Blog: Recipes

For as long as Julia can remember, she’s loved to experiment in the kitchen – and not just with sweets! Here, you’ll find some of her favorite cookie recipes alongside those for cakes, icing, candies, savories, and even sippables. Though there’s lots to chew on here, you’ll have to get Julia’s books for access to all of her tried-and-true cookie recipes. Good news: She’s got a bunch of both books stocked under “SHOP”.

Julia M. Usher

Rosewater Marguerites

I originally developed this cookie recipe for a garden party chapter in my first book Cookie Swap, but I’m convinced it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day as well. Call me sentimental, but there’s something about the rosy flavor and surprise red filling

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Julia M. Usher

Maine Blueberry Pancakes

Most visitors to Vacationland busy themselves with swimming or hiking or sailing. And me? Well, truth be told: as much as I subscribe to the virtues of physical fitness, my favorite summer pastime remains on the extreme energy-conserving end of

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Julia M. Usher

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

To the uninitiated, pickles can be off-putting. Any food that vies for blue ribbons at the state fair automatically implies a certain level of complexity. Couple this award-winning potential with the lore of champions relinquishing titles over softness, cloudiness, or

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Julia M. Usher

Lemon Pavlova

By the mid-1920s, Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova had become such a superstar that one ardent chef-admirer created the world’s most airy dessert and named it after her. (Some say the chef was inspired by the dancer’s fluffy tutu worn

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Julia M. Usher

White Chocolate-Basil Panna Cotta

Pretty soon basil will be flooding farmers’ markets, overstuffing fridges . . . and launching most home cooks into pesto overdrive. Sure, you can freeze the zesty green stuff, but why not turn the herb into a dish that’s really

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Julia M. Usher

Cheddar-Chive Pinwheel Biscuits

A handful of ingredients. Check! A minimum of kneading. Check! Plus, a pretty pinwheel pattern on top. Check! Yes, indeed, these one-bowl biscuits meet every prerequisite for fun, no-fuss picnic food! At my recent Memorial Day celebration, I dunked them

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Julia M. Usher

Rhubarb-Strawberry Granita Parfait

Though granita, sorbet’s icier cousin, is most often consumed mid-meal as a palate cleanser, its lightness (no fat!) makes it an ideal summertime dessert. Here, I’ve eased up on the zero-fat restriction with a study in crunchy-creamy contrasts: a tart

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Julia M. Usher

PB&J Sandwich Cookies

(from Cookie Swap) Moms, this tasty sandwich is as close to the perfect Mother’s Day cookie as you’ll find. Whether a gift from your kids to you (start dropping the hints now) or something you make together as a family

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Julia M. Usher

Cinnamon-Walnut Crescent Cookies

My Mom is a fanatic for all things fresh, so I guess it should come as no surprise that I spent a ton of time with her in the kitchen as I was growing up. While other moms were happy

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Julia M. Usher

Flourless Chocolate-Guinness Stout Cake

In dreaming up desserts for my recent St. Patty’s Day KMOV TV appearance, I devised this to-die-for Guinness stout-laced cake. Though beer in a cake may sound more than a little odd at first take, mull over malted milk balls for

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Julia M. Usher

Hard-boiled Quail Eggs with Curry Mayo

A sexy hard-boiled egg? Well, that’s how my good friend described this springtime amuse bouche when I planted it atop his dinner plate last weekend. Come to think of it, there is something pretty alluring about peeling back these eggs’

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Julia M. Usher

Guinness Braised Beef

Now here’s something to stout (oops, shout) about – and just in time for St. Patty’s Day! This recipe harks from my James Beard-nominated column in Sauce magazine, from the article where I put two culinary giants – food scientist

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Julia M. Usher

Royal Icing with Consistency Adjustments

Royal icing is hands down my favorite icing for cookie decorating. The egg whites in royal icing make it faster drying than confectioner’s icing, where the liquid content is usually milk or cream, and better for fine detail work, as

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Julia M. Usher

Pancetta-Sage Mac ‘n Cheese

When asked by my editor at Sauce magazine to develop a soul-satisfying winter dish, I could think of nothing better than mac ‘n cheese. (No surprise, really. I’m a comfort food gal through and through, if you didn’t know already!)

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Julia M. Usher

Raspberry-Truffle Brownie Bars

From the Valentine’s Day chapter in Cookie Swap, this recipe is sure to have chocolate fans falling head over heels. In this triple-decker brownie, the season’s favorite aphrodisiac factors into three places: a buttery crumb crust, a dense chocolate-raspberry filling, and

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