Recipes with butter

Macaroon meets chocolate chip cookie in this co-winner in the drop cookie category, with a twist of cinnamon, nutmeg and mint; it's from Jessica Wall-Valadez of Milwaukee.

Classic hard sauce made with creamed butter, powdered sugar, lemon extract, and fluffy egg white. This old-fashioned British dessert topping is the traditional partner for Christmas pudding.

Southwestern biscuits and gravy: fluffy masa buttermilk biscuits smothered in a smoky ham gravy loaded with fire-roasted green chiles. Classic Sunday brunch with a New Mexico accent.

Pounded chicken breasts wrapped with prosciutto and sage, pan-seared golden and finished in a Marsala mushroom sauce. Italian elegance in 30 minutes flat.

Mini sausage Reubens on party rye with smoked sausage, sauerkraut, Thousand Island, and bubbly Swiss cheese. Butter-toasted bread keeps them crispy under all that tangy, melty goodness.

Greek mussel pilaf (pilafi me mythia) cooks short grain rice directly in mussel-and-wine broth. The seafood-stock pilaf of the Aegean coast.

A decadent cake is made with chocolate chip cookie dough. Give your classic chocolate chip cookies a fun twist.

Vegetable lasagna layered with spinach, broccoli, carrots, and shallots between a parmesan bechamel and a ricotta-mozzarella-egg cheese filling. White-sauce lasagna with no red sauce.

Savory cheddar cheesecake with cream cheese, sharp cheddar, cottage cheese, ham, jalapeños, and scallions baked in a breadcrumb crust. A bold, spicy appetizer that's anything but sweet.

Orange apple pancakes start with a quick Bisquick batter brightened with orange zest and cinnamon, then get crowned with warm buttery apple wedges and pecans. An easy, cozy brunch in about half an hour.

Vegetarian Greek cabbage rolls packed with rice, pine nuts, and fresh dill, topped with a creamy egg-lemon avgolemono sauce. A bright, herbaceous Mediterranean main course.

Fudgy brownies loaded with chopped toffee bars and walnuts, mixed entirely in the food processor. Five ounces of unsweetened chocolate make these intensely rich and deeply dark.

Rich chocolate cream pie with a hint of cinnamon, cooked slow in a double boiler and crowned with golden meringue. Old-fashioned diner-style pie from scratch.

Twice-baked Idaho potatoes stuffed with sauteed onions, green peppers, butter, milk, paprika, and melted cheddar. Rustic, hearty, and piled high in the shell.

Peaches and cream omelet: a sweet breakfast omelet with cream cheese and heavy cream folded around stewed peaches. Brunch for four in 20 minutes, low-carb and rich.

Red and black raspberry pudding cake with fresh and frozen berries simmered into syrup and spooned over a buttery cake batter. The berries sink while baking, creating a soft pudding-cake top.