american classics

This is adapted from the recipe off the back of the Ritz cracker box. Add a dollop of homemade whipped cream or crème fraîche to balance out the sweetness of the filling and play up the puckery lemon flavor.

Mock Apple Pie Recipe

For the Crust

unbaked pie crusts (I used the Food Lab's Easy Pie Crust)

milk

sugar

For the Filling

water

cream of tartar

juice lemon

vanilla extract

crackers,

unsalted butter,

cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, water and cream of tartar, whisking until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to boil over high heat, whisking occasionally, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 15 minutes or until mixture has reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Stir in zest, juice and vanilla. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes. 

Roll out crusts. For a nine inch pan your bottom crust should be around 11 inches in diameter, your top crust, about 10 inches. Place bottom crust in pie pan or dish. Add crumbled crackers. Pour syrup over crackers and dot with pieces of butter then sprinkle evenly with cinnamon. 

Beat together egg and milk. Place top crust over pie. Seal and flute the edges and brush with egg wash then sprinkle with sugar. Cut several small slits into the top crust to vent the steam. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve. Store covered. 

This salty and sweet chocolate bark is a super easy holiday variation of classic Chocolate 'Crack.'

Peppermint 'Crack' Recipe

51 saltine crackers (approximately)

unsalted butter

dark brown sugar

chocolate

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 x 17 inch jelly roll pan with foil. Place saltine crackers salt side up and side-by-side in the pan as tightly as possible without overlapping. Use saltine pieces to fill any gaps at the bottom of the pan. Set aside. Chop chocolate so pieces are about the size of standard chocolate chips and set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat stirring frequently with a spatula. Once butter has melted, add brown sugar and vanilla stirring to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes or until mixture is an even dark brown color and has begun to bubble. Remove from heat and pour over saltines using spatula to spread sauce.

Bake crackers for 5 minutes or until butter mixture begins to bubble. Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate allowing the heat to melt the chocolate. Spread chocolate evenly with the spatula so all of the crackers are completely covered.  

Let the chocolate cool slightly, so that it it cool to the touch, but not hardened. Sprinkle crushed candy canes or peppermints evenly on top and refrigerate until chocolate sets and hardens. Break apart and serve.

This recipe is inspired by a 1950s Swan's Down Cake ad I discovered via Pinterest. The beauty of it is that you can make it however you please, just choose your favorite cake and frosting recipe; it's all about how you assemble and decorate the cake.

Easter Egg Cake Recipe

For the Cake:

(8-inch) round layer cakes

For the Chocolate Frosting:

(2 1/2 stickes) unsalted butter, slightly softened

(about 2 cups) confectioner’s sugar

72% cacao chocolate, melted

(12.6 ounce) bag of Easter M & Ms (I used the dark chocolate ones)

For the Cake: Prepare Yellow Birthday Cake or favorite boxed cake mix as 2 (8-inc) round cakes.

For the Frosting: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer beat butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add melted chocolate beating until thoroughly combined. Conitnue beating until easily spreadable. Set aside.

To Assemble the Cake: Using a sharp knife, carefully split the cooled cake layers horizontally so that you have four full layers. Stacking the layers on top of each other, cut the layers about 3/4 inch off center so you have four large pieces and four smaller pieces.

Spread each layer with enough frosting to hold the layers together and assemble and arrange the layers on a large platter in the upright position (cut side-down). The four larger layers will make up the center of the cake with two smaller layers on each side. Be sure to save the two domed small top layers for the very outer pieces.

Once layers are arranged, use a sharp knife to carefully trim the outer edges into a more egg-like shape. You can adhere the trimmed pieces with frosting if desired to add additional shaping (I added a little piece that had been trimmed off the edge to the "tip" of the egg to give it a more rounded look).

Spread the outside of the cake with remaining frosting and decorate with M&Ms in whatever pattern you desired. To create the striped egg effect I first sorted all of the M&Ms by color then applied them in thick stripes.

This recipe is adapted from Amanda Hesser's Lemon Cake recipe from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, which in turn was adapted from Maida Heatter's East 62nd Street Lemon Cake

Iced Lemon Loaf Recipe

For the Candied Lemon Peel

lemons

For the Cake

all-purpose flour

buttermilk powder

baking powder

baking soda

salt

lemon juice

eggs

For Lemon Syrup

Reserved syrup from candied lemon peel

lemon

For Lemon Icing

¾ cup confectioners sugar

vanilla

To make the candied lemon peel: Fill two small to medium saucepans with 1 quart of water and set to boil over high heat. In a large bowl prepare an ice bath by filling ¾ with cool water and ice cubes. You’ll want your ice bath to be large enough to accommodate your strainer.

Using a vegetable peeler remove long strips of lemon peel from 3 lemons, end to end. Dig your peeler in shallowly to avoid the pith. Trim peel into thin strips with a paring knife.

When the water comes to a boil, add peel to Pot #1 blanch for 20 seconds. Strain peel. Place strainer in ice bath (so peel remains contained) Rinse and refill Pot #1 with another quart of water, and return the pot to a boil. Repeat process alternating between Pot #1 and Pot #2. You will blanch the peel a total of five times. 

Once blanching process is complete, combine one cup of water and one cup of sugar in one of your clean pots. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add peel and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat to cool. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8.5 inch loaf pans. Line the pan bottoms with parchment paper. In a large bowl mix flour, buttermilk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and mix until just combined. 

In a small bowl combine lemon juice, water and vanilla. Alternate adding the liquid mixture and dry mixture to the butter mixture beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides as necessary. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and bake for 45-60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. 

While loaves are baking, use a fork to remove candied lemon peel from syrup. Set peel aside on a bowl or plate. Add the juice of one lemon to the reserved candied lemon peel syrup. Whisk until sugar dissolves, heat over low flame stirring to melt any crystallized sugar, if necessary. 

Cool finished loaves in pan for 10 minutes then invert on wire rack set up over a baking sheet. To ease absorption of syrup make several evenly scattered pricks with cake tester . Spoon about an 1/8 of a cup of lemon syrup over each loaf and let cool for about 5 minutes. Flip loaves make pricks to the top then spoon another 1/8 cup of lemon syrup on each loaf and let cool completely. Leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for several days.

In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth. Pour icing over tops of cooled lemon cakes allowing it to drip down the sides. Top immediately with candied lemon peel. Store covered.

Top 4 american classics recipes from across the web

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Mock Apple Pie Recipe

Peppermint 'Crack' Recipe

Easter Egg Cake Recipe

Iced Lemon Loaf Recipe

Top 4 american classics recipes from across the web

The most viewed american classics recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Mock Apple Pie Recipe

Peppermint 'Crack' Recipe

Easter Egg Cake Recipe

Iced Lemon Loaf Recipe

The most viewed american classics recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine