Magazine Index - Cooks Illustrated

Almond Biscotti

Italians like these cookies dry and hard, while American versions are buttery and more tender. We wanted something in between—that is, crisp but not tooth shattering.

Baked Eggs Florentine

Ideally, this dish should feature tender whites and runny yolks—but it almost never does. We baked hundreds of eggs trying to crack the code.

Best Vegetarian Chili

The key to a great vegetarian chili is not finding a substitute for the meat. It’s finding substitutes for what the meat brings to the chili.

Chocolate-Espresso Dacquoise

This multilayered showpiece of meringue and buttercream coated in ganache might just be the best dessert you’ll ever make—plus you can prepare it the day before.

Crispy Potato Latkes

For truly crisp latkes, we had to eliminate the one thing potatoes are loaded with.

Pepper Mills

This everyday gadget has been designed and redesigned a thousand times. But does a fancier mill mean the perfect grind?

Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Roast

Tenderloin with a crunchy peppercorn crust sounds ideal—but not when it cracks off the roast or has a flavor so spicy that it overpowers the beef.

Roasted Root Vegetables

How do you get five different vegetables to cook simultaneously in the same pan and all come out perfectly? The solution starts with the right cuts.

Shepherd's Pie

Think this classic of tender meat and rich gravy topped with mashed potatoes is the ultimate comfort food? The cook who has spent 5 hours preparing it might disagree.