Recipes to make based on your favorite Taylor Swift album

Taylor Swift fans, it’s your era! Although she started out as a relatively unknown country singer when she debuted her eponymous first album in 2006 at the age of sixteen, Swift has become the pop star of a generation less than twenty years later. It seems like every tour stop, dinner date (have you tried her favorite French Blonde cocktail yet?) and fashion choice is the staple, and now Swift is not only in the middle of an internet-breaking global tour, but she was also named TIME‘Person of the Year 2023.

After the debut of her eleventh original album, we couldn’t resist creating a guide Taylor-made (sorry) for the Swifties. We present you the recipe that you can make based on your favorite T. Swift album: Are you more nostalgic folklore? The feeling of a fierce Reputation? Maybe you’re enchanted by it Speak now? Based on which album appeals to you most, there is a combination of recipes for you, hand-picked by culinary professionals who also happen to be super fans.

Taylor Swift

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Hot honey chicken and waffles

We can pretty much guarantee you won’t be left with tears on your guitar as you serve up this spicy comfort dish, reliving the memories of the early 2000s through humble country hits like “Tim McGraw” and “Our Song.”

“Taylor Swift’s debut album inspires classic Southern dishes that still have international appeal,” explains Chris Roache, restaurant director at RMD Group in San Diego, California.

Featuring a cornbread-inspired waffle and buttermilk fried chicken, all slathered with cream cheese-hot honey spread, this recipe will have you wondering to “play it again” and serve a round of seconds.

Fearless

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: macarons

Tender and sweet like a teenager – ‘Love Story’, Sarah Fennel of Broma Bakery and a new cookbook Sweet tooth recommends rolling up your sleeves and saying “You Belong With Me” to a batch of colorful sandwich cookies in honor of this 2008 release.

“Why not be ‘Fearless’ in the kitchen and tackle a tricky baking project like homemade French macarons?” she says. “This recipe is flawless thanks to the stable Swiss meringue in the batter, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Once you’ve mastered the classic, we bet you’ll have the confidence (and serious appetite) to try a few flavor variations, including lavender-rosemary, lavender-honey, citrus twist, birthday cake, and peppermint.

Speak now

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Shortcut sugar rolls

“And she’s yelling at a bridesmaid / Somewhere back in a room / Wearing a dress shaped like a pastry…” Fennel swoons over Swift’s lyrics in the album’s song of the same name, calling this particular phrase “iconic “.

“But what pastry is Taylor talking about?” Fennel muses. “A croissant? A cheese danish?”

We’re not 100% sure, but we can certainly verify that we were thoroughly enchanted by these simple, bakery-quality sugar rolls, which is why they’re perfect for fans of this 2010 album. (Psst…They start with store-bought puff pastry.) Who wouldn’t want to call one of these cute frills ‘mine’?

Red

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Red Velvet Brookies

‘Call me crazy, but I think Red calls for something… red,” says Fennel, reflecting on this 2012 release.

Since ‘Everything Has Changed’ and fans of this album are probably in the mood for ‘Begin Again’, we couldn’t stop at the classic red velvet cake. Enter: these soft, chewy, cream cheese-swirled red velvet bar cookies “that you can house while listening to ‘All Too Well’ on repeat — the 10-minute version, of course,” says Fennel.

1989

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Fried Donuts

While this 2014 album was full of breakup anthems like “All You Had to Do Was Stay” and “Bad Blood,” none hit the radio top 40 (and stuck in our heads) as often as “ Shake It Off’.

Clarice Lam, pastry chef and author of Break baosays “I Wish You Would,” make a batch of powdered sugar donuts to give a nod to that iconic bop.

“If you shake the extra powdered sugar out of the donuts before eating these sweet pillowy treats, you won’t have to worry about anything,” says Lam.

Reputation

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Bittersweet chocolate cake

“Ahh ‘Reputation’, the darkest era we’ve seen yet,” Fennel reminisces as he reflects on the 2017 release.

