Monica M., Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Monica M. has tested.

A parchment lined loaf pan filled with partially frosted small batch brownies and a wire whisk on the side.

Small Batch Brownies

These small batch brownies make just enough batter to fill a loaf pan so you don’t have an entire baking pan hanging around all week tempting you. Ideal for just the two of you.

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 frozen tub of plum sorbet, with a scoop of sorbet and some sugar cookies lying beside it.

Plum Sorbet

This plum sorbet is going to change your late-summer fruit strategy. And you don’t even need an ice cream maker. Now that’s easy and elegant.

A bottle half-filled with vanilla syrup and a couple vanilla beans inside. A cork rests beside the bottle.

Vanilla Syrup

You’re going to want to drizzle, douse, and dribble this fragrant homemade vanilla syrup over and into and onto just about everything.

Three pieces of grape focaccia on a wooden board.

Grape Focaccia

A Tuscan tradition we learned from Italian winemakers that’s essentially flatbread baked with grapes that turn magnificently jammy and sweet and lovely.

Part of a loaf of pain de mie on a round wooden cutting board.

Pain de Mie

Characterized by its distinctly rectangular shape and, in true French form, buttery taste, this classic loaf is traditionally made in a Pullman pan although any old loaf pan can work.

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 white and blue bowl filled with healthy avgolemono made with fish, rice, and lemon

Healthy Avgolemono Soup

Almost exactly like the classic Greek dish made with rice, lemon, and eggs. Except better. Not to mention healthier.

A lemon meringue pie topped with clouds of toasted meringue.

Lemon Meringue Pie

An almost-but-not-quite-classic rendition of lemon meringue pie that’s a lot less effort than you’d expect. And more payback than you can imagine in terms of its perfectly balanced sweetly tart lemon custard.

An elaborately decorated gingerbread house

How To Make A Gingerbread House

Knowing how to make a gingerbread house entirely from scratch may not have been on your bucket list, but it’s not nearly as complicated as you would imagine. Here’s how to make the Brothers Grimm proud.

Three stacks of Pie Crust S'mores one with bite mark in it.

Pie Crust S’mores

Pie crust s’mores, you ask? They’re simply the little scraps of pastry that you might otherwise toss in the trash—heaven forbid!—but instead put to lovely, gooey, chocolate-smothered goodness.

Six pieces of roasted white chocolate brownies in a metal baking pan.

White Chocolate Brownies

These white chocolate brownies are a little like blondies with their gooey goodness. And yet they’re every bit as rich as your favorite fudge brownies.

A Northern Spy apple pie in a pie plate with one slice missing, with that piece on a plate in the background.

Northern Spy Apple Pie

Brimming with a mountain of sweet apples and redolent of sugar and spice and everything nice, this homemade pie unabashedly plays apple favorites.