Twice-baked chocolate biscotti loaded with Dutch-process cocoa and toasted hazelnuts or walnuts. Crisp, sturdy, and dunkable, with a deep cocoa flavor and no butter or oil. The classic Italian coffee cookie, made dark.
Christmas is never complete without a visit from the aromatic, sweet-tasting gingerbread kids.
Crockpot pumpkin bread baked inside canning jars for cylindrical loaves. Pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, currants, and a wet pumpkin batter. Edible gift idea.
Old-fashioned custard pie with a lard-and-butter crust and a silky egg-milk filling dusted with nutmeg. Simple farmhouse dessert with a classic five-ingredient filling.
Fresh fruit dip made from a cooked citrus custard folded into whipped cream. Orange and lemon zest give it a bright, tangy flavor that pairs with any fresh fruit.
Easy sour cream raisin pie with just five ingredients: sour cream, sugar, raisins, an egg, and a pie shell. Bakes low and slow into a golden, custardy filling that needs no curd-cooking or fussy technique.
French lemon pie is a simple rustic tart: a whole wheat butter crust filled with a buttery fresh lemon custard and baked golden. Tart, glossy, and finished in an hour with pantry basics.
Homemade beef pot pie, Pennsylvania Dutch style: no baked crust, just handmade dough squares and cubed potatoes simmered with tender stewing beef in its own rich broth. Old-fashioned and hearty.
Self-filled chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese and chocolate chip center baked right in. No frosting needed when the filling does double duty.
Baida Paratha is Indian whole wheat flatbread stuffed with spiced mashed boiled egg, cilantro, and black pepper, shallow-fried in ghee until golden brown on both sides.
Quiche rounds are mini Tex-Mex quiches baked in muffin tins with corn tortilla bases, two melty cheeses, green chilies, olives, and a sour cream-cumin custard. Brunch finger food that comes together in one tray.
Molded chocolate mousse set in a loaf pan with gelatin, coffee, rum, and whipped egg whites for lift. Sliceable dinner-party dessert topped with vanilla whipped cream.
Nanaimo bars with a peppermint twist: cocoa graham cracker base, vanilla pudding buttercream middle, and a dark chocolate top layer. No-bake Canadian classic.
Lobster Moana: tropical-island lobster stir-fry from the New York Times archive with rum, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, snow peas, and napa cabbage, thickened with egg.
Moist carrot cake baked in a tube pan with walnuts and cinnamon, finished with a glossy cooked orange glaze instead of the usual cream cheese frosting.
Deep-fried chicken wings marinated overnight in a sweet soy garlic mixture with egg and cornstarch, fried golden and topped with sesame seeds and scallions.