Yes, we know we’re leaning heavily on the desserts with these combinations, but according to Roache, “Nothing says ‘Old Taylor can’t get to the phone right now’ like chocolate. It is dark on the outside, but it is sweet to eat.”

In honor of Swift’s sweet friendship with culinary queen (and BHG contributor) Ina Garten, we recommend fans of Reputation prepare this “Delicate” dark chocolate masterpiece. “Call it what you want,” says Garten: This will end up somewhere between chocolate cake and molten chocolate cake when it’s done.

Lover

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Confetti gluten free birthday cake

“’Lover’ is a pastel wonderland of bright colorful optimism, and sprinkles are all about optimism and joy,” says Jessie Sheehan, recipe developer, baker and cookbook author.

And we know Swift loves sprinkles: in a quick interview as part of Fashion‘s 73 Questions in 2016, Swift was asked about the best birthday cake she’d ever had and replied, “It was from Milk Bar (the naked cake is literally called “Birthday Cake” on their menu). It was my 25th birthday. It was so good that even Jay-Z was excited about it.”

Milk Bar owner Christina Tosi recreated this colorful cake for Swift for her most recent birthday. In the “Afterglow” of her 34th party, the straw-strewn cake was featured on Swift’s Instagram grid. You can purchase that exact recipe online from the Milk Bar Store or recreate something similar using our coincidental gluten-free birthday cake recipe as a guide. (Don’t miss the tip of turning it into a confetti cake by stirring ½ to ¾ cup of rainbow sprinkles into the cake batter!)

folklore

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Chicken stew with cornmeal dumplings

Fennel says this poetic early pandemic-era album calls for something that’s “perfect for breathing in while you cry while listening to ‘cardigan’.”

We think this cozy and surprisingly quick chicken stew will bring you “peace” as you work through all your emotions. Because we were on a mission to find the right comfort food recipe for everyone folklore fans, we had an “epiphany” that this dinner idea would be especially fitting because it’s topped with golden cornmeal dumplings. These could be a tribute to all of the singer/songwriter’s gold and platinum albums and her fourteen Grammy Award wins (and counting).

forever

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Mac and Cheese Dogs

This surprising release from December 2020 “always gives me a cozy autumn atmosphere,” says Fennel.

We already had the stew area covered, so we decided to take fans of this collection on a trip to the ‘coney island’ boardwalk on a crisp fall day. There we order (OK, whip up) a dressed up hot dog that will certainly bring you a dose of ‘happiness’.

Start with classic hot dogs and sandwiches and spice things up with a quick batch of homemade macaroni and cheese. Open a bottle of bubbly to cut through the richness and raise a glass to the brilliance that is ‘champagne problems’.

Midnights

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Nacho fries

The October 2022 album is probably best known for its catchy and relatable lyrics that have since spawned countless memes: “It’s me, hi, it’s me, it’s me.”

But no one is an “Anti-Hero” if they serve a large batch of Nacho Fries on the table. We selected this for ‘Midnights’ lovers as a tribute to Swift’s love of fast food favorites. (Her favorite order is a classic cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake Fashion interview revealed.)

Because really, “Karma” is going to feast on all the fries (with apparently ranch, if you dig) without having to share.

The department of tortured poets

Your Taylor Swift Recipe Link: Girls dinner

Although this almost guaranteed record-breaking album hasn’t yet hit the airwaves at the time of publication (release date is April 19), Kyla Haren-Moye, resident cheesemonger and director of hospitality and guest experiences at The Walls Vineyards, has the perfect Rx: Girls’ Dinner .

“While there is no exact recipe, there is always an element of surprise because a true ‘girls dinner’ is a mix of whatever tastes fantastic at the moment,” says Haren-Moye. And we can only expect Swift’s latest album to be full of surprises.

Feel free to mix and match: “Just like in life, on the plate you need the salty and the savory to make the sweet that much better,” says Haren-Moye.

To pair with your girls dinner, she suggests pouring some rosé. (The Walls even has one called Cruel Summer!) It pairs beautifully with a range of foods, and it glows with fresh spring energy.