4,469 four four recipes

Oven-baked grouper fish sticks coated in sour cream and crushed saltine crackers with paprika and onion. Crispy, golden, and lighter than anything from the freezer aisle.

A puffy, golden Dutch baby pancake with lemon zest and vanilla, topped with dark sweet cherries, sliced almonds, and powdered sugar. Dramatic enough to wow a brunch crowd, easy enough for a Tuesday morning.

Fresh peach tart with a buttery cinnamon shortcrust and glossy apricot glaze. Hand-creamed dough baked blind, then filled with ripe peach slices for an elegant French-style dessert.

Schlettersuppe, a traditional German egg drop soup with Schletterle dumplings scraped from thin batter into boiling broth. Seasoned with nutmeg, pepper, and fresh greens.

Strawberry Jello mold layered with bananas, crushed pineapple, walnuts, and a hidden sour cream layer in the middle. A retro party dessert that sets up firm and slices clean.

Slice-and-bake vanilla wafer cookies with powdered sugar, butter, and cream of tartar. Make the dough ahead, chill, slice thin, and bake crispy in 10 minutes.

Caramel apple cookies are buttery shortbread balls on toothpick sticks, dipped in melted caramel with apple juice concentrate, and pressed into chopped walnuts. Miniature caramel apple treats.

Moyettes are Mexican cinnamon sugar sweet bread rolls with anise flavor, brushed in melted butter and crusted in cinnamon sugar. A traditional pan dulce recipe.

Almond crescent cookies with toasted ground almonds and a tender shortbread base, finished with a chocolate drizzle or powdered sugar dusting. A Christmas cookie tin classic that holds for a week or more.

Snippets of venison marinated in cider with juniper berries, seared pink, and served with sauteed mushrooms in a garlic sour cream sauce. An elegant way to use venison trimmings.

Paprika and chili-rubbed chicken pieces cooked in hot oil fondue, served with a creamy curry sauce spiked with mango chutney. A fun, interactive dinner party centerpiece ready in 30 minutes.

Tiny French cheese pastry sandwiches made with sharp cheddar dough and a melted Swiss cheese filling. Flaky, buttery, and gone in two bites. Makes 46 croutes.

Beef meatballs in tangy buttermilk gravy served over noodles or homemade spaetzle. Pan-fried with mustard and onion for old-fashioned German-American flavor.

Orange cake filling made with fresh orange juice, lemon juice, and orange zest cooked over a double boiler. Bright, citrusy, and thick enough to hold between layers.

Individual fruitcake cupcakes studded with dates, golden raisins, pecans, and citrus zest, soaked in brandy and topped with a pineapple chunk. Just 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in the whole batch. Diabetic-friendly holiday baking at its finest.

Lemons are available year round with a peak season in the summer. Choose specimens that are firm, smooth, brightly colored, heavy for their size, and devoid of any blemishes or green splotches, a sign of underripeness.