Recipes with sugar

Grandma's classic pound cake: just five ingredients (butter, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla) baked into a tender, golden loaf. Old-fashioned heritage recipe with no leavening.

Dense apricot bars sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with dried apricots, walnuts, and cashews. No eggs, no butter, finished with powdered sugar icing and optional chocolate drizzle.

Favorite spiced pecans toss whole pecans in egg, then a warm blend of sugar, ginger, clove, and nutmeg, and bake low and slow until sweet, crunchy, and crackly. An easy candied nut for snacking and gifting.

Buttery Ritz crackers soak up lemon-spiked syrup to create a convincing apple pie filling without a single apple. Nostalgic Depression-era baking.

Five-spice-rubbed roast beef served with a homemade spiced blackberry ketchup, sweet, tart, and gently fiery with cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. An elegant roast with a surprising fruit condiment.

Classic Poires Belle Helene with whole pears poached in vanilla syrup, served with vanilla ice cream and warm homemade chocolate sauce. An elegant French dessert.

New Mexico style spicy green chili braises pork shoulder and bones with tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chili strips, and hot peppers. Use to smother enchiladas or eat by the bowlful.

Chicken and cashew nuts stir-fry with water chestnuts in a sweet and sour sauce. Marinated chicken breast wok-fried with crispy cashews, served with fried rice.

Honey barbecued salmon with a spicy honey-ketchup glaze featuring curry, jalapeno, and coarse mustard. Grilled fillets served on mache lettuce with a malt vinegar-cilantro dressing.

Herb-rubbed pork loin roast with tart apples, red onion, and brown sugar, finished with a reduced apple juice and maple syrup pan gravy. A fall Sunday dinner classic.

Peppermint meringue kisses with crushed red and green candy canes sprinkled over delicate egg-white peaks. The light-as-air holiday cookie that's naturally gluten-free and fat-free.

New Orleans-style pain perdu French toast with orange flower water, brandy, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Stale French bread soaked rich and fried golden, dusted with powdered sugar.

Apple cranberry pie with a buttery oat crumble topping replaces the top crust. Tart Granny Smiths and fresh cranberries baked low and slow under brown sugar streusel for a fall dessert with bite.

Maple pecan upside-down cake with pure maple syrup, brown sugar, currants, yogurt, and a hint of mace. Inverted to reveal a sticky, caramelized pecan topping served warm.

Zucchini Double Chocolate Cake: a 13x9 cake with cocoa batter, melted chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and two cups of shredded zucchini. Bakery-style alternating-addition method.

Sugar-glazed beet julienne served on a warm onion vinaigrette with champagne vinegar and olive oil. A refined microwave-cooked beet side dish with elegant plating.

Apricot almond bars with a buttery shortbread crust, spiced almond meringue topping, apricot glaze, and chocolate drizzle. Four layers of European-style pastry in every square.

Favourite lemon pudding pie creates two textures from one filling: a tangy lemon-curd pudding bottom and an airy meringue-like sponge on top. Heritage technique, no separate meringue required.

Andalusian gazpacho with 3 pounds of fresh tomatoes, bread, garlic, olive oil, and white wine vinegar, served ice-cold with a spread of diced vegetable garnishes. No cooking required.

Simple filled crepes (Flaedle) with eggs, milk, and flour, rolled with preserves and dusted with sugar. Fill sweet with jam or savory with seasoned meat.

Five-ingredient upside down coffee cake with pineapple rings, maraschino cherries, and brown sugar glaze over refrigerator biscuits. A retro brunch shortcut.

Scotland's version of the scone, sometimes known as Scot's Pancake. Looks more like a crumpet, though the texture resembles a pancake.

Classic potato salad from the Los Angeles Daily News July 2, 1992

Apple cream cheese coffeecake with a tender almond-scented crumb and cinnamon-sugar apples baked right on top. The cream cheese in the batter keeps every slice moist for days.

A decadent pumpkin cheesecake pie that your whole family will enjoy!

Cabbage fruit salad with a tangy sour cream dressing, diced apples, and raisins. A no-cook slaw tossed in pineapple juice and lemon for a sweet, creamy crunch that chills beautifully.

Old-fashioned homemade apple pie with a flaky oil crust, McIntosh apples spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, and a hot vanilla glaze brushed over while the pie is still warm. The glaze is what sets this version apart.

Manila Clams with Black Bean & Ginger Sauce recipe

Layered mocha chocolate torte with bloomed cocoa cake, espresso-spiked ermine filling, pecans, and creamy white frosting. Four-layer celebration cake.

Super Moist Jam, Pineapple and Pecan Cake with Caramel Icing recipe

Thai BBQ chicken drummettes marinated overnight in cilantro root, garlic, curry, turmeric, and fish sauce. Grilled with coconut milk basting and served with a spicy garlic-vinegar dipping sauce.

Barbecued tempeh baked in a homemade molasses-mustard sauce with cumin, coriander, and cayenne. A hearty vegetarian main served over rice or stuffed in pita.

Apple ring fritters with a light egg-white-folded batter for crisp lacy edges, fried golden and dusted with powdered sugar for a 40-minute homemade dessert.

Italian vegetable salad with chickpeas, mixed vegetables, olives, and cherry tomatoes in a basil-garlic vinaigrette. A make-ahead marinated salad for potlucks.

Apple cheddar muffins with oats, pecans, and a butter-dipped cinnamon-sugar apple slice pressed into each top. A savory-sweet breakfast muffin with sharp cheese in every bite.

Passover-friendly rhubarb cobbler with raspberries and a matzo meal crumble topping. Tart, fruity, and bubbling with a golden, nutmeg-scented crust. No flour needed.

Eingemachtes Kalbsfleisch, traditional German veal in a creamy lemon-and-egg-yolk-thickened gravy. A classic Swabian comfort dish served over potato dumplings or pasta.

Cinnamon snack cake with apple cider sauce: a sour cream coffee cake with crumb topping, served warm with vanilla ice cream and warm cider sauce. The fall dessert that smells like Sunday afternoon.

Cardamom aebleskiver: Danish-style round pancake balls cooked in a special aebleskive pan, lightly spiced with cardamom and served hot with powdered sugar and jam.

Apple cheddar cookies, the unexpected sweet-savory drop cookie. Sharp aged cheddar, chopped apples, cinnamon, and nuts in a buttery dough. Like apple pie meets cheese plate.

Cantonese tomato beef stir-fry with thinly sliced flank steak, fresh tomato wedges, garlic, and a sweet-tangy ketchup sauce. A 20-minute Chinese-American takeout classic.

Traditional Rhode Island johnnycakes from scratch: thin cornmeal griddle cakes scalded with boiling water, then slow-fried until lacy edges form a crackly golden crust.

Berkshire fruit cake packed with raisins, currants, and citron in a spiced molasses batter with cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Baked low and slow for 4.5 hours.

Cranberry coffee cake with a crushed frosted flake cereal topping baked over whole cranberry sauce. A quick, one-pan breakfast cake that works warm or at room temperature.

Quick and easy recipe for refrigerated watermelon-rind pickles.

Acorn squash stuffed with brown rice cooked in chicken broth, unsweetened applesauce, toasted pecans, celery, and ground ginger. A hearty fall side dish or light main.

Rich homemade hot chocolate made from scratch with real cream, milk, cocoa, and sugar, no powdered packet in sight. A thick, deeply chocolatey cup that puts the instant stuff to shame.