22 Of Our Recipe Testers' Favorite Recipes

A decorative bowl filled with a sphere of goat cheese and a few olives, topped with a thyme sprig.

Goat Cheese with Olives, Lemon, and Thyme1/22

Words sort of elude us when we attempt to describe just how stunning and scrumptious we consider this dish. Just...wow.

Blue pot of chunks of pork, authentic carnitas, with a bay leaf and wooden spoon on top

Carnitas ~ Mexican Braised Pork2/22

This Mexican carnitas recipe is authentic braised and fried pork that makes for conversation-stopping, fall-apart-tender awesomeness.

A slab of fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs with a knife cutting them into individual ribs.

Fall-Off-the-Bone Baby Back Ribs3/22

The secret to these knee-wobblingly tender little lovelies? Roast 'em low and slow and then toss 'em on the grill for just a short spell. Which means you don't have to constantly tend a smoker from dawn to dusk.

A square piece of homemade snickers bar on a piece of parchment.

Homemade Snickers Bars4/22

Know what really satisfies? Making your own gooey, peanutty, caramel-y, milk chocolate-y Snickers candy bars at home.

Fried chicken in a vinaigrette sauce on a paper bag, chopsticks nearby

Momofuku’s Fried Chicken5/22

This flour-free fried bird is contrary to everything we know about fried chicken. Or think we know. That's exactly what makes it so darn genius.

Two barbecue pork burgers with slaw and barbecue sauce stacked on top of each other.

Barbecue Pork Burgers6/22

A weeknight-friendly riff on slow-roasted pulled pork that juxtaposes tangy bbq sauce, succulent pork, and old-fashioned slaw, all in a jiffy.

A pear tart with blue cheese and honey finished with sliced almonds.

Pear Tart With Blue Cheese and Honey7/22

This lovely melding of cheese course and last course becomes even lovelier with a generous pour of port.

A grilled cheese sandwich cut into cubes of grilled cheese croutons.

Grilled Cheese Croutons8/22

Step one: Make a childhood favorite. Step two: Cut it into squares. Step three: Dunk, drop, or plop into tomato soup. Step four: Sigh with content.

A cast iron skillet filled with baked macaroni and cheese

Baked Macaroni and Cheese9/22

This toss-it-together-and-shove-it-in-the-oven casserole is exactly what macaroni and cheese ought to be—easy, cheesy, crumb-topped, and knee-wobblingly indulgent.

A plastic container filled with vanilla bean ice cream with a metal ice cream scoop resting inside.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream10/22

A classic, perfected. (Yes, we know, you've been promised this before by others. But we mean it.)

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

Homemade Pop Tarts11/22

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 white bowl filled with Moroccan meatballs with a spoon resting inside and some small orange wedges on the side.

Moroccan Meatballs ~ Kefta Tagine12/22

So many meatball recipes, so little time—though we strongly suggest you make the time for these intoxicatingly spiced little lovelies.

Pad Thai noodles, crunchy noodles. cucumber, bean sprouts, and lime wedges in a bowl, a bottle of chile-vinegar

Authentic Pad Thai13/22

Unspeakably more nuanced than takeout Thai, these stir-fried noodles boast a sigh-inducing balance of salty, sour, and sweet. In other words, it's the real deal.

Two glass cups filled with peaches and cream ice cream.

Peaches and Cream Ice Cream14/22

Confession. This isn't exactly ice cream. Yet it's not frozen yogurt, either. It falls somewhere blissfully in between with its not-too-sweet creaminess. And no ice cream maker required.

A square cast iron skillet filled with sliced fried skillet potatoes for 2 on a grey oval metal platter.

Skillet Potatoes for Two15/22

A swift stovetop version of classic pommes Anna, these sliced spuds are swaddled in butter, garlic, and Julia Child's enthusiastic approval.

A white plate filled with baked mushrooms, broken bread, and two glasses of red wine in the background.

Baked Mushrooms, Broken Bread16/22

An effortless, elegant side that takes inspiration from two enduring entertaining icons: the stuffed mushroom and Thanksgiving stuffing.

Cutting board with a sliced rack of spring lamb with rosemary, knife, bowl of salad

Spring Lamb with Rosemary17/22

The perfect dish to usher in warm weather. Nothing but rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, and a tour of duty in the oven.

A spoonful of black coffee ice cream on the tip of a silver spoon.

Black Coffee Ice Cream18/22

Know how every once in a while you taste something that's so insanely satiating that a single spoonful pretty much satisfies? Nah, neither do we. Pass this ice cream, please.

Two chicken meatball sliders with white sauce and toothpicks holding them together.

Chicken Meatballs19/22

These subtly flavored, relatively healthful (shhhh!) sliders are the sleeper hit at The Meatball Shop. Not hard to understand why.

A cast-iron baking dish filled with fennel baked in cream on a wooden board.

Fennel Baked in Cream20/22

Fennel turns meltingly tender and oh so sweet when slowly, slowly, slowly braised in cream, cheese, and butter. One more reason to be enamored with the holidays.

12 schnecken, pecan cinnamon buns, covered with pecan-caramel topping, and chopped pecans on a wire rack

Schnecken ~ Pecan Cinnamon Buns21/22

Schnecken translates from German quite literally as snails, although to us it means gooey, sticky pecan caramel buns.

A bean pot of baked beans with a wooden spoon placed on a wooden chair

Appalachian Cider Baked Beans22/22

A stick-to-your-ribs recipe in which plain old pintos are doctored up with apple cider, onion, salt pork, molasses, and mustard. Amen.