17 fanciful recipes

Sauteed green beans with garlic, mint, and white vinegar topped with crumbled feta cheese and chopped walnuts. A Mediterranean-style side dish that turns frozen green beans into something special.

Homemade curry powder toasted in the oven with fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, cloves, and cinnamon, then ground with turmeric, mace, and cayenne.

Fancy spritz cookies are tender, buttery pressed cookies enriched with ground almonds and almond extract for a marzipan-like flavor. Shape them with a cookie press into pretty holiday wreaths and stars.

Fanchie-dofu, a Chinese tomato and tofu stir-fry with garlic, sake, leeks, and green peas in a light cornstarch sauce. Vegetarian and ready in 30 minutes.

Moravian white Christmas cookies are rich, butter-and-cream rolled cookies cut into fancy shapes. Pennsylvania-Dutch tradition with a crisp snap and tender middle.

Georgia pecan pie with dark corn syrup, butter, and a full cup of toasted pecans baked into a glossy custard filling. The Southern Thanksgiving classic, no fuss, no fancy.

Fudgy cocoa brownies with crispy edges and a tender center prove you don't need fancy chocolate bars when quality cocoa powder delivers the goods.

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.

A slow cooker Parmesan cream sauce loaded with chicken, ham, and mushrooms, spooned into flaky pastry shells. Set it and forget it for an effortless dinner that feels fancy.

Parisian Sophisticates: almond-vanilla buttermilk cupcakes hollowed out and filled with airy chocolate truffle mousse, topped with toasted cake crumbs. Vintage tea-party fancy.

Boozy bundt cake soaked in an apricot-rum glaze that seeps into every crumb. A showstopper dessert that tastes fancy but starts with a box mix.

Golden-seared chicken breasts stuffed with tangy goat cheese under the skin, nestled on sauteed zucchini and yellow squash. A one-hour weeknight dinner that feels fancy.

Peanut butter bon bons: soft, chewy peanut butter cookie balls coated in melted milk chocolate. A chocolate-peanut butter treat that looks fancy but uses simple pantry ingredients.

Cherry cake mix cookies dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with toasted almonds. A clever shortcut treat that looks bakery-fancy with under 10 minutes of hands-on work.

Butterscotch-glazed apples in a crunchy oat crust, topped with whipped cream folded with crushed peanut brittle and orange zest. A no-bake filling pie that's equal parts cozy and fancy.

Star-shaped chocolate sandwich cookies cut from a chewy cocoa-and-chip sheet bake, then filled with sweet cream cheese frosting. A festive holiday cookie that looks fancy but skips the rolled-dough fuss.