Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

By Addie

"To me this is the only "real" Macaroni & Cheese recipe. It's from my 1946 edition of "Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook". With time on it's side - this recipe is hands down the best for traditional, homemade baked macaroni & cheese - comfort food. Please Note: If you use CHEAP CHEESE you will end up with a BLAND and FLAVORLESS DISH!"

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) packages macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded good quality
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, buttered

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.

In a large saucepan melt butter. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended. Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly). Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Turn off flame. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.



(You can also freeze this recipe in zip-lock bags for later use - once you have mixed the macaroni along with the cheese sauce allow to cool to room temperature before adding to your freezer - I generally pull it out the night before and allow macaroni and cheese to reach room temperature; I then add the macaroni and cheese to a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbling.

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REVIEWS (579)

I have made this before. It was in an old Fanny Farmer cookbook I had but lost in one of our moves several years ago. It is a very creamy recipe and one of the best I have ever made. And I have made alot. No changes need to be made to this recipe. Some of the old ones are the best. This is one of them.

I agree with Minnie Chef, BUT, when something has been around 63 years without changes PLEASE go by the old rule. "IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT". Stop forever experimenting with everything. Enjoy the CLASSICS as they were meant to be. AS IS. There may be a few of you that can really be all that good with what some combinations are going to end up as. But, very few. I am not talking to those of you that have medical or dietary demands on your intake. I am talking to those of you that don't even give the original recipe a chance. NUFF said. Enjoy it as written then if you feel it needs a change go for it.

I make this recipe frequently, using all milk instead of cream. I also add a small amount (maybe a tablespoon) of minced onion to the sauce. It is wonderful! Even onion haters love it!!!

This is great. I omit the bread crumbs because I don't really care for them. I mix up the cheeses a little: I use one cup of grated sharp cheddar and ~1 cup of Velveeta (don't shoot! - it's really the only way I've found to get that super-creamy mac & cheese that everyone loves so much). I also add a ton of black pepper to the roux with the salt. I reserve a little of the grated cheddar to sprinkle on top in place of the bread crumbs. Fantastico!

Ok, I am going to fess up right here and now to "jumping to conclusions." I have long been in search of the "best" macaroni and cheese recipe. To do that, I went straight to the top of 'Zaar, and started making the #1 rated recipe. I loved it, and it got rave reviews, but my best friend here didn't deem it "perfect", although she wasn't clear on exactly what was missing. So I began to peruse the "runner ups" and found this recipe. The first time I made it, I could see that it was going to be better than #1. It is creamy, rich, and delicious. I have varied the recipe every time with the following modifications and NOT ONE of them made it any less delicious - 1. Lactose (almost) free using Cabot cheddar cheeses (no lactose) and Lactaid whole milk. 2. Low(er) fat - using regular 2% milk, one 8oz Velveeta (less fat than Cheddar) and 1 8oz 50% less fat Cabot. I also need to point out to any reviewers who find this "bland", the seasonings are on you. You need to taste it when you are making the white sauce to be sure that is well seasoned, and taste it again after the cheese is added. I add Cayenne pepper to every macaroni and cheese I make, and I am sure at the end I added more salt and pepper. Only way to make a dish perfect is to taste it all the way through. Kudos, Carla, this recipe has finally been deemed "perfect."

This is a classic and by far one of the best Mac and Cheese receipes ever created . For a little extra flavour and a little heat I too add up to a teaspoon of dry mustard, several shakes of Tobasco. A couple of Roma tomatoes that have been seeded and chopped add colour and for additional taste I also cube two healthy slices or more of smoked ham and add it to the casserole. This has been fantastic comfort food for years and will continue to be in my books.

Great recipe! But I respectfully disagree completely with the statement that "if you use cheap cheese, you will end up with a bland and flavorless dish". This is rediculous. I would say that if you use mild or medium cheddar, these are indeed the results you will get. But the price of the cheese will make no difference whatsoever, just as long as you go sharp sharp on your type of cheese. Go ahead and save your money! This dish rocks!

I have an 1896 Fannie Farmers Boston Cooking School cookbook which I inherited from my great gramma. She is the first one who first made this dish for me when I was a child. My gramma and mom ALWAYS made mac and cheese this way. Lazy me slipped into making the "blue box" when my children were young because it was quick and easy, and have to admit I still use occasionally as a quick side, although I always found it to be too "velveety" tasting. I bought velveeta once and thought it was gross, reminds me of that disgusting yellow american cheese. (my opinion only, but I really don't like the stuff) Anyhow, getting off track here, I saw this recipe on here, and had to make it again, the recipe is the same in the in the 1896 version of cookbook by the way, now my husband in general HATES macaroni and cheese, reminds him of school cafeteria food. I made this last night, following recipe exactly, and he ate half of a 9 by 13 baking dish of it with sliced fresh tomatoes from the garden, couldn't believe it was mac and cheese and tasted this, and bought memories of gram and great gramma back to me. Thank you for posting. The only other comment is if you want 'blue box or Velveeta" stay with it, they don't do it for me, this is a different grown up flavor which is wonderful. Don't mess with the original. This is fantastic, despite the time involved, always worth it.

Excellent macaroni! It's important to cook the flour and butter mixture for a few minutes before adding the milk and cream, to get rid of the "flour" taste. It's standard when making a roux or bechamel. I'm guessing some people who complained of bland flavor didn't cook it properly.

This recipe is almost identical to the one my mother always made. She was a farmer's wife. Baking mac and cheese does give it a different texture and flavor than what you find in the blue box or most cafeterias. My mom always used the oldest cheddar cheese she could get. You know, the stuff that makes the kitchen stink like sports socks and makes your face tingle if you eat it uncooked. She would just cut the mold (penicillin) off and crumble it. As well, she was never one to waste anything so she would save the little bits of other cheese and use them as well. Sometimes she added just a little blue cheese. It was always similar in taste, but never exactly the same due to the combination of leftover cheese. Delicious!

If my husband could have this every night, I would have no need for any other recipe. I'm sorry that I haven't rated this until now. We both loved this. I only made a few changes to suit our preferences. I added about a 1/2tsp of garlic, we used 2% milk, and low fat cream. I topped it with panko crumbs and after baking I put it under the broiler for about 4 minutes to give it an added crunch.

LOVE this recipe! Please follow the chef's advice and DON'T use cheap cheese! Or Velveeta. Shudder. Buy a block of good-quality cheddar and shred it. After the first time, we made a couple of changes, but it was delicious as written as well. I use cracker crumbs instead of buttered bread crumbs, whole milk instead of milk/cream, and sprinkle a little paprika on top. My husband also insists that we make it "saucier" so I make 1.5 times the sauce. Delicious!