Holiday recipe collection

Raisin orange polenta cookies fold Cointreau-soaked raisins, bright orange zest, and a scoop of cornmeal into a buttery Italian-style drop cookie. Golden, subtly crunchy, and citrus-bright.

Ralph's Retch, a gleefully gross Halloween drink for kids: strawberry jello chopped into wobbly globs, layered with crushed ice and fizzy strawberry soda. A no-cook party gag that tastes like a sweet slushie.

Raspberry cheesecake cookie pizza with a giant butter cookie crust, cream cheese filling, swirled raspberry preserves, and toasted almonds. A dessert pizza that slices into wedges like a pie.

Rich almond spritz cookies with nutty depth and delicate crumb. Cookie press shapes bake up golden with sophisticated flavor beyond basic butter cookies.

Ritzy chocolate-covered nuts are candied slivered almonds with a crackly sugar shell, roasted to toasty perfection and dipped in melted chocolate. A three-ingredient homemade holiday candy for gift tins.

Quick, easy and delicious way to cook your winter squash as a side dish.

Roasted winter squash with garlic and parsley tosses caramelized cubes of butternut or kabocha with warmed garlic and fresh Italian parsley. A clean, healthy side that lets the squash do the talking.

Rocky road dessert pizza with a brown sugar cookie crust, melted chocolate, puffed marshmallows, and chopped peanuts drizzled with more chocolate. A fun holiday treat.

Ruby punch bowl with Burgundy wine, cranberry juice, apple cider, and a cinnamon-clove spiced syrup. A deep red holiday punch for 24 guests.

Rugelach roll flaky cream cheese dough around apricot preserves, cinnamon-brown-sugar, walnuts, and raisins into bite-sized crescents. A classic Jewish bakery cookie for Hanukkah and Christmas alike.

Rugelach four ways: a single cream cheese pastry dough turned into raspberry-almond crescents, layered chocolate-pecan squares, apricot pockets and honey-pecan triangles. Holiday cookie tray showstopper.

Rum butter sauce simmers a glossy syrup of sugar, lemon juice, butter, brandy, and both light and dark rum into a holiday dessert sauce. Pour warm over mince pie, pound cake, or steamed pudding.

Romanian fried noodle pudding (kugel) with golden sauteed onions and eggs, pan-fried until crispy on both sides. A savory, skillet-browned noodle cake from Eastern European tradition.

This spectacular stuffed pumpkin can be the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving table.

Fish in horseradish sauce -- This recipe is the first of the 12 dishes that make up the traditional Polish Christmas-eve meal, which is eaten after sundown on Christmas eve.

Irish soda bread for Saint Patrick's Day with currants, buttermilk, and a whisper of cardamom. Two crusty round loaves scored with a cross, baked until they thump hollow.