The 10 Recipes Readers Couldn't Stop Making in June (2024)

Recipes by Occasion
Summer Recipes

Megan Scott

Megan is a recipe developer and editor with 12 years of industry experience, most recently as culinary director at a marketing agency. In 2019, she also co-authored the 9th edition of the classic cookbook, Joy of Cooking.

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Updated on 06/29/23

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The 10 Recipes Readers Couldn't Stop Making in June (2)

We're quickly sliding into summer and that was reflected on your plates in June, as you loaded them down with seasonal produce and quick-cooking dishes that got you out of the kitchen and back in the action as quickly as possible. Summer produce lends itself to this kind of fancy free cooking. For some of you that meant tossing some chive blossoms into a jar of vinegar. Others diced ripe tomatoes, piled them on toasted bread, and called it dinner.

Even those of you who were feeling ambitious kept it chill with our no-cook vanilla ice cream or an easy baking project like Scottish oatcakes or soft and tangy lemon cream cheese cookies. You had the satisfaction of making something from scratch while saving plenty of time for long evening walks, beach reads, and quality toes-in-the-grass time. Here's to more of that in the months to come.

01 of 10
Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
These soft lemon cookies are sweet and tangy from cream cheese and lemon zest and juice in the cookie dough and the icing. One reader who made this recipe gushed, "I have made these twice in the past 2 weeks they were such a hit on my cookie tray I had to make more." Best of all, these cookies are perfect for serving with fresh summer fruit like strawberries and raspberries for a simple dessert.
02 of 10
Chive Blossom Vinegar
Chives are super easy to grow, and they come back year after year. In late spring and early summer they produce a bouquet of purple blooms. You can pick apart the blossoms and toss them into salads or on top of pasta or pizza for a beautiful garnish, or you can make chive blossom vinegar. The only ingredients are your chive blossoms and any vinegar you like. We recommend white wine vinegar, but white vinegar or apple cider vinegar work as well.
03 of 10
Watermelon Salad
Watermelon, for all its juicy sweetness, plays well with savory ingredients like the lime juice-pickled onion, cucumber, feta, and olive oil in this beautiful watermelon salad. This is just the thing to whip up for a weeknight side, potluck contribution, or picnic lunch. Pack it in mason jars for individual servings on the go.
04 of 10
Millionaire's Bacon
We haven't stopped making this maple and gochujang-glazed bacon since publishing the recipe because it turns out it fixes everything: a BLT made with a lackluster tomato, a bland salad, an awkward breakfast with the in-laws, you name it! Because the bacon takes on a jerky-like texture, we think it would even make a perfect airplane snack. TSA can't argue that it's a liquid, but they might try to take it from you anyway.
Continue to 5 of 10 below.
See Also
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05 of 10
Traditional Scottish Oatcakes
Not quite a bread, not quite a cracker, Scottish oatcakes are hearty, slightly chewy, and perfect for serving with a cheese plate or alongside some butter and jam. They're also easier to make than either bread or crackers, so they're the perfect simple baking project for a lazy weekend.
06 of 10
Garlic Scape and Basil Pesto
Garlic scapes are the Dr. Seussian shoots that emerge from hardneck garlic plants in late spring and early summer. Farmers cut them off so the garlic dedicates its energy to growing the garlic bulb (left on the plant, the scapes will eventually flower). You can buy the scapes in bunches at farmer's markets and some grocery stores, and while you can use them the same way you'd use garlic cloves, they are on the milder side, perfect for turning into a beautiful pesto.
If you're new to the concept of hardneck garlic or scapes, read more in this article all about alliums.
07 of 10
Homemade Blueberry Jam
It's blueberry season and even though you can buy blueberries year round, this is the time to taste them at their best. If you can't get enough of them and need to preserve their beautiful flavor for the long winter months, we humbly suggest a simple blueberry jam. This one uses pectin, which allows you to cook the fruit for less time, meaning less steamy kitchen time and more fresh blueberry flavor.
08 of 10
No-Cook Vanilla Ice Cream
Made with only four ingredients and no cooking, this easy vanilla ice cream is mixed up in a bowl and then goes straight into the ice cream maker. Because the base is so simple, this recipe is super adaptable. Add in chocolate cookie crumbs for a cookies 'n cream spin or swirl in caramel sauce or crushed toffee candy.
Continue to 9 of 10 below.
09 of 10
Classic Tomato Bruschetta
When the tomatoes are ripe, they're all we want to eat, whether sliced on a classic BLT, chopped in panzanella, or blended into gazpacho. But possibly our favorite use for summer's most beloved fruit is bruschetta. Often served as an appetizer, we could make a meal of this simple dish of toasted bread, tomatoes, olive oil, and basil.
10 of 10
Perfect Scrambled Eggs
This recipe is all about technique and results in perfectly cooked, fluffy scrambled eggs. You can add cheese or other flavorful mix-ins, but the eggs are great on their own with a stack of buttered toast.