these cinnamon-scented, hazelnut-inflected, raspberry-jamwiched Linzer cookies is nothing if not a testament to your heart most definitely being in the right place.

Slices of glazed nutmeg pound cake on a white cutting board

Nutmeg Cake

This spice cake is soaked with rum syrup, making a lovely, albeit slightly boozy, gift when wrapped in parchment and tied with a bow.

Southside Cocktail

Mint. Muddled. Mine. When we’ve got this gin-based mojito on our minds, those are about the only words we can muster. Well, maybe add “More.”

A chili cheddar burger on a bun half with cheese sauce being poured over it.

Chili-Cheddar Burger

This compelling chili and Cheddar burger is what it is. No apologies. Simply wrap your hands around the messy spectacularness and settle in for the real deal.

A white bowl half filled with breakfast quinoa, topped with chopped pistachios with a spoon resting in the bowl.

Breakfast Quinoa

A quietly, healthily, nuttily pleasing alternative to your same old oats. Go on. You know you want to try it. So get your quinoa on.

A loaf of English muffin bread with two slices cut from the end on a wooden board.

English Muffin Bread

Incomparably easier than traditional English muffins yet with all the requisite nooks and crannies that God—and the British—intended.

A brown bowl filled with ginger and carrot stir-fry on a wooden mat.

Ginger and Carrot Stir-Fry

There’s nothing wallflowerish about this stir-fry, not with its gingery zing of tongue-tingling, sinus-clearing, tummy-settling ginger. Nothing at all.

A bowl of congee garnished with scallions and freshly ground black pepper with some fritters on the side.

Congee ~ Jok Plaw

A simple, silken rice porridge that’s certain to soothe and salve the soul—especially those souls afflicted with a sore throat or a queasy tummy.