The Better Letter

These are elegant and easy. The batter is a variation on chocolate chip cookies, but with fresh raspberries and pecans. Best of all, no shaping or scooping. Just bake into bars, then serve in decadent squares.

When it's just you, the kids and the beach, it's easy to throw a few PB&Js in a backpack and go. But sometimes we want to make it special, and by the time you draft a menu, the grocery list is a mile long and is going to cost more than any respectable picnic should.

When you pack a picnic lunch, you want to bring sandwiches, salads and munchies not E. coli, Salmonella or Listeria. Here are some food safety tips that are especially important in summer when warmer temperatures allow bacteria to reproduce rapidly.

Kathryn Guylay of Nurture teaches youth simple and healthy cooking. This super-easy, highly affordable recipe comes from Kathryn Guylay, executive director of the nonprofit Nurture.

Maybe you have an ice cream maker. But it's probably in the basement or the garage or that cabinet that's out-of-reach, never been used.

This old-fashioned coleslaw goes with anything and everything grilled. It makes a lot of salad, but the leftovers last for days, so make the whole recipe even if you’re just cooking for a small group.

The recipe for this delicious and easy egg dish comes from Gloria Logan, mother of Liz Logan, Make It Better’s senior editor. All the work is done the night before, so on Mother’s Day, your brood just has to pop it in the oven while you relax.