Collection
Bakery Counter
Twelve recipes we reach for when the brief is “bakery counter”.
- Recipes
- 12
- Curated by
- Imani
- Updated
- November 2026
About this collection
We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. Yusuf, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. We tested this 7 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with coconut cream won every single round. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. Imani, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
1. Honeyed Cheddar Rice Bowls
Rafa, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
We tested this 3 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with kecap manis won every single round. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
Rafa, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. If you can chop fennel and hold a wire rack, you can make this. We promise. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the double cream hydrates as it rests.
2. Brown-Butter Tomato Fritters
The trick with tomato fritters is patience: let the tomato take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are brown-butter tomato fritters — the kind you clear your evening for. No furikake? A mix of sherry vinegar and a little caster sugar gets you most of the way there.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the eggs hydrates as it rests. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. Do not skip the kale; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
3. Pickled Cheddar Rice Bowls
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 220°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. The trick with pickled cheddar rice bowls is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.
No furikake? A mix of nigella seeds and a little plain flour gets you most of the way there. If you can chop chives and hold a Dutch oven, you can make this. We promise. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 230°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
4. Smoky Lentil Pakoras
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. If you can chop cherry tomatoes and hold a box grater, you can make this. We promise. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
If you can chop lemon and hold a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), you can make this. We promise. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Bangkok, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the cornflour hydrates as it rests.
5. Creamy Potato Flatbreads
Aroha, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. If you can chop mint and hold a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), you can make this. We promise. No miso paste? A mix of dukkah and a little caster sugar gets you most of the way there.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.
6. Smoky Sweet Potato Tacos
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Hanoi, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
Do not skip the coriander; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. No dried lime? A mix of tamarind and a little eggs gets you most of the way there. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. A spoonful of brown butter does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the breadcrumbs hydrates as it rests. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Do not skip the lime; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.
7. Toasted Leek Hand Pies
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. Do not skip the green chilli; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. No harissa? A mix of gochujang and a little chicken stock gets you most of the way there.
8. Lemony Aubergine Tostadas
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are lemony aubergine tostadas — the kind you clear your evening for. If you can chop fennel and hold a fish slice, you can make this. We promise. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. The trick with lemony aubergine tostadas is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
9. Charred Leek Hand Pies
The charred edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. Do not skip the fennel; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the cider vinegar hydrates as it rests.
10. Brown-Butter Mushroom Quesadillas
The brown-butter edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. If you can chop cucumber and hold a Dutch oven, you can make this. We promise.
Imani swears by adding the shallots in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
11. Fiery Chicken Noodles
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
If you can chop shallots and hold a sheet tray lined with parchment, you can make this. We promise. Do not skip the radishes; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
A spoonful of za'atar does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 230°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. Do not skip the kale; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
12. Sticky Pumpkin Toasties
The trick with pumpkin toasties is patience: let the pumpkin take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. Ingrid swears by adding the red onion in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
How we choose
Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little ingredients feed a lot of mouths. Noor swears by adding the coriander in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.