1 cup unsalted butter 2 1/4 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 1 large egg 1 egg yolk 2 tablespoons milk 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 Heat oven to 375°F. 2 Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. 3 Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside. 4 Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. 5 Add the sugar and brown sugar. 6 Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. 7 Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. 8 Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. 9 Stir in the chocolate chips. 10 Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. 11 Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. 12 Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. 13 Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

1 lb cooked and chilled medium shrimp , minced 10 ounces chunky salsa 2 cups cooked rice ( Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice would be great!) 1 large cucumber , seeded and diced 1 medium size green pepper , diced 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onion 2 tablespoons lime juice 3 garlic cloves , minced 8 cooked and chilled large shrimp red leaf lettuce 8 tablespoons chili sauce 1 Mix all ingredients, EXCEPT large shrimp, chili sauce and lettuce. 2 Chill 2 hours. 3 Line plates with lettuce leaves and divide shrimp and rice mixture among 4 plates. 4 Garnish with 2 of the large shrimp each and drizzle with chili sauce.

2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles 1/2 cup dried mushroom , chopped 20 large raw shrimp , peel and deveined 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup sliced scallion 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 quart vegetable broth 1/2 cup mirin 1/4 cup soy sauce 4 teaspoons sesame oil 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2 Divide ramen noodles evenly in the center of each of the 4 pieces of aluminum foil. Stack the following ingredients on top of noodles in this order: mushrooms, shrimp, onions, scallions, red pepper flakes, and salt. Pull sides and corners of the pouch up to form a small basket shape leaving an opening at the top to pour in the liquid. 3 In small bowl, combine vegetable broth, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Distribute liquid evenly among packs. Press foil together, leaving a small opening to allow steam to escape. Place on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 15 minutes Serve immediately.

1/4 cup olive oil 8 ounces cremini mushrooms , halved and sliced (baby portobella or mushrooms of choice) 2 medium carrots , finely diced 2 celery ribs , finely diced 1 large onion , finely diced 1 tablespoon kosher salt one can whole canned tomatoes (35 ounce) 2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves , chopped 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaf , chopped 4 garlic cloves , minced 2 1/2 quarts filtered water 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce one piece parmesan rind (2x2 inch) 7 ounces butternut squash, cubed 5 ounces curly kale , chopped 2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans , undrained 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar shaved parmesan cheese , for serving 1 Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into an 8-quart stockpot over high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the mushrooms and saute until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. 2 Decrease the heat to low, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the carrots, celery, onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 30 minutes. 3 Add the tomatoes, sage, rosemary and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring to break up the tomatoes. Add the water, soy sauce and Parmesan rind, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, about 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to low, add the squash and kale, cover and cook until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. 4 Return the mushrooms to the pot along with the beans and red wine vinegar and cook until all is heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove the cheese rind and serve warm with shaved Parmesan.

4 double thick bone-in loin end pork chops 1 cup kosher salt 1 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon mustard powder 2 cups cider vinegar , heated 1 lb ice cube 1 1/2 cups cornbread, crumbled 2 tablespoons golden raisins 1/4 cup walnuts , roughly chopped 1/4 cup dried cherries , halved 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper 2 teaspoons fresh sage , thinly sliced 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 In a plastic container put the salt, sugar, peppercorns, and mustard powder. Add the hot vinegar and swirl to dissolve. Let mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes to develop flavor. Add ice cubes and shake to melt most of the ice. Add chops and cover with brine. 2 Refrigerate for 2 hours. 3 Remove chops from container and rinse. Cut horizontal pockets in each pork chop for stuffing. 4 Combine rest of ingredients, and put into piping bag that is not fitted with a tip. Pipe each chop full with cornbread mixture. 5 Grill the chops on medium high heat for 6 minutes on each side. Turn each chop 45 degrees after 3 minutes to mark.

1 (14 -16 lb) frozen young whole turkey 1 Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. 2 Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket or 20-quart stock pot. (If you make the brine the same day you need to use it, just use a 7 lb bag of ice and 2 cups of cold water to chill it down fast.). 3 Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining. If not refrigerated, add a couple pounds more ice halfway through to keep it good and cold. 4 A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. 5 Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. 6 Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary, sage, oregano, lemon and orange. Tuck wings under breasts and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil. 7 Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, pour in 3 cups of broth and scrape up any fond (browned bits) on the bottom of the pan. Cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. After 45 minutes, add 1 more cup of broth. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15-30 minutes before carving. 8 For the gravy, strain the turkey pan juices from the roasting pan through a sieve and into a 4-cup glass measuring cup; discard the solids. Spoon off the fat from atop the pan juices. Add enough chicken broth, about 1 to 2 cups, to the pan juices to measure 4 cups total. Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the broth. Simmer until the gravy thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the turkey with the gravy.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion 2 green bell peppers 3 celery ribs 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 5 garlic cloves , minced 3/4 lb pickled pork or 3/4 lb unsmoked thick slab bacon 3 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon hot sauce 1 lb dried red kidney beans , picked and sorted 2 quarts water 1 Place a 7 quart cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion and celery are soft and translucent, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic, pickled pork, bay leaves, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and beans. Add water. Turn up to high and heat until boiling, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes. 2 Reduce heat to maintain a strong simmer. Cover tightly and cook 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, uncovered, 30-40 minutes longer, maintaining a strong simmer. If you want your sauce a bit thicker and more gravy-like, use a potato masher to crush some of the beans. Remove bay leaves. 3 Bring 3 cups water to a full rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over high heat. When foaming subsides and butter begins to brown, add rice and salt. Saute until rice turns opaque and slightly tan. Add boiling water all at once - be very careful! Cover tightly, reduce to simmer and cook 17-20 minutes, until fully cooked. If you prefer your rice dry and fluffy, let stand off heat, uncovered, 5 minutes before serving. Serve beans over rice.

1 cup half-and-half 3 large eggs 2 tablespoons honey , warmed in microwave for 20 seconds 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 slices bread (1/2 inch, day-old country loaf, brioche or challah) 4 tablespoons butter 1 In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside. 2 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 3 Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes. 4 Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. 5 Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. 6 Remove from pan and place in oven on rack for 5 minutes. 7 Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

2 quarts water 1 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons saltpeter 1 cinnamon stick , broken into several pieces 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 8 whole cloves 8 allspice berries 12 whole juniper berries 2 bay leaves , crumbled 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 2 lbs ice 1 (4 -5 lb) beef brisket , trimmed 1 small onion , quartered 1 large carrot , coarsely chopped 1 stalk celery , coarsely chopped 1 Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. 2 Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. 3 Remove from the heat and add the ice. 4 Stir until the ice has melted. 5 If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees (I put mine in the refrigerator over night). 6 Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. 7 Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. 8 Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine. 9 After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. 10 Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water by 1-inch. 11 Set over high heat and bring to a boil. 12 Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. 13 Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain. 14 My Crock pot method:. 15 After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. 16 Place the brisket into bottom of crock pot. 17 Add 5 potatoes cut in half and 1 pound baby carrots. 18 Turn on high and cook for 2 hours. 19 Add whole head of cabbage that you have quartered. 20 Make sure you keep cabbage from touching the crock pot so it will not burn. 21 Cook another 2 hours on high. 22 Slice and serve with the vegetables.

6 ounces pimento stuffed green olives , chopped 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 garlic cloves , grated 3 tablespoons smoked paprika 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper , freshly ground 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs 2 lbs yukon gold potatoes , unpeeled and thinly sliced 1 medium yellow onion , sliced 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 2 Combine the olives, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside. 3 Mix the smoked paprika, olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper into a paste in a large bowl. 4 Lay the chicken thighs skin-side down. Using a pair of kitchen shears, make a cut down the length of the bone to expose it, then cut the meat away from the bone. Discard the bone. 5 Stuff about 2 tablespoons of the olive mixture under the skin of each chicken thigh and rub paprika paste on each. Arrange the chicken thighs, skin-side up, on a cooling rack. 6 Arrange the potato slices and onion pieces in an even layer on a foil-lined half sheet pan. (I also sprinkled left over paste on potatoes.). 7 Place cooling rack over potatoes and bake until the skin is crispy and the potatoes are tender, 55 to 60 minutes. If you prefer the potatoes crispy, remove the rack with the chicken and return to the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

For about five minutes — before we remembered that we have an infant, a 6 year-old, two full-time jobs, a not very big apartment, an international business trip this month (sadly, not mine) are now doubting we are actually made of whatever is required to pull this off — we thought we might have a Friendsgiving dinner party this year. I love Thanksgiving and I want more of it in my life, ditto to friends and also dinner parties. Everything about this was going to awesome. I didn’t have to plan the menu to my perfect Thanksgiving dinner because I wrote it in my head probably five years ago and from what I hear, Alton Brown’s turkey recipe is the only one you’ll ever need. (Or should I dry brine? Or maybe this lacquered thing? Or maybe a mash-up of all of them? Or maybe just import a smoked one from Texas and be the most chilled out host in the history of Thanksgiving, ever, amiright?) Right, well, I had everything else planned out: Pretzel Parker House Rolls This Salad I’m Going To Tell You About Next Week Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar Kale and Caramelized Onion Stuffing Balsamic-Braised Brussels with Pancetta Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions Wild Mushroom and Stilton Galettes (the plan was to make 2 or 3 and turn them each into 2 to 3 single-serving as something of a turkey alternative) A Gratin of Some Sort — either Cauliflower or Potato Cranberry Sauce Classic Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Praline Sauce Pecan Pie (also coming next week, yessss) An awesome cocktail And this is where the fun began. I decided that a new tradition required a new special cocktail that would forever be tied to a time and place. In general, I’m a classicist about sangria. Like most of us, I’ve endured all sorts of disturbing ingredients masquerading as sangria — Sprite, frozen lemonade, coconut rum, basil, a ton of sugar (whhhy) which are all ingredients I’ve pulled from just the first few Google results for sangria — and try not to mess with what’s always worked. But, it turned out, I didn’t have to upend tradition too obnoxiously to make the apple cider sangria of my dreams. For the red wine, I used a dry white. For the brandy, I used an apple brandy or Calvados. Instead of a splash of juice, I used apple cider, which I’d reduced so it would be more concentrated and flavorful. I kept the less traditional Triple Sec in place, because I like the hint of orange, but you can skip it if you are less of a sangria blasphemist. And for the fruit, we used a mix of apples, because like everyone else, we overdid it at the apple farms in October. The result was even better than I’d hoped, and apple-y in an adult way: subtle and not terribly sweet. As our kids ran up and down the hallways in an sugar-demonic haze, trick-or-treating through a friend’s building last weekend, we grownups got to sip from glasses of, uh, grown-up candy. (While saving the actual candy-thieving for after they fall asleep, as is our parental privilege, of course.) One year ago: Sticky Toffee Pudding Two years ago: Perfect, Uncluttered Chicken Stock Three years ago: Granola-Crusted Nuts Four years ago: Baked Pumpkin and Sour Cream Puddings Five years ago: Upside-Down Cranberry Cake Six years ago: Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash Seven years ago: Pepita Brittle Eight years ago: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Sauteed Apples Nine years ago: Not Your Mama’s Coleslaw And for the other side of the world: Six Months Ago: Liege Waffles 1.5 Years Ago: Fresh Spinach Pasta 2.5 Years Ago: Essential Raised Waffles 3.5 Years Ago: Bacon Egg and Leek Risotto 4.5 Years Ago: Creme Brulee French Toasts Apple Cider Sangria Psst, here’s the other reason I rather love having a big pitcher or two of a single, seasonally-perfect, agreeable-to-most cocktail at dinner parties: it saves you a lot of work. Sure, you might still grab a six-pack of beer or a bottle or two of wine or bubbly, but for the most part, most people will drink what you’ve mixed and you won’t spend any time fussing about with tonics and gins and juice and bourbon and vodka. A good cocktail is efficient. Makes 1 pitcher (about 1 quart) sangria; definitely double for a crowd 1 cup apple cider (the fresh kind, not the fizzy alcoholic kind) 1 bottle dry white wine 1/4 cup calvados or another apple brandy 1/4 cup Triple sec or another orange liqueur Mixed colors of apples, diced and tossed with lemon juice to prevent browning Seltzer, sparkling water or sparkling apple cider to finish Place the apple cider in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce about 3/4 of the way, until you have approximately 1/4 cup apple cider left; this will take 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into small bowl set over a bowl of ice water and stir; it will cool very quickly this way. Pour reduced, cooled cider into pitcher. Add wine, apple brandy and triple sec. Add fruit and let sit in the fridge until needed. Add some fizz right before serving; a slotted spoon will help guests hold back the fruit while pouring their glasses, and spoon some on top, if desired.

