Holiday Recipes

Good cookie to have with coffee after everyone has gone home, the dishes are done and you finally get to sit down

Buttery spiced fig thumbprint cookies, tender brown-sugar dough rolled in a crunchy flax-sugar coating and filled with jammy fig preserves. Warm cinnamon and nutmeg make them a standout on the holiday cookie tray.

These cookies with a candy bar center, from Bev Bosveld of Waupun, are packed with coconut.

Chocolate peppermint pinwheel cookies swirl cocoa-rich chocolate dough with crushed peppermint candy dough into a spiral slice-and-bake Christmas cookie. A holiday tin classic with bracing mint and deep chocolate.

Three-layer chocolate pudding cake with rich chocolate custard between cocoa sponge layers, baked in a water bath and served with a Grand Marnier bittersweet chocolate sauce.

Crispy chocolate snap cookies topped with frosting and piped spiderweb designs in melted chocolate. The ultimate Halloween cookie that freezes beautifully for make-ahead party prep.

Containing candied fruit and topped off with frosting, this bread is perfect as a small snack after dinner.

Vienna crescent cookies with butter, sugar, flour, and ground almonds or pecans, dusted in powdered sugar. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Christmas cookies in 4 ingredients.

Cinnamon ribbon bread layers tender sour cream cake batter with cinnamon-sugar swirls and a pecan crown. A breakfast loaf with a marbled cinnamon ribbon running through every slice.

Cocoa sponge cake hearts cut from a sheet pan, dusted with powdered sugar, and plated with pools of raspberry sauce and chocolate syrup. A stunning Valentine's Day or special occasion dessert for 8.

Old-fashioned Christmas fruit cake with boiled raisins, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. No eggs or butter needed, just cold water and shortening for a dense, spiced holiday cake.

Cranberry nut bread with fresh orange zest, orange juice, and chopped walnuts or pecans. A tart, citrusy quick bread loaf that also works as muffins for holiday breakfasts and gifting.

Adorable Halloween ghost biscotti dipped in white chocolate with candy decorations. Crunchy orange-almond cookies perfect for trick-or-treaters and fall parties.

The crisp, densely chocolaty cookies, with an unusually long baking time, were an annual favorite among the 20-plus recipes that Susan Couchman of Hartland remembers were made each year by her mother, Gloria Kuchler.

Triple-chocolate Halloween brownies with espresso, walnuts, and chocolate chips, chilled and cut into festive shapes with cookie cutters, then frosted in orange.

A hilariously gross Halloween cake decorated to look like a head with frosting 'hair,' cherry eyes, and a fruit roll-up tongue. Kids go absolutely wild for this one. Easy box cake base.