This Turkey Pot Pie with Puff Pastry recipe is a fabulous use of leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but you can also use it with leftover rotisserie chicken, pan-roasted chicken breasts, or Dutch oven pulled chicken. It’s easy to make if you buy puff pastry or have leftover rough puff pastry in the freezer. Read on to…
This Rough Puff Pastry recipe, sometimes called quick puff pastry or ruff puff pastry, should be your go-to any time you want buttery, flaky puff pastry without all the fuss. Make this easy laminated dough recipe for an easy fruit or vegetable tart or to top a turkey pot pie. Read on for all the…
This thick and hearty roasted broccoli almond soup uses roasted broccoli to up the broccoli flavor and subs toasted almonds in place of the cream you often find in broccoli soups. While a cheesy broccoli and cheddar soup is delicious, sometimes we all want something healthier. Honestly, I find that cream to be unnecessary anyway….
These Southwestern black bean burgers are seriously delicious and easy to make! With just a few simple ingredients like black beans, corn, and spices, you can create a burger patty that’s bursting with flavor. Die-hard carnivores won’t ask, “Where’s the beef?” when they try these veggie bean burgers. There’s no mushy bean burger here, and…
This Tuna Pesto Pasta recipe makes a quick and simple pesto pasta with canned tuna and arugula spinach pesto. From start to finish, it takes about 30 minutes. Or use store-bought pesto or make the pesto in advance, and it takes only the time for the pasta to cook. Read on to learn all the…
These mini pie crust shells make the perfect bite sized mini pies. Fill them with savory fillings, and they’ll be the hit for your next cocktail party. Fill the shells with sweet fillings, and you have mini dessert cups. Making your own can be fussy, and you might be tempted just to buy pre-made pie…
Pie crust cookies are the ultimate pie dough superheroes, transforming scraps of leftover homemade pie or pastry into powerfully nostalgic treats. They’re simple and un-fussy. Picture this: your blackberry apple pie is in the oven, filling your home with tantalizing aromas while these ingenious pie crust cookies secretly bake alongside. Now, here’s the twist: while…
These Pumpkin Pie Spiced Roasted Chickpeas are slow-roasted to create a snack that takes nearly zero effort and will make your house smell like pumpkin pie. Pack your crispy, pan-roasted chickpeas in lunchboxes for a low-fat, nut-free snack. Read on for all the tips and tricks about this recipe. Or just grab your can of…
Imagine your favorite Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Now imagine your favorite chocolate chip banana bread pan-fried in butter. Use your own recipe or follow my super easy banana bread recipe that gets into the oven in 15 minutes. But don’t miss out on a warm, melting chocolatey slice of pan fried banana bread, whether you…
When you’re a sandwich lover, you know that different types of breads for sandwiches make the whole experience. Pastrami goes on on rye bread. Italian meatballs go on a sub roll. But regardless of whether your sandwich calls for a classic white bread, a hearty whole wheat, a pita pocket, or something more adventurous, making…
If you’re looking for a tasty and exciting way to enjoy duck breast, look no further than this pulled duck breast with hoisin sauce. This dish is a variation on pulled pork and offers a wonderful blend of flavors and textures, with tender shredded duck meat infused with the rich and sweet flavors of hoisin…
Every year, I try to fill my kiddo’s holiday and birthday gift list with more experiences and fewer things. Over the last few years, we’ve shared lots of time in the kitchen working our way through different cookbooks and baking kits for kids.
These Nutella waffles are a 30 minute recipe that combines a traditional, crisp buttermilk waffle laced with the chocolate hazelnut spread you know and love. Top your Nutella waffles with Nutella, some banana slices, and a drizzle of maple syrup? Now that’s breakfast. So read on to learn all the detailed tips and tricks for…
These Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats are perfect in so many ways. They’re a no-bake treat that’s simple to make. You’ll love that they’re great for a picnic or a potluck. Just like with indoor s’mores, these Rice Krispie squares will bring back a bit of childhood nostalgia. So read on to learn all the…
This Mediterranean Bowl with Spiced Lamb Meatballs is what my kiddo calls a “little bit of everything dinner.” Bowl dinners are great for picky eaters to try a variety of tastes and textures. And they can be time savers for weeknight meals when you have leftover grains and greens and other chopped vegetables. Read on…
This chocolate orange cake recipe with fudgy chocolate layers and chocolate orange ganache was created for the reddit 52 week baking challenge: week 21 – birthday party! It’s a celebration of the 100th uglyducklingbakery blog post!
This Fig Bacon Jam recipe has that rare balance of sweet and salty, creamy and crispy. Make the bacon and fig jam recipe ahead of time and you have a weeknight meal that comes together in the time it takes to cook your pasta. I know some of you will have no interest in reading…
These Lamb Meatballs with Pine Nuts and Raisins are a 30 minute recipe that is certain to go on repeat in your household over other meatball recipes. It is quick to assemble for a weeknight dinner. And kids love it. The sweetness from the raisins and cinnamon in the lamb meatballs appeals so strongly to…
This Strawberry Gimlet is a slightly sweet, refreshing cocktail made with gin, strawberry simple syrup, and fresh-squeezed lime juice. It’s a classic cocktail variation made for sipping alongside a cheese or charcuterie plate, great friends, and good conversation. Read on for information about gimlets and detailed tips and tricks how to make them. Or just…
This Bacon and Cheese Puff recipe makes about 50 gougères full of cheese and salty bacon. They’re the perfect little snack for a cocktail or dinner party appetizer. And you can even make and freeze your bacon and cheese puffs for months! This bacon and cheese puff recipe is easy to make once you understand…
These Strawberry Heart Pop Tarts are a great weekend project to get your kids in the kitchen and the perfect Valentine’s Day treat. My kiddo had been asking for these strawberry pop tarts ever since we made Nutella pop tarts. So read on for all the detailed tips and tricks for making homemade pop tarts….
This Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake with Ganache Icing is a chocoholic’s dream come true. It has three layers of rich, velvety chocolate goodness and is filled with a fudgy chocolate ganache icing. If you’re looking for a chocolate birthday cake for the chocolate lover in your life, look no further. This three layer chocolate…
There are a lot of articles and blog posts out there about how to create your own bowl. Like this one. Or this one. And they all say similar things. Pick a grain or rice or noodle. Choose a protein. Add vegetables. Top with some garnishes and a sauce or vinaigrette. Here’s a recipe or…
This list of my favorite cookbooks was inspired by Pi day. March 14th, you know, 3.14. Pi? All I can ever remember of the most famous irrational number is 3.1415927 (rounded). What I remember more clearly is the person who sat behind me in multivariable calculus who used to finish his tests early and then…
I made macarons this week for the reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge. The task? Bake for an allergy or dietary restriction. I knew I needed to get better at making macarons. But wait. Is it macaron or macaroon? Lots of people get confused about the two. While both are flourless cookies, the macaroons I…
This homemade Nutella pop tarts recipe combines a flaky and buttery pastry with a rich Nutella filling. Pop one in the toaster for a decadent breakfast. With a little pastry practice, these Nutella pop tarts aren’t hard to make. And pop tarts can be customized in many different ways – check out my strawberry heart…
This Raisin Challah is a classic Jewish bread filled with plump raisins and made soft, fragrant with citrus zest, and just slightly sweet. It makes a lovely bread for sandwiches, base for French toast waffles, or side for soups or salads. With this raisin challah recipe, I’ll show you how to braid an impressive 5-strand…
This week’s 52 weeks of baking brings a temporary pause to the food-focused celebration of Black History Month. Instead, we head to a Meatless Monday celebration of Chinese New Year with mushroom bao from East by Meera Sodha. I had been looking forward to cooking from this cookbook for some time. Made in India has…
During the month of February, I’ll be reflecting on and celebrating Black History Month by cooking from Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin. The first thing you notice when you flip through this cookbook is how beautiful it is. But next, at least for me, was the challenge to…
This recipe for Argentinian chicken empanadas was our second go at this month’s box from the America’s Test Kitchen Young Chefs’ Club. This months theme? Dumplings!
This Moroccan Chicken with Dates combines braised chicken breast with dates, lemon, and aromatic spices like cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, and ginger. It’s an easy recipe perfect for a beginner cook and takes not quite an hour (mostly hands-free). So you have time to make a salad or let your kiddo distract you with multiple games…
When Prue, one of the judges of the Great British Bake Off, said in Season 8 that Kate’s sticky toffee apple caramel cake was the best cake she had ever eaten, I wanted to try it. And when the list of bakes in the reddit 52 week baking challenge included GBBO, I knew that this…
I committed to the Reddit 52 week baking challenge in 2021 in order to bring some organization to my baking and to work on new skills. For week 2 (seasonal ingredients) I made the Grapefruit Olive Oil Pound Cake from the original Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. As an aside, I won’t be posting copyrighted recipes when…
A few months ago, a baking friend passed along a recipe for the brown bread from the Outback Steakhouse. It met with rave reviews and someone’s fond memories, but it was a little too sweet and soft for my taste. Here’s my version:
Why would a doctor start a food blog? The Ugly Duckling Bakery isn’t a brick and mortar bakery. It’s a source of recipes to inspire your weeknight dinners, weekend baking, and cocktails using fresh, seasonal ingredients. I’ve been baking for over 40 years, but it wasn’t until 2020, when I was stuck at home with…
