Recipe Sifter

Chocolate-filled fruit oatmeal bars: a buttery brown-sugar oat crust with a rich melted chocolate, condensed milk, raisin, and coconut filling. Sheet-pan bars for crowds and cookie swaps.

Santa cookie wreath, a festive gingerbread ring shaped from boxed mix, ringed with holly-leaf cookies and finished in melted candy coating. A fun edible centerpiece for the holiday table.

Microwave chicken tetrazzini with peas, mushrooms, and a creamy sherry sauce over spaghetti. Lighter than traditional versions using skim milk, this one-dish pasta dinner comes together in 35 minutes.

Pumpkin cheese tart with a gingersnap-oat crust and a marbled cream cheese-pumpkin filling, finished with warm caramel sauce. A lighter take on pumpkin pie that actually holds its own on the holiday table.

Scaloppine al limone: classic Italian pan-seared veal cutlets with a bright lemon pan sauce. Ready in under 40 minutes from six pantry ingredients. Restaurant-style results at home.

Upside-down apple gingerbread with sliced apples in brown sugar on the bottom, topped with a spiced molasses cake made with hot tea. A warm fall dessert inverted onto a plate.

Giant cookie studded with dates, almonds, and orange zest, baked on a pizza pan and sliced into wedges. Fun 30-minute dessert.

Old-fashioned molasses gingersnaps with deep molasses flavor, a full tablespoon of ground ginger, and that signature crackled top. Crisp at the edges, slightly chewy in the center.

Peanut butter bears: cinnamon-spiced peanut butter cut-out cookies shaped like teddy bears with detailed dough faces. A holiday baking project that's as fun as the cookies are good.

Tuna casserole with dill cream sauce, peas, and golden biscuit topping. A cozy one-dish bake using pantry staples that comes together in under an hour.

Milk chocolate chip cheesecake built on nonfat cream cheese and egg whites, studded with milk chocolate chips throughout. A lighