Old-fashioned blueberry cake topped with hard sauce and a hot lemon-blueberry compote that melts the butter into the warm cake. A classic New England dessert with bright berry flavor.
Greek honey cake (revani) with walnuts, cinnamon, and orange zest, cut into diamonds and drenched in a warm honey-lemon syrup. A sticky, fragrant Mediterranean dessert soaked until every bite drips.
A tender quick bread studded with chewy dried apricots and crunchy walnuts, sweetened with brown sugar. No yeast, no kneading, just one bowl and one hour in the oven.
Elodie's chocolate cake is a French-style dense bake with 10 oz bittersweet chocolate and just 5 tablespoons of flour - intensely fudgy, rich, and make-ahead friendly.
A warmly spiced sweet potato loaf sweetened with molasses and honey, made with whole wheat flour and loaded with walnuts. Moist, fragrant, and naturally wholesome.
Big, hearty banana peanut butter oat cookies loaded with raisins and brown sugar. No mixer needed for these chewy drop cookies. Makes 18 jumbo-sized jumbles in 30 minutes.
Key lime roll cake filled with lime-spiked lemon pie filling and frosted with whipped topping. A light, tangy jelly roll dessert tinted pale green and garnished with lime slices.
Traditional New Mexican biscochitos made with lard, egg yolks, anise, and vanilla. Rolled, cut into shapes, and baked until tender. New Mexico's official state cookie and a holiday staple.
Oatmeal cookies loaded with toasted walnuts and shredded coconut, rolled in sugar before baking for a sparkly, crackled top. Old-school four-dozen batch.
Classic oatmeal muffins with buttermilk tang and brown sugar sweetness. Ready in 45 minutes after 1-hour oat soak, yields 5 tender breakfast muffins.
Spiced black beans, corn, and salsa baked under a golden cornmeal crust. This lightened-up Southwestern bean pie is hearty, oil-free, and full of smoky cumin flavor.
Savory Gouda cheese muffins made with yogurt, butter, and a full cup and a half of shredded Gouda. Tender and rich with a subtle tang from the yogurt in every bite.
Hearty bran muffins made tender with yogurt and brown sugar, studded with your choice of berries, peaches, or raisins. A mix-and-match recipe you can customize with any flavored yogurt you've got.
Pfeffernuesse are traditional German pepper nut cookies spiced with cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and allspice. Tiny rounds dried overnight and finished with a drop of brandy.
Hazelnut and anisette biscotti are twice-baked Italian cookies flavored with toasted hazelnuts, anise seed, lemon zest, and espresso powder. Crisp Christmas cookies for dunking in coffee.
Aunt Catherine's Italian Cookies: a heirloom cookie with almond extract, cinnamon, and chopped nuts, finished in pastel-colored powdered sugar icing. Stores for months in tins.