270 cheery recipes

A diabetic-friendly spice cake made with whole wheat flour, sour cherries, dates, and applesauce instead of refined sugar. Warmly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Chilled rice tossed with chicken, creamy avocado, black olives, and scallions in a tangy Dijon-red wine vinaigrette. Topped with toasted almonds and cherry tomatoes for a fresh no-cook summer salad.

Fruit basket cookies packed with candied cherries, dates, dried apricots, golden raisins, pecans, and walnuts in a brown sugar butter dough. A chewy, fruited holiday cookie.

Old-fashioned bourbon fruitcake packed with golden raisins, candied cherries, pineapple, citron, pecans, and coconut. Baked low and slow in a tube pan for rich, dense results.

Swiss Aargau carrot cake made with ground almonds, grated carrots, kirsch, and cornstarch instead of flour. Finished with apricot glaze, fondant icing, and marzipan carrots.

Holiday cheddar date cake bakes a tube of brown sugar batter loaded with shredded sharp cheddar, dates, pecans, candied cherries, and golden raisins. A surprising savory-sweet fruitcake that keeps for 6 weeks.

Pickled pineapple meringue freezes a meringue with pink-peppercorn-pickled pineapple, almonds, and cream, then plates with raspberry sauce and dramatic chocolate spires. Restaurant-style frozen dessert.

Amish friendship cake with brandy-soaked fruit starter, warm spices, and pecans in a bundt pan. A share-with-friends chain recipe where the fermented fruit starter grows and gets passed along.

Homemade bear claw pastries made from a buttery yeasted dough wrapped around a cherry, date, raisin, and walnut filling. This classic bakery recipe yields 16 to 20 golden, flaky pastries with a sweet almond glaze.

A fruit-packed quick bread loaded with dates, raisins, candied cherries, and walnuts, moistened with applesauce and oats for bakery-style loaves.

This is a very simple one-bowl meal, perfect for when you don’t have the time to spend cooking after work. You can easily double or triple the recipe and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Linda's fruitcake: brandy-soaked dates, citrus peel, raisins, almonds, and cherries folded into a spiced batter with a pineapple jam layer. Wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth to age.

Containing candied fruit and topped off with frosting, this bread is perfect as a small snack after dinner.

Triple onion walnut pate blends sweet caramelized red and yellow onions with scallions, walnuts, hard-cooked eggs, and asparagus into a rustic vegetarian spread for crackers or bread.

Grilled Hawaiian kabobs with pineapple, bell peppers, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes in a sweet soy-ginger marinade. A colorful vegetarian BBQ recipe ready in under an hour.

Beat the summer heat with this delicious fruit dish that is bound to cool you off.