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What to Cook for Mother’s Day

From steaks to cheesecakes, we know our moms will love these dishes.
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Published May 10, 2023.

What to Cook for Mother’s Day

No matter how you celebrate it, Mother's Day is a great opportunity to show appreciation for some of the most important women in your life. While we're fans of giving Hallmark cards, flowers, and new kitchen equipment for Mother's Day presents, here at Cook's Country, we also think one of the best ways to show our love is with homemade, edible gifts.

With that in mind, we asked members of the Cook's Country team which recipe they'd like to cook for their moms (or other important women they celebrate) on Mother's Day this year. Here are their answers.

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10 ingredients. 45 minutes. Quick, easy, and fresh weeknight recipes.

Deputy Food Editor Nicole Konstantinako’s mom loves our Angel Food Cake, so that’s an easy choice for Nicole. This light, fluffy cake can be served as is or dressed up with a fruity sauce, such as our Strawberry Compote

Recipe

Angel Food Cake

Over seven weeks in the kitchen, we baked more than 100 angel food cakes to discover, once and for all, what matters, what doesn't, and how to achieve perfection.
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Senior Editor Matthew Fairman is pulling out all the stops with Bacon-Wrapped Filets Mignons followed by La Viña–Style Cheesecake. Tender, mouthwatering steaks, encircled with crispy bacon and topped with a rich Gorgonzola vinaigrette—what mom would say no to that? Of course, she’d have to save room for dessert. Our La Viña–Style Cheesecake has only five ingredients, uses an easy method, and is super rich and creamy.

Recipe

Bacon-Wrapped Filets Mignons

Could we get the bacon crispy and the meat perfectly cooked on the same timetable?
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Our Asparagus, Leek, and Goat Cheese Quiche is the recipe of choice for Test Cook Mark Huxsoll. This brunch standard features a flaky crust filled with a luscious egg custard strewn with sautéed leeks, crisp-tender asparagus, and tangy goat cheese. The goat cheese adds soft pockets of melty goodness throughout.

Recipe

Asparagus, Leek, and Goat Cheese Quiche

A failproof path to an elegant springtime quiche.
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Test Cook Amanda Luchtel is torn between Lemon Cookie Bars and Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. They’re both crowd-pleasers but have totally different vibes. The cookie bars are chewy and packed with sweet lemony notes. Scattering yellow sprinkles on top makes them whimsical. The crisp has a warm, fruity base and a crunchy topping. A crowning scoop of ice cream brings it all together. Either one feels just right for the occasion.

Recipe

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Don't let spring pass by without making this easy, foolproof seasonal dessert.
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Senior Photo Test Cook Lawman Johnson is going for the son-of-the-year award by cooking up Roasted Cornish Hens with Mustard-Herb Sauce and Grilled Caesar Asparagus for Mother’s Day. Cornish hens are just as comforting as a roast chicken but a little more fancy, because everyone gets their own hen. And our Grilled Caesar Asparagus takes a favorite salad dressing and combines it with lightly charred grilled asparagus. Torn grilled-bread croutons and shaved Parmesan reinforce the Caesar salad vibes.

Recipe

Grilled Caesar Asparagus

Char-grilled asparagus and pungent Caesar dressing make for a delicious pairing.
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Our Executive Editor of Creative Content Morgan Bolling opted for our Strawberry Cornmeal Shortcakes. This riff on the classic shortcake incorporates some cornmeal into the biscuits for nutty flavor and a little crunch that holds up well to the sweet strawberries and whipped cream inside.

Recipe

Strawberry Cornmeal Shortcakes

This Southern variation on the classic sounds charming, but getting the biscuits and filling just right was a challenge.
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Senior Editor Jessica Rudolph would make Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake for her mom. This cake has a velvety crumb and a wallop of lemon flavor. It’s perfectly dressed up for the occasion with a simple lemon and buttermilk glaze and a garnish of lemon sugar on top. This one’s sure to be a hit with any lemon lover.

Recipe

Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake

A sweet-tart lemon sheet cake holds a lot of promise as a light summer dessert-but sheet cakes are hard to bake evenly, and we wanted bright, not sour, lemon flavor. In our recipe, tangy buttermilk reinforces the lemon flavor in both the cake and glaze.
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As for me, I’d make my mom our Strawberry Cheesecake Bars. She instantly loved them the very first time I made them. The bars have the creamiest texture and so much strawberry flavor because the strawberries have their own layer as opposed to being mixed right into the cheesecake layer.

Recipe

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

We wanted this springtime dessert to actually taste like strawberries.
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We hope these recipes inspire you to cook for someone special in your life this Mother’s Day.

This is a members' feature.