Snow Day Baking

Get creative with this infinitely customizable skillet cookie. We used walnuts, bittersweet chocolate, and milk chocolate, but any mix-ins you have in your pantry will work. Dried fruit, oats, the last of your holiday candy, or leftover coffee grounds are fair game. You can even swirl in your favorite spreads, like peanut butter or Nutella.

If you know snow is in the forecast, get your Poolish ready so you can bake this herbaceous snow day ciabatta. We used dried basil, oregano, parsley, and rosemary, but you can load this dough up with whichever dried herbs you prefer or have on hand. If you don’t have bread flour, all-purpose flour will also work, though it will make the bread less chewy.

A textural masterpiece, this twice-baked, two-layered treat combines white cake with an airy Vanilla Meringue. The moist cake and crunchy meringue need to be baked separately due to different baking times, so we bake the cake first, then top it with meringue and bake a second time. Our Brown Sugar Rum Sauce poured over the meringue after baking brings buttery, boozy flavor to round out the dessert.

We channeled Christina Tosi, the queen of baking with cereal milk, for these bars that feature a crushed cereal crust and silky pastry cream made from cereal milk. Toasting the cereal enhances its flavor and allows it to hold up longer when soaking in milk for the base of the pastry cream. This recipe features Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but we also got delicious results with Apple Jacks and Frosted Flakes. Use any cereal you like!

Filled with sweet, jammy swirls and topped with a nutty streusel, this quick bread makes for a hearty breakfast or tasty dessert. Substitute the jam for whatever fruit preserves or spreads you have at home. If you’re out of cinnamon, use nutmeg, allspice, or cardamom to spice things up instead.