133 square recipes

Date and nut bars with chopped dates, pecans, and powdered sugar rolled into chewy little squares. An old-fashioned cookie bar that's dense, fruity, and naturally sweet with minimal flour.

Old-fashioned stovetop apple dessert with layers of pastry squares and spiced apples cooked in a kettle. This vintage pot pie simmers until tender, then gets served with cream.

Classic spaghetti carbonara with crispy bacon, Romano and Parmesan cheese, eggs, and a splash of dry white wine tossed over low heat until silky and coated.

Chewy date and nut cookie balls rolled in powdered sugar. Baked in a sheet pan, cut into squares while hot, then shaped by hand into bite-sized treats with almond extract and corn syrup.

Two-layer peanut butter and chocolate marshmallow fluff fudge. A classic stovetop candy with a soft peanut butter base topped with a rich cocoa layer, cut into squares when set.

A Mexican mole-inspired chili with cubed lamb, black beans, toasted tortilla and seed thickener, warming spices, and a square of unsweetened chocolate. Deep, complex, nothing like a Texas chili.

Creamy sweet potato polenta with smoky chipotle, fresh rosemary, honey, and corn kernels. Chilled into firm squares, reheated until warm, and served with salsa for a vegetarian side that steals the show.

Chocolate nougatines are a classic candy made from honey-sweetened nougat with chopped nuts, cut into squares and coated in melted chocolate. Chewy, nutty, and rich with old-fashioned candy-making technique.

New Orleans-style French Market beignets cut into squares, deep-fried golden, and buried in powdered sugar. Make-ahead yeast dough that chills overnight and improves over a week in the fridge.

Almond crisp bars with rolled oats, coconut, and toasted almond pieces in a buttery brown sugar base. Six ingredients pressed into a pan, baked, and cut while warm into chewy-crisp squares.

No-bake whipped cream graham cracker cake that kids can help build! Stack graham squares with fluffy cream, chill until the crackers soften into tender cake-like layers. 3 ingredients, zero oven time.

Easy layered buckeyes with a peanut butter and powdered sugar base topped with melted chocolate, pressed into a pan and cut into squares. All the flavor of buckeye candy without rolling individual balls.

Oxe frosted brownies are big-batch cocoa brownies studded with walnuts, baked in an oversize pan, and finished with a smooth cocoa fudge frosting. Three dozen fudgy squares for crowds and bake sales.

Nutcracker sweets, peanut butter sheet cookies layered with creamy peanut butter frosting and a chocolate drizzle, cut into squares. The Christmas cookie tin classic that combines bar cookie ease with three-component flavor.

Six pounds of cubed beef and two pounds of pinto beans simmered for hours with a full cup of chili powder, cocoa, fennel, and bacon. This is competition-level chili that feeds 15.

Asian-inspired meatball salad with pan-fried beef meatballs, pineapple chunks, and crisp vegetables tossed in a sweet-and-sour sauce made with soy, vinegar, and white wine. Served chilled over shredded lettuce.