14 citron recipes

Italian panettone bread baked in the bread machine: a Christmas yeast bread with raisins, currants, candied citron, honey, and a hint of star anise. The Milanese holiday classic made easy.

Great cake is an old-fashioned colonial American pound cake loaded with currants, candied citron, and rosewater. A Martha Washington-era recipe that's dense, buttery, and built for special occasions.

Italian macaroons made from almond paste kneaded with egg whites and sugar, baked into chewy, fragrant amaretti-style cookies. A short rest before baking gives them their crackly top and tender center.

Lebkuchen (German honey cakes) blend honey, brown sugar, lemon, almonds, citron, and warm spices into a chewy spice cookie cut into fancy holiday shapes. Traditional Christmas cookie from Nuremberg.

Fattigmands bakkelese are traditional Norwegian deep-fried pastry cookies with cardamom, citron, and lemon juice. Rich egg yolk dough rolled thin, cut into diamond shapes, and fried until golden and crisp.

Sweet potato pie with warm brandy, fresh lemon zest, and a sprinkle of chopped citron over the top. The brandy-citrus brightness lifts the spiced filling into something more sophisticated than typical sweet potato pie.

Traditional Panforte di Siena with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, candied orange peel, citron, cocoa, and honey syrup cooked to soft ball stage. A dense Italian Christmas confection.

Traditional German Lebkuchen honey cakes spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, studded with candied citron and brushed with a clear sugar glaze.

Mocha cake is a spiced coffee loaf studded with raisins, currants, and citron. Brewed coffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice create a warmly spiced fruitcake for any occasion.

Julekage, the traditional Norwegian Christmas bread scented with cardamom and studded with dark raisins and candied citron. Made fast with a food processor instead of hours of hand-kneading.

Classic New Orleans king cake: a brioche-like yeast ring scented with nutmeg and lemon, filled with citron, glazed with lemon icing and purple-green-gold sugar. Mardi Gras tradition baked at home.

Election Day cake, a historic New England yeast-raised spice cake studded with raisins, citron and nuts, warmed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mace, and glazed with confectioners' sugar. A colonial American tradition.

Traditional German lebkuchen: honey-and-molasses spice cookies studded with citron and nuts, finished with a brushed sugar glaze. A heritage Christmas cookie that gets better as it ages.

A layered Italian cassata cake with orange-ricotta filling, chocolate, candied citron, and vanilla frosting topped with pistachios. A Sicilian bakery classic you can make at home.