Simple Cooking

Basbousa is a semolina cake that's soft, dense, and flecked with texture throughout.

This easy Egyptian bread pudding (called Om Ali or Umm Ali) is made with puff pastry, perfumed with rose water, and topped with an assortment of toasted nuts.

These date-filled cookies—qrass bil-tamr—are a typical Ramadan sweet, offered to guests and snacked on during the night before the fast begins again at dawn.

Maamoul are delicate pastries—filled with pistachios, walnuts, or dates—that are served on special occasions like Eid Al-Fitr and Easter.

Melon pan is a traditional sweet bun from Japan made of an enriched dough with a crispy cookie layer on top.

The Trident cocktail is a riff on a negroni that uses Spain’s sherry, Italy’s Cynar, and Scandinavia’s aquavit.

Despite the name, the pineapple bun has no pineapple—it’s a soft milk-bread bun with a sweet, buttery, crackly cookie-like top that, after it’s baked, resembles pineapple skin.

The Americano cocktail is a classic Italian drink that dates back to Milan’s Caffè Camparino in the 1860s, where it was known as the Milano-Torino.

Cold oven pound cake bakes slowly as the temperature of the oven rises, allowing more time for the leavening agents to lift the cake.

Victoria sponge cake’s simple filling of whipped cream, jam, and fruit makes it the perfect dessert for a celebration.

These tandoori-spiced chickpeas get slow-cooked with aromatics in oil, and they’re sublime for a make-ahead meal.

It’s official: The best vegan chocolate cake is also the easiest chocolate cake in the world, no dairy or stand mixer required!

These jammy eggs are a quick and beautiful addition to any cocktail party.

Almond extract boosts the coconut flavor of these streamlined macaroon cookies. The recipe makes four bite-size confections but can easily be doubled.

This fairly classic gumbo recipe is made with okra and, optionally, filé powder. Chicken, andouille sausage, and a dark roux add savory depth.

The Manhattan is a classic cocktail made with whiskey and sweet vermouth.

Garlicky, buttery shrimp scampi is an Italian-American restaurant staple that takes little more than a skillet and 15 minutes of your time to make at home.

These sesame flatbreads can be made ahead and frozen—or, if you plan ahead, made fresh for breakfast.

Thepla is a quintessential Gujarati flatbread that goes with anything—mango lassi, a cup of chai, or achar for dipping.