> They're lying to make it seem easier and to get more clicks on their recipes.

Doesn't make sense to me. I certainly don't choose a recipe based on the estimated time-to-complete.

In fact I generally click through a bunch of recipes, and pick and choose the ideas that sound as if they'll work. Felicity Cloake does this, in her "How to cook the perfect..." series. She consults a bunch of top cookbooks, tries several mash-ups, and feeds the results to a tasting panel. At least, that's what she says she does; I'm inclined to believe her.