196 heel recipes

Greek fig preserves (syko glyko) made with whole green figs stuffed with blanched almonds and simmered in lemon-scented syrup. Traditional spoon sweet for coffee service.

Grapefruit chiffon cake made with fresh juice and grated peel, six eggs whipped to stiff peaks, baked in a tube pan and drizzled with a citrus glaze. Light, tall, and bright.

Italian ricotta cheesecake with candied orange and lemon peel, golden raisins, and a splash of amaretto in a shortbread crust. Lighter and less sweet than American cream cheese cheesecake, dense in a softer way.

Citrus lovers will like this refreshing crispy cookie from Jocelyn Moritz of Waukesha.

Candied grapefruit peel slow-simmered in sugar syrup and rolled in granulated sugar. A bittersweet homemade candy that stores for a month.

Ground beef and eggplant casserole layers browned beef, tomatoes, and tender eggplant slices over rice. A budget-friendly Mediterranean-style bake that feeds six on a weeknight.

A traditional Danish curried eel recipe where tender poached eel is draped in a rich curry-onion roux sauce. Simple, old-world Scandinavian cooking with just a handful of ingredients. Serve over steamed rice.

Traditional Swiss Basel Leckerli: honey-spice cookie bars with cinnamon, cloves, candied peels, kirsch, and almonds under a crackly sugar glaze. Makes 50 to 60 bars that keep for weeks.

Spiced grapefruit upside-down cake with brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and cloves baked on a caramelized grapefruit base. Served with grapefruit-zest whipped cream.

Lots of fruit bread, a yeasted holiday loaf packed with prunes, figs, dates, raisins, candied peel, and almonds. The European-style fruit bread for Christmas mornings.

Homemade mincemeat with raisins, currants, apples, almonds, candied peel, and brandy. No suet needed. Ground twice, baked, and aged for rich, spiced holiday filling.

Swiss Leckerli cookies: honey-spiced almond bars with candied citrus peel and kirsch, finished with a hardening sugar glaze. Traditional Basel Christmas market sweet that improves with age.

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.

Buttery tangerine shortbread with fresh citrus peel and juice baked into a crisp, golden wedge. Only 5 ingredients for a melt-in-your-mouth cookie that's easy to make in bulk.

This traditional bread served in Mexico celebrates the Epiphany! Usually hidden inside is a coin or toy baby and whoever finds it gets to make the tamales for Candelmas!

Eccles cakes pack currants, mixed peel and warming spice inside flaky rough puff pastry, glazed with milk and crunchy caster sugar. Classic Lancashire teatime pastry from northwest England.