Holiday Recipes

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.

Old-fashioned molasses cookies built on dark molasses and dark brown sugar for deep, almost-burnt-sugar flavor. Crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle, optional warm spices for a holiday version.

Steamed cranberry pudding, a brighter take on Christmas pudding: tart cranberries, walnuts, and apricots in a suet batter, steamed moist and served warm with caramel or hard sauce. A festive holiday dessert.

Strucle z makiem, a traditional Polish poppy seed roll with a rich yeast dough filled with ground poppy seeds, honey, raisins, and candied orange peel, finished with lemon icing.

Halloween pumpkin pie with a from-scratch pastry crust, silky spiced custard, and fresh grated ginger for a livelier kick than the usual canned pie. The kind of pumpkin pie that earns its place on the autumn table.

Pear and cranberry tart with a buttery oat crumble topping. Tart cranberries burst in a sweet corn syrup sauce with tender sliced pears underneath the crisp.

Crunchy almond cookies shaped like eerie little fingers, these Dead Men's Legs are a spooky Halloween treat that stores for up to two months.

Helen's Holiday Float is a baked custard dessert spiked with whiskey and brandy, topped with golden meringue and nutmeg. A festive old-fashioned crowd-pleaser.

Pear and ginger cheesecake bakes a granola crust around a filling of simmered pears, crystallized ginger, and a lightened cottage-and-cream-cheese base. A cozy holiday dessert with less heft than classic cheesecake.

Patriotic Fourth of July chocolate sheet cake decorated as an American flag with vanilla and blue frosting and fresh strawberry stripes. A buttermilk-rich chocolate cake the kids can help decorate.

Aunt Velma's 3-ingredient Scottish shortbread is buttery, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Mixed by hand and baked golden, this old-fashioned holiday cookie recipe is pure simplicity at its finest.

It is mentioned in a traditional children's Irish jingle: "Three pans of boxty, baking all the day, What use is boxty without a cup of tay?"

Buttermilk pecan fruitcake made with dried pears and toasted pecans instead of the usual neon candied fruit. Buttermilk keeps the crumb tender, beaten egg whites give it lift. A gift-worthy Christmas loaf.

White chocolate orange buttercream for a holiday Buche de Noel, made with egg yolks, half-and-half, and Grand Marnier. Part 1 of a stunning Christmas log cake topped with toasted almonds and cranberries.

Celebration rugelach stacks three tiers of cream cheese pastry filled with walnuts, golden raisins, cinnamon, and raspberry preserves into a stunning Hanukkah or holiday centerpiece.

Bread machine Christmas bread: a sweet cardamom-scented yeast loaf with cinnamon, sugar, and chopped nuts. Scandinavian holiday baking made hands-off.