10,000 buttered recipes

Old fashioned macaroni and cheese layers cooked elbows with sharp cheddar in a milk-and-egg custard, baked under a paprika-dusted cheese crust. No bechamel, no shortcuts.

Buttery pecan shortbread balls rolled in snowy powdered sugar for these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican wedding cookies. A holiday favorite that's actually simple enough for weeknight baking.

Hoosier bean soup with navy beans and ham hock, simmered low and slow after an overnight soak. A classic Midwestern ham and bean soup that's thick, smoky, and deeply satisfying.

Chewy Rolo cookie bars: a yellow cake mix base studded with halved Rolo candies that melt into rivers of chocolate caramel. Five-ingredient bake-sale magic.

The crisp, densely chocolaty cookies, with an unusually long baking time, were an annual favorite among the 20-plus recipes that Susan Couchman of Hartland remembers were made each year by her mother, Gloria Kuchler.

Fig butterscotch drops are a stovetop candy with dried figs and ground nuts stirred into melted brown sugar butter. No oven, no fuss, rich and chewy.

Creamy pumpkin mushroom soup with honey, nutmeg, and half-and-half. A full pound of mushrooms and chicken broth build a rich, velvety base. Top with croutons or Parmesan.

Delicate, light and thin Swedish lemon cookie that is as light as an angel's wings.

Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread bites with dried blueberries and orange zest, pressed into mini muffin tins. Food processor simple and done in 25 minutes flat.

Oven-baked monkfish in a ginger cream sauce made with white wine, fish stock, and heavy cream. Includes a from-scratch fish stock recipe. Restaurant-quality seafood entree.

Tender cream cheese cookies wrapped around walnut halves and dusted in powdered sugar. Just 5 ingredients, melt-in-your-mouth rich. Makes 2 dozen elegant bon bons.

Almond Cookies: tender Italian-style cookies built on real almond paste, butter, and almond extract. Pressed flat with a sugared glass for crackled, sparkling tops. Makes 5 dozen.

Green beans amandine made in the microwave with toasted slivered almonds, melted butter, and a squeeze of lemon juice. A classic French side dish simplified for two, ready in 15 minutes flat.

A scrumptious side dish that can accompany your famous Christmas dinner!

Baked marmalade pancake: a Dutch baby-style oven pancake with puffed golden edges, almond extract, and a sweet swirl of orange marmalade and powdered sugar. Brunch theater in 30 minutes.

Maple walnut poundcake with a cinnamon walnut streusel swirl and pancake syrup sweetening the batter. A dense, tender tube-pan cake that makes its own maple glaze as the streusel melts during baking.