These recipes come from the cooking section we published in our September/October 2012 issue (find out more). We also ran the recipes online: Fall Recipes from Our Best Bites. Read our reviews (as well as a few tricks) below.
Butternut Squash Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce
Ashley Evanson
Online Editor
Winner, winner, fall food dinner! This recipe needs to be on your list of meals to make this season. The blend of squash, pumpkin, sage, and bacon - it's like my fall Pinterest board exploded in my mouth. Don't skimp on the bacon (adding a little more wouldn't hurt) because it's the key ingredient to tying all of the flavors together. Everyone in my family loved it, including the picky eaters, and it only took about an hour from start to finish to make.
Barbecue Bacon Sliders with Crispy Shoestring Onions (winner, Better Homes and Gardens 2010 Cook-off)
Kate Ensign-Lewis
Online Editor
I recently asked my husband if eating out had lost any of its savor because we now realize we can produce comparable (and often better) results at home. In fact, I asked him as we ate these sliders.
Quite simply, they're some of the best burgers we've ever had. My husband couldn't stop gushing about how amazing they were. I can see why it won the BHG cook-off. The flavors of the tangy blue cheese dressing, the sweet BBQ (see below), the salty bacon, the crispness of the homemade fried onions, and the sweet Hawaiian roll were to die for. (Oh yeah, and the lettuce was nice, too.) So, if you're in a mood for a delicious gut bomb and have just a little extra time (took me about an hour in all), go for this recipe. It doesn't disappoint.
On the BBQ sauce: The OBB recipe calls for a cooked sauce, which takes about 30 minutes - I cut it out because I already had my own. I simply mix ketchup, brown sugar, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder together to taste, and it's delicious.
Lime-Coconut White Chip Macademia Nut Cookies
Kaela Worthen Gardner
Associate Editor
These cookies are heavenly. Or perhaps I should say, paradise-like. As in, you'll feel like you're in a tropical paradise when you're eating them. They are ridiculously delicious, and the cookie dough is even better. I also love how unique they are. There are a million variations on chocolate chip cookies, but this recipe just pops in your mouth with its fresh flavor.
My only complaint was the consistency of the dough: the recipe calls for melted butter, but the dough turned out so wet and sticky it seemed like it was making a serious attempt at being labeled a batter. The second time I made these cookies (yes, I've made them twice in two weeks, what of it?) I used the butter straight out of the fridge and felt I got better success that way. Both times I ended up adding about a half cup extra flour though to compensate for the moistness of the dough.
But seriously, make these. They're delicious.