20 COOK’S COUNTRY • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
I GREW UP head over heels in love
with my mom’s macaroni and cheese.
Her version featured cooked elbow
macaroni that was evenly coated with a
creamy cheese sauce enriched with eggs
and then baked until set.
This sliceable casserole
was sturdy enough that it
wouldn’t run into other
things on your plate—a
far cry from the runny
boxed version. The only
thing I don’t love about
my mom’s mac and
cheese is the work required to make it.
Between boiling pasta, making a cheese
sauce, assembling, and baking, it often
takes hours to put together. I wanted to
see if I could get the same sturdy, rich
mac with less work.
There is a class of easy macaroni
and cheese recipes that call for adding
uncooked macaroni to a baking dish,
pouring over a no-cook sauce, and bak-
ing, so I made a handful of these recipes
to get my bearings. The problems were
many: unevenly cooked pasta, greasy
sauces, scrambled eggs in the casserole,
and flat flavor. I knew I could do better.
Working with a baseline of 8 ounces
of uncooked macaroni in an 8-inch
square baking dish, I first had to figure
out the sauce ingredients. After lots of
testing with all kinds of dairy (includ-
ing milk, cream, and cream cheese),
I landed on a combination of 1 cup
of heavy cream, 2 cups of water, two
beaten eggs, and a little cornstarch;
the water provided enough liquid to
help the pasta cook evenly, and the
cornstarch contributed
thickening power. Sharp
cheddar was a must for
flavor, while shredded
American cheese kept the
sauce creamy and silky
(American cheese has
stabilizers that help hold
sauces together). Tossing
the shredded cheese with a little more
cornstarch helped the sauce stay thick
and further discouraged separation. To
bump up the flavor, I added three pow-
erhouse ingredients: Dijon mustard,
Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
My macaroni and cheese casserole
tasted great, but it was prone to over-
cooking. I developed a fail-safe process:
Bake the casserole covered for 30 min-
utes at 400 degrees, remove the foil and
stir, add extra cheese on top, bake it for
another 15 minutes, and then blast it
under the broiler to melt and brown
the cheese on top. A full 25-minute
rest before serving gave the casserole a
chance to set up.
It took a lot of work to get the recipe
just right, but I finally had a macaroni
and cheese casserole that was fast and
easy enough for a weeknight.Macaroni and
Cheese Casserole
This simple bake makes for an
easy supper or crowd-pleasing
Thanksgiving side dish.- Add liquid
Pour cream mixture over macaroni in bak-
ing dish, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. - Start with uncooked pasta
Toss uncooked macaroni with cheese and
cornstarch. - Bake to 150 to 160 degrees
Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Take tem-
perature to ensure tender, set casserole.
This delicious casserole is so easy to make
that you don’t even have to boil the pasta.
by Morgan Bolling
Three Key Steps to Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
EASY MACARONI AND CHEESE
CASSEROLE Serves 4 to 6
Note that the macaroni has not been
cooked when it’s combined with the
cheeses and cornstarch in step 1 of the
recipe. For the best results, ask for a
4-ounce block of American cheese at
the deli counter and shred it on the
large holes of a box grater yourself. We
developed this recipe using a ceramic
baking dish. If you choose to use a
metal baking pan, reduce the cooking
time in step 2 to 25 minutes.8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese,
shredded (2 cups), divided
4 ounces American cheese,
shredded (1 cup)4 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups water
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper- Adjust oven rack 6 inches from
broiler element and heat oven to
400 degrees. Toss 4 ounces cheddar,
American cheese, and 2 teaspoons
cornstarch together in bowl. Add
macaroni, toss to combine, and
transfer mixture to broiler-safe 8-inch
square baking dish. - Whisk cream and remaining
2 teaspoons cornstarch together in
now-empty bowl until cornstarch is
dissolved. Whisk in water, eggs, mus-
tard, hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt,
and pepper until fully combined. Pour
cream mixture over macaroni mixture
in dish. Cover with aluminum foil and
bake for 30 minutes. - Remove dish from oven and discard
foil. Stir to redistribute macaroni.
Sprinkle with remaining 4 ounces
cheddar. Return dish to oven and con-
tinue to bake until edges are bubbling
and just set and center registers 150 to
160 degrees, about 15 minutes. - Broil until top of casserole is spotty
brown, about 2 minutes. Let rest on
wire rack for 25 minutes. Serve.
The Creamiest
No cheese melts
better than American,
which is why we use it
here. Sharp cheddar
adds a tangy kick.