One of the terrible things that well-intentioned food people do all of the time is get bored with things that everyone loves. Because there’s a there’s a near-constant stream of food media coming in, with time the “hot takes” on apple pie begin to feel monotonous, the “cool new thing to do with sweet potatoes” can cause inward groans and pumpkin/pumpkin-spiced things? I’ll let them tell you: “Pumpkin spice has ruined pumpkins,” says Alton Brown. “America has gone entirely too far in its pumpkin spice devotion,” says Eater, with a fair amount of evidence backing it up. The Washington Post likened pumpkin spice lattes to “liquefied fall-scented potpourri.” I, too, fell into this trap, something I hadn’t realized until I Snapchatted* making pumpkin bread a few weeks ago and have never received so many recipe requests. I didn’t get it at first — I mean, pumpkin bread is the most basic thing, right? And Google claims 5.7 million ways to make it. What could I possible add to the conversation? But as I was making it, I got very persnickety about it, bothered by a few things in the recipes I tried. First, none of them really filled out my loaf pan and I wondered why we were settling for less when we always wanted more. Second, I adore brown sugar in most things, but it makes for a rather brownish cake and the versions I made with only white sugar tasted no less awesome. Third, good pumpkin bread is always tender and plush inside, but why can’t it have a crispy lid too, the way my favorite pumpkin muffins do? Finally, small cans of pumpkin have 1 3/4 cups of puree in them. Most recipes use 1 cup pumpkin and I like to go all the way to 1 1/3 cups. That small amount leftover drives me batty. So, I scaled my recipe a little, and then a little more and until I ended up with an insanely towering pumpkin loaf with a crispy crackly impossible-not-to-pick off cinnamon-sugar lid that’s like a snickerdoodle landed on top of a pumpkin bread and if there was ever a time to shake off any pumpkin/pumpkin-spice skepticism, you are in the right place. You’re among friends. Next stop: hayrides, corn mazes, apple picking, flannel shirts, hot apple cider and Don’t say it, Deb! … decorative gourds. * @smittenkitchen, are you following? I hope you do. I’m having so much fun embarrassing myself over there. Also I share meal so-called plans, you know, real ones that include days like last Tuesday with the menu item “nope!” Toronto! I’ll be in Toronto a week from Saturday, 10/22 at Type Books at 7:30 p.m. in conversation with Toronto Star Food Editor Karon Lui. [Details] I’m actually going to be in town all weekend for the Canadian Food Bloggers Conference, which has kindly invited me to keynote, something I’m not terrified about at all, nope. Previously One year ago: Cannoli Pound Cake Two years ago: Better Chocolate Babka Three years ago: Purple Plum Torte Four years ago: Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree and Chicken Noodle Soup Five years ago: Apple Pie Cookies Six years ago: Roasted Eggplant Soup Seven years ago: Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp Eight years ago: Acorn Squash Quesadillas with Tomatillo Salsa Nine years ago: Gazpacho Salsa Ten! years ago: Cook’s Illustrated Classic Brownies And for the other side of the world: Six Months Ago: Carrot Tahini Muffins 1.5 Years Ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Soda Syrup 2.5 Years Ago: Dark Chocolate Coconut Macaroons 3.5 Years Ago: Bee Sting Cake 4.5 Years Ago: Banana Bread Crepe Cake with Butterscotch Pumpkin Bread This is a towering, craggy pumpkin bread with a crisp cinnamon sugar lid that is impossible not to pick off in deeply satisfying bark-like flecks. Trust me, someone in my family notnamingnames did exactly that this morning, and I almost cannot blame them. Very key here is the size of your loaf pan because this will fill out every speck of it before it is done. Mine holds 6 liquid cups; it’s 8×4 inches on the bottom and 9×5 inches on the top. If yours is even slightly smaller or you’re nervous, go ahead and scoop out a little to make a muffin or two. You won’t regret that either. This also uses an excess of cinnamon sugar on top — it’s always too much and I cannot stop because I love the way it spills off when I slice it and then you can slide your slices through the extra. If this is going to bother you, however, go ahead and use half. You can also make this as muffins. It should make about 18 standard ones and you can distribute the cinnamon sugar (perhaps make 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon worth) across the tops before you bake them. They should bake for 25 to 30 minutes. I’ve also made this with mashed sweet potatoes and other squashes with success (but if it’s more wet and thus the batter ends up more loose, be caaaaareful as it could throw this towering loaf into a spilling-over situation). And I’ve done it with half whole-wheat flour. Finally, I know someone is going to say “that’s way too much sugar!” but please keep in mind this loaf is gigantic, easily 1.5x a normal one and the sugar is scaled accordingly. You can decrease it if you wish but we have made this now several times and many people have commented about how in-check the sugar level tastes, not over the top at all. Bread1 15-ounce can (1 3/4 cups) pumpkin puree1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable or another neutral cooking oil or melted butter (115 grams)3 large eggs1 2/3 (330 grams) cups granulated sugar1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder3/4 teaspoon baking soda3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamonHeaped 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmegHeaped 1/4 teaspoon ground gingerTwo pinches of ground cloves2 1/4 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour To Finish1 tablespoon (12 grams) granulated sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan or coat it with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar until smooth. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinanmon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves over batter and whisk until well-combined. Add flour and stir with a spoon, just until mixed. Scrape into prepared pan and smooth the top. In a small dish, or empty measuring cup, stir sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over top of batter. Bake bread for 65 to 75 minutes until a tester poked into all parts of cake (both the top and center will want to hide pockets of uncooked batter) come out batter-free, turning the cake once during the baking time for even coloring. You can cool it in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove it, or cool it completely in there. The latter provides the advantage of letting more of the loose cinnamon sugar on top adhere before being knocked off. Cake keeps at room temperature as long as you can hide it. I like to keep mine in the tin with a piece of foil or plastic just over the cut end and the top exposed to best keep the lid crisp as long as possible.

Hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel? Use your pressure cooker! Perfect, easily peeled eggs every time. Print Photography Credit: Emma Christensen Like many of you, I abandoned theΒ dream of finding one surefire methodΒ for making consistently perfectΒ hard boiled eggs some time ago. After trying a fewΒ too many “foolproof” tricksΒ with spotty results, I relegatedΒ easy-peel eggs toΒ the same categoryΒ as unicorns and cheap airfare: nice to fantasizeΒ about, but if they were trulyΒ real, you’d think we’dΒ have heard about it by now. But that’s the thing about myths — just when you’ve thrown your hands in the air and walked away, something new comes along to rekindle your hope. Like Fox Mulder, we want to believe. For me, that something newΒ was myΒ pressure cookerΒ and a friend’s improbable suggestion that I try using it to makeΒ a batch of eggs. Just like that, the dream was alive again. I’ve actually been sitting on this revelation for a few months now just because I didn’t trust the evidence of my own eyes: Two eggs or a dozen, fresh eggs or weeks old, white eggs or brown eggs, it didn’t matter. The shells slipped easily off each time, leaving a smooth and pristine hard boiled egg. There are a few theories for why this is. Some say that, similar toΒ steaming eggs, the pressure cooker forces steam inside the egg’s shell during cooking, causingΒ it to separate from the egg white. Alton Brown’s theory is that it’s more aboutΒ the rapid temperature change inside the sealed pot. Either way, it works. Making hard-cooked eggs in the pressure cooker is the only method I’ve found that has worked for me every single time. I based my eggsΒ on the popular “5-5-5” methodΒ for hard-cooked eggs in the Instant Pot.Β The idea is to put your eggs into a steamer basket and sealΒ themΒ inside your pressure cooker along with a cup or so of water. It takes about five minutes for the cooker to come up to high pressure, five minutes to cook the eggs, and then five minutes of natural pressure release before removing the eggs from the cookerΒ — hence the “5-5-5” method. I found that this basic formula worked just fine, though it typically takes my pressure cooker closer to 10 minutes before fully pressurizing. I also decided that I like the texture of 4-minute eggs better than 5-minute eggs. At four minutes, the whites are firm but soft and the yolk is cooked through but still creamy; at five minutes, I felt like the whites started to become rubbery and the yolk was a little chalky. Give it a try both ways and see which you prefer. Also, for those of you with stovetop pressure cookers, I recommend a quicker 3-minute cook time.Β Stovetop pressure cookers can reach a higher pressure than electric cookers and tend to cook food more quickly. (For reference, aΒ friend of mine tested this recipe with her stovetop pressure cooker and her verdict was that 4-minute eggs were fine, but tasted slightly overcooked.) The only un-perfect thing about this way of hard boiling eggs is that, every so often, one of the eggs will crack its shell during cooking. When this has happened to me, it’s usually been during the 5 minute “natural release”Β period after the eggs are already cooked, so the crack is only superficially cosmetic. Not idealΒ if you’re planning to dye a bunch of Easter eggs, of course, but perfectly fine for deviled eggs. If your eggs seem to beΒ cracking more often, or are cracking earlier during cooking before the whites are set, try cooking them at low pressure instead of high pressure. My own tests at low pressure gave inconsistent results, but every pressure cooker is a little different and you might have better luck with yours. The jury is still out onΒ unicorns and affordable airfare, but easy-to-peel eggs, at least, are real. Don’t have a pressure cooker? Try steaming your eggs on the stovetop! Follow me on Pinterest Easy-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs in the Pressure Cooker Recipe Print Check your pressure cooker manual for the minimum requirement of liquid in the pot, and add at least that amount. If no instructions are given, add 1 inch of water. If your pressure cooker didn't come with its own steamer basket, you can use a standard metal or silicone steamer basket in its place. (If you don't have a steamer basket, you can skip it, but you may get a greater number ofΒ cracked eggs.) Avoid stacking eggs on top of each other since this can also lead to more cracked eggs. If you need to cook more eggs than will fit in a single layer, I suggest cooking multiple batches. Ingredients Large eggs, cold from the fridge -- at least 1 egg or as many as will fit in a single layer in your pressure cooker Special equipment: Stovetop or electric pressure cooker (I use a 6-quart Instant Pot) Metal steamer basket or silicone steamer basket Method 1 Prepare the pressure cooker:Β Place a steamer basket in the bottom of your pressure cooker.Β Add 1/2 to 1 inches of water (1 to 2 cups) to the pressure cooker (check your pressure cooker manual for minimal liquid amounts). The water level should be just below the steamer basket. 2 Add all the eggs:Β Use cold eggs, straight from the fridge. You can cook as many eggs as you like at one time, but be careful of wedging eggs too firmlyΒ against one another or stacking eggs on top of each other since these can cause eggs to crack. 3 Bring the pot up to pressure:Β Close the lid on the pressure cooker and make sure the steam valveΒ is set to the "sealed" position. Set the pressure to high and set the timer for 4 minutes for electric pressure cookers (3 minutes for stovetop). The pressure cooker will take 5 to 10 minutes to come to full pressure and then being cooking. Cooking time begins once the cooker has come to pressure. 4 Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes.Β After cooking is done, let the pressure cooker sit for 5 minutes with the lid on and the steam vent "sealed"Β to allow steam to begin releasingΒ naturally. (If you're using a stovetop pressure cooker, remove it from heat.) 5 Quick-release the remaining pressure:Β After 5 minutes of natural release, flip the steam valveΒ to "venting" and quick-release any remaining pressure. 6 Cool the eggs.Β Transfer the eggs to a bowl of coldΒ water to cool (add ice for more rapid cooling, but ice isn't necessarily for making easy-peel eggs). Change out the water as it warms until the eggs are cool, then refrigerate the eggs until needed. Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to Easy-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs in the Pressure Cooker on Simply Recipes. Thank you! Print If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #simplyrecipes β€” We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter! Emma Christensen Emma Christensen is the managing editor for Simply Recipes, as well as a food writer and homebrewing expert. She was formerly the recipe editor for The Kitchn and is the author of three books on home-brewing, True Brews, Brew Better Beer, and Modern Cider. Emma is a graduate of The Cambridge School for Culinary Arts and Bryn Mawr College. She lives in San Jose, California. More from Emma