Holiday Recipes

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.

Diaper dump porridge is a gross-out Halloween dumpling soup made with refrigerator biscuits sculpted into questionable shapes and floated in chicken broth. Three ingredients, maximum kid shock value.

Halloween hairball salad: walnut-sized balls of mashed avocado and alfalfa sprouts rolled up and perched on grated carrots, finished with Italian dressing. Kid-friendly ghoulish fun.

Blarney stones are tender cake bars coated in powdered sugar icing and rolled in chopped peanuts or pecans. A classic Irish-American holiday treat with a crunchy, nutty shell.

Sewer soda is a Halloween-themed chocolate ice cream float with chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate syrup, and club soda. A 3-ingredient gross-out kids' party drink with serious appeal.

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.

Oysters Philadelphia: sherry-poached oysters on a bed of sauteed celery, topped with bechamel, Parmesan, and paprika, then baked golden on rock salt. An elegant holiday appetizer.

Gingerbread house cake: a warmly spiced two-layer gingerbread cake filled with cream cheese frosting and candy, then decorated like a gingerbread house. All the festive fun without the structural engineering.

Grilled eggplant salad topped with a quick-pickled cucumber and red onion relish in cider vinegar dressing. A smoky, refreshing summer vegetable side.

New Year's Eve clock cake: three airy white cake layers stacked with silky chocolate cream filling, wrapped in rich Hungarian chocolate frosting and decorated to look like a clock striking midnight.

Halloween fig spooks cupcakes built from cake mix studded with chopped figs, topped with a whole dried fig and draped in white buttercream icing for little ghost-shaped treats.

A delicious cheese ball made out of cream cheese and savory dried beef.

Maple glazed sweet potatoes baked in butter and real maple syrup, topped with salted sunflower seeds for crunch. A simple 4-ingredient holiday side dish.

Caramel pecan pie skips the corn syrup and melts soft caramels into the filling instead, layered with pecan halves in a flaky crust. Richer, chewier twist on the Thanksgiving classic.

Brunch pizza topped with ham, mozzarella, and a poured egg-milk custard baked on pizza dough until set and golden. Five ingredients, 30 minutes.

Amazing Stuffed Leg of Duck with Red Wine Sauce recipe