Holiday Recipes

Mother's Day baked apple-cinnamon French toast assembles overnight, then bakes into a puffed, custardy casserole with dried apples, raisins, and warm spices. Zero morning-of stress.

Chocolate dessert cups shaped over balloons and filled with airy raspberry mousse. No molds needed, just melted semisweet chocolate and a clever balloon trick for an edible Valentine's showstopper.

Santa's white fudge made with sour cream, corn syrup, and sugar cooked to soft-ball stage, then loaded with candied cherries and pecans. Creamy holiday candy in an 8x8 pan.

Classic turkey stuffing with bread cubes, sautéed celery and onion, butter, and chicken broth. Simple enough to memorize, good enough to make every Thanksgiving.

Holiday pork loin stuffed with brown rice, toasted almonds, orange, and crystallized ginger, glazed with cranberry-orange sauce. A festive Christmas centerpiece roast that slices into ruby-red rounds.

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.

Thanksgiving apple butter pumpkin pie blends spiced apple butter with pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and warm spices for a deeper, more complex twist on the classic. The fall pie that surprises pumpkin pie traditionalists.

Hungarian tarts with a cream cheese pastry shell and five filling options: almond, pecan, walnut, coconut, and farmer's cheese. A traditional holiday baking project.

Eastern European poppyseed strudel with a buttery yeasted dough rolled around poppy seed filling, raisins, walnuts, and honey. The traditional makowiec for Christmas and Easter tables.

Rice kugel with cream cheese, cottage cheese, orange and lemon zest, topped with crispy rice cereal and brown sugar. A creamy, custard-like Jewish holiday side dish.

Cranberry party mold sets raspberry gelatin with yogurt, fresh cranberries, crushed pineapple, apple, celery, and walnuts for a tangy-sweet holiday salad. A retro Thanksgiving and Christmas table classic.

Pecan stuffed mushrooms with cream cheese, crumbled bacon, chives, and white wine, broiled until bubbling. A make-ahead appetizer that's ready in 20 minutes.

Halloween witches' broom sticks shape biscuit dough into twisted handles topped with fringed twig bundles, brushed with butter and Parmesan. A savory shaped snack kids can help craft for Halloween parties.

Cinnamon roll ring uses frozen dinner rolls coated in cinnamon sugar, layered with toasted pecans and butterscotch pudding mix in a bundt pan. Rises overnight, bakes in 30 minutes.

Pecan pumpkin pie with a spiced pumpkin custard bottom layer and a buttery brown-sugar pecan topping. Two holiday pies in one, brightened with lemon zest and juice in the pecan filling.

Kluski z makiem is a traditional Polish Christmas Eve noodle dish tossed with poppy seed filling, butter, raisins, lemon zest, and vanilla. A sweet, comforting holiday classic.