YIELDS 1 LOAF

Fresh out of the oven, this bread is a great accompaniment to soups or stews, and leftovers make fine toast. The variations following this recipe, with their flavorful grains and additions, can stand alone.

Makes 12 muffins

Makes about 22 cookies

Measure the molasses in a liquid measuring cup. If you find that the dough sticks to your palms as you shape the balls, moisten your hands occasionally in a bowl filled with cold water and shake off the excess. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. If baked two sheets at a time, the cookies started on the bottom rack won’t develop the attractive cracks. The cookies should look slightly raw and underbaked when removed from the oven. If you plan to glaze the cookies (see recipe below), save the parchment paper used to bake them.

Makes two 9-inch cake layers

Nonstick cooking spray can be used for greasing the pans (proceed with flouring as directed). Bring all ingredients to room temperature before beginning. Frost the cake with our Foolproof Chocolate Frosting (see related recipe) or your favorite topping.

Makes 16 cookies

Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored. For our winning brand of chocolate chips, see related tasting.

Makes 24

This recipe easily doubles. Make sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.

Makes 12 muffins

Don’t throw away the juice from the can of pineapple; you’ll need it. To toast the coconut and walnuts, place them in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re golden, about 5 minutes. Cool before grinding them. We prefer golden raisins here, but ordinary raisins will work, too.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
All of the versions of Morning Glory Muffins we tasted were greasy and full of fat. We cut the amount of fat in the original recipe by half, which fixed the problem. We also switched from oil to butter, which vastly improved the flavor. The apple and pineapple added tons of moisture to the muffins, which made them gummy and wet. We strained the fruits and pressed out the juice to take care of the problem.

Without the fruit juice, our muffins lacked their trademark fruity flavor. We reduced some of the extruded juice on the stovetop and added the syrupy liquid back into the batter to insert flavor without introducing too much moisture.

Serves 8

The leaner flat-cut brisket is the better choice for this recipe. The thicker point cut is much fattier-a good thing on the grill, where the excess fat can drip away, but a disadvantage in a slow cooker, where the fat can make the sauce greasy. If you end up with an especially thick piece of brisket, extend the cooking time to 11 hours.

Serves 8 to 10

Ham or pork hocks are available smoked and cured or just smoked. Although either will work in this recipe, smoked and cured hocks (which are deep red) will provide the best flavor. We prefer to use Boston butt for this recipe, but a picnic roast can be used instead. You will need a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe. Don’t be tempted to speed up the process by turning the cooker to the high setting—the pork will have a decidedly boiled texture. Serve the pork piled high on white bread or hamburger buns, with plenty of coleslaw and pickle chips on top. To warm up leftovers, add 1 tablespoon water for every cup of pork and heat in a large skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through.

Makes about ½ cup, enough for 4 steaks

This is an excellent accompaniment to Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon.