Creme Brûlée

Creme Brûlée is my dad's absolute favorite dessert, so I like to make it for him for Father's Day. For anyone who has never tried it, it is a creamy vanilla custard baked in individual ramekins and topped with crunchy caramelized sugar.

Ideally, the texture of the custard is somewhat gelatinous and springy (but not as firm as jello) and is topped with a thin, crispy, sugar shell. To achieve this caramel layer, most restaurants use a kitchen torch, but many people don't have one at home. I found that placing the ramekins on a rack as close to a broiler as possible caramelizes the sugar without overcooking the custard. I also use coarse, dark turbinado sugar instead of regular sugar to speed up the process. As for the custard, the recipe calls for vanilla extract, but you can use the seeds from half of a vanilla bean to make it even more special. If you use the vanilla extract, channel your inner Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) and use the "good" vanilla.

There are a few tips to making this creme brûlée even better. First, make sure you don't scald the cream when you heat it up. If you do, you'll see little orange-brown particles floating in the liquid, anywhere from one or two to completely full of them. If there are only a few, you can remove them with your finger or a spoon, but I recommend starting over if there are a lot. When you pour the cream into the egg yolks, try not to cook the eggs because nobody wants scrambled eggs in their creme brûlée. All you have to do is pour the cream in very slowly after letting it cool a bit, whisking constantly. Don't pour the cream in all at once without whisking. Another thing to avoid is splashing water into the ramekins when you make the water bath. The water will prevent the custard from setting correctly and will ruin the dish. Luckily, it's not too hard to avoid if you pour the water in slowly and carefully.

I like this recipe specifically because it only makes two. However, if you need to make more, simply double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. This dessert is elegant and surprisingly simple; it is sure to be amazing!

1 Cup Cream
2 T Sugar
Pinch Salt
3 Egg Yolks
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 T Turbinado Sugar
Berries, Whipped Cream, etc. for Garnish, Optional

Heat oven to 300F and adjust rack to lower-middle position. Place a towel in a deep baking dish and put two ramekins on top.

Combine 1/2 cup cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring often. Stir in the remaining cream once cooled slightly. Combine the egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/4 cup cream mixture. Whisk in the remaining cream.

Strain the custard into the ramekins to remove any bits of cooked egg. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come two thirds of the way up the ramekins.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until barely set in the center. Cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic and chill for at least four hours or until cold.

Wipe off any condensation and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Brown with a kitchen torch or broiler until caramelized, then garnish with the berries or whipped cream if desired.

Makes 2
Recipe Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Butter Pecan Cookies

Butter pecan ice cream is an iconic summer treat, but it is sticky and messy when it melts. I decided to make a cookie with all of the flavor but none of the mess. The cookies are nutty and buttery, and they satisfy both soft cookie lovers and crunchy cookie lovers. They can be a bit tricky to bake because they are best when they are crispy but still tender, but the result is definitely worth it! One technique I use is rolling the dough into a slab and cutting it into rounds instead of scooping the dough into balls. This ensures identical size and thickness.

Each bite is full of pecans because they are ground into the sugar, infused in the butter, mixed into the dough, and placed on top of the cookies. The pecan sugar is similar to almond flour in that it is very fine, almost dusty, but tastes just like pecans/almonds. The pecan butter is the best way to make sure the pecan flavor permeates the entire cookie without using more nut pieces. Of course, you do want some chunks of pecans, so I like to stir some in. I also top the cookies with a pecan half because it adds a lot of crunch and just looks pretty.

This is an ideal recipe for summer, especially Memorial Day weekend, because it tastes like the butter pecan ice cream we all know and love, but you don't have to worry about melting ice cream. These buttery, nutty cookies are simply delicious!

1 1/2 Cups Chopped Pecans

34 Pecan Halves

1 3/4 Sticks Butter, Cubed

1/2 Cup Oil

2 2/3 Cup Flour

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 Egg Yolk

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/8 tsp Salt

Combine the chopped pecans and the butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes or until browned. Pour into a sieve over a bowl and set the pecans aside. Freeze the butter mixture, stirring occasionally, until firm but not hard.

Combine the chilled butter, oil, flour, powdered sugar, and 3/4 cup chopped pecans in the bowl of a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the remaining chopped pecans and brown sugar. Process until ground. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and salt. Stir into the flour and knead until smooth.

Heat oven to 350F. Line cookie trays with parchment.

Roll the dough to about 1/4" thick. Cut into 2 1/4" rounds and transfer to the baking sheets. Top each with a pecan half an chill for 10 minutes or until cold.

Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden.

Makes 35

Recipe Adapted from Nancy Baggett
For more Memorial Day recipes, including this Zucchini Ricotta Crostada, go to http://popcosmo.com/

Sticky Buns

These treats will make your house smell SO good. Waves of fragrant cinnamon, sweet caramel, and toasty pecans fill the kitchen, and the scent makes this delectable breakfast taste even better! First of all, it's important to distinguish between cinnamon buns and sticky buns. Sure, cinnamon buns are delicious, but they are much better when you bake them in gooey caramel and drown them in liquid pecan praline. I make them in individual muffin cups instead of cramming the buns into one tin because each one has some crunchiness, and you don't have to worry about unrolling them when you pull them apart. These are perfect for Mother's Day brunch because you don't have to get up really early in the morning to cook an elaborate breakfast; you can do everything the night before, stick them in the refrigerator after the second rise, and bake them in the morning. It's the best Mother's Day present your mom will ever get!

3 Eggs
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/4 tsp + pinch Salt
2 1/4 tsp Yeast
4 1/4 Cups Flour
6 T Butter, Melted but Cool
9 T Butter
3 T Butter, Melted
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 3/4 Cups Light Brown Sugar
6 T Corn Syrup
2 T Heavy Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 Cup Chopped Pecans, Toasted


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whisk the eggs to combine. Add buttermilk. Whisk in the sugar, salt, and yeast. Add two cups of flour and 6T melted butter. Beat until just combined, then add in remaining flour. Knead with the dough hook for five minutes. Knead by hand for one minute


Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 2-3 hours.


Meanwhile, combine 6T butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3T corn syrup, heavy cream, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until bubbling, then divide between the cups of a greased muffin tin.

Combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Roll the dough into a 16"x12" rectangle and brush with the 3T melted butter. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, roll into a cylinder, and cut into 12 buns.


Place the buns into the cups. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 2-3 hours.


Heat oven to 350F and adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Bake the buns for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.


Meanwhile, combine 3T butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3T corn syrup, and a pinch of salt in a medium skillet. Cook until bubbling and the butter is melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla and pecans.


When the buns are finished cooking, invert onto a rimmed cookie tray. Place a spoonful of pecan topping on each bun.

Makes 12
Recipe Adapted from Cook's Illustrated