Gluten Free

If you would rather make this frosting with only cream cheese, replace the goat cheese with an equal amount of whipped cream cheese, for a total of 18 ounces.

The heat from your hands will melt the chocolate, so use tweezers to hold the chocolate leaf as you peel back the mint with your fingers.

Nonstick baking mats will help these crunchy cookies bake evenly and hold their shape. Once the batter is made, it can be kept in the refrigerator, covered with plastic, for up to five days. Bring it to room temperature before using.

You can refrigerate the filling, covered, for up to one day; let it soften at room temperature before using.

You can transform the flavor of this filling into chocolate-mint or mocha by substituting 1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1/2 teaspoon pure coffee extract for the vanilla.

Speckles of grated lime zest in this pretty soft-green icing give the finished cookies a fresh citrus flavor.

If either glaze becomes too firm to spread, place it in a heatproof bowl over simmering water and stir until it’s the right consistency.

For the prettiest chips, use blemish-free pears that are not quite ripe. A mandoline will help make the pear slices perfectly even.

The miniature marshmallows are a great time-saving device in this recipe. Full-size marshmallows also work, but they’re more difficult to measure and don’t melt as quickly.

Pile this meringue on as thick as you can for a splendid-looking pie. Meringue is a perfect opportunity for the home baker to get creative with the spatula. You can smooth it over, swirl it around, or make fancy peaks. No one way is better than the other. Mrs. Rowe insisted on using a chilled bowl for the mixing. It’s a bit of a mystery why, as modern bakers claim it’s unnecessary. Maybe her eggs were so fresh that they were still warm and she needed to bring them down to room temperature by using a chilled bowl. In any case, the bakers at Mrs. Rowe’s restaurants still use chilled bowls. Weeping can happen with any meringue. A “weeping” meringue occurs when the sugar solution comes out of the meringue in drops. Sometimes a weeping meringue makes a slimy layer on top of the filling. The meringue will still taste yummy, but it won’t be as pretty. Sealing the edges of the meringue is an important step in helping to prevent weeping; it also helps assure that the filling won’t spill over. Just add some water to your fingers and press the meringue to the crust along the rim.

Less puffy and showy, but just as delicious as Mrs. Rowe’s Meringue (opposite), this family recipe is a tougher breed. The salt and cornstarch fuse and stabilize it, making it easier to manage and giving it a harder glaze once it’s baked, which means less likelihood of weeping.

This sauce is a must for the Layered Ice Cream Pie (page 96), where it meshes with the cookie crust and ice cream for a sinfully delicious combination of textures and flavors. If you’re adventurous, this sauce could top off almost any pie.