Genius Recipes

21 Magical, One-Pan, 3-Minute, Really Good, Extremely Moist Genius Recipes

September 28, 2016

Let's call it successful recipe branding. So many of the most beloved and memorable Genius Recipes on Food52 sell themselves with a short, compelling descriptor in the title—one-pan, 3-minute, really good, no-knead, extremely moist (almost regardless of your predisposition toward that word).

Are the names what make them genius? No. But would Dan Leader's "4-Hour Baguette" have caught your attention if it was simply called "Baguette"? Probably not.

The one rule is: They have to live up to the promise of their names—and (great news!) these 21 magical, adjective-lovin' recipes do just that.

Got a genius recipe to share—from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? With a really cool name or otherwise? Please send it my way (and tell me what's so smart about it) at [email protected].

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See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Mariana Grebler
    Mariana Grebler
  • Jim Matthews
    Jim Matthews
  • Sarah Jones
    Sarah Jones
  • sarah
    sarah
  • Kristen Miglore
    Kristen Miglore
I'm an ex-economist, lifelong-Californian who moved to New York to work in food media in 2007, before returning to the land of Dutch Crunch bread and tri-tip barbecues in 2020. Dodgy career choices aside, I can't help but apply the rational tendencies of my former life to things like: recipe tweaking, digging up obscure facts about pizza, and deciding how many pastries to put in my purse for "later."

7 Comments

Mariana G. November 9, 2016
shame. Waste of time.
 
Jim M. October 3, 2016
Re: Sarah Jones - I too noted the 4 hours for the baguette and also the 30 - 60 minutes for the roasted chicken. I'm sure you could make a case for including a 4 - 5 minute recipe in here, but an hour or 4 hours is totally ridiculous!
 
Kristen M. October 3, 2016
Jim, see my note to Sarah below—I'm sorry for the confusion!
 
Sarah J. October 2, 2016
I don't doubt these recipes -- in fact, they are tempting me into the kitchen, But I'm confused. How is a "4-hour baguette", among other recipes here, part of a list of "one-pan, 3-minute recipes"?
 
Kristen M. October 3, 2016
Hi Sarah—the title was meant to be a cheeky reference to all the eye-catching ways these recipes are named, not for every adjective to be literally true of all of them. I'm sorry for the confusion it caused!
 
sarah September 28, 2016
The brownies for first-graders (see my recipes) are genius.
They are simple (the recipe hails from a baking booklet for first-graders)
They get better for every day you let them sit (great make-ahead gifts!)
They are easy customizable
And most important: EVERYTIME I make them for someone I get a request for the recipes. Be it kindergarteners, forest workers, my grandma or my sweets-hating dad.
Whenever I'm in doubt what to make, I make these.
 
Starmade October 2, 2016
Indeed an interesting recipe - more like a mousse cuit or "flourless" chocolate cake, though some brownie recipes move that direction. The directive to put away for three days is very interesting. I see it has a european source - will try it.