I've always half-joked that baking terrifies me, so I only share recipes I can nail effortlessly. This clafoutis is one of those as one of my go-tos you can use with any fruit. It's a simple French baked custard, traditionally made with cherries, but any stone fruit or berries work. Think of it as a Dutch baby's cousin. Almond extract and toasted, sliced almonds pair perfectly with the fruit, and fresh tarragon adds a really nice licorice note. Like most of my baking recipes, it's more of a flexible technique than a strict formula so feel free to adapt it!

Stone Fruit Clafoutis 

Growing up in New York City, the flavors of Puerto Rico and the rest of Latin America were never too far away, and the hot weather always brought out ice cream trucks, Italian ice storefronts, piragua stands (frío frío to our Dominican cousins), and the famous Delicioso Coco Helado carts. The coco helado served from this cart is closer to an Italian ice/sorbet than an ice cream, with a creamy yet icy and gritty texture. Mango, cherry, piña, and "rainbow" are among the flavors, but coco is superior to them all! This recipe comes together faster than it takes to decide on a flavor at an ice cream shop, with the addition of ice to replicate its unique texture. This will surely become a new freezer staple.

Coco Helado 

Tarta de Santiago is a strikingly beautiful yet simple almond cake that originated in medieval Galicia, Spain. Named after St. James, the patron saint of Spain, it is traditionally adorned with his cross. Although it’s typically made entirely from almond flour, I took some creative liberties by mixing in equal parts hazelnut flour—don’t tell the Spanish. My first encounter with this dessert was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where many local bakeries uphold Spanish baking traditions. Typically, the cooled cake is dusted with powdered sugar over a stencil of a St James cross. Once you remove the stencil, it reveals the cross shape (you can search for and download an image to use as a stencil). This is not a necessary step, though, and the cake is otherwise straightforward to make, requiring no special equipment other than a tart pan, which imparts beautiful ridged edges.

Tarta de Santiago

I firmly believe that everyone should have at least one really good from-scratch cookie recipe up their sleeve. While my pursuit for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe will most likely be a lifelong endeavor, I'm incredibly fond of this chocolate-dipped version I came up with while experimenting in the test kitchen. The browned butter adds a deep, nutty complexity, especially with the help of the extra caramelized milk solids from the milk powder. What truly sets these apart is the dip. Inspired by the black and white cookies I grew up eating in New York City. Of course, this recipe is incredibly versatile. If you're craving a more traditional chocolate chip cookie, simply fold the chocolate chips into the dough and skip the dipping step. The sprinkling of flaky salt at the end is a non-negotiable. 

Browned Butter Chocolate Dip Cookies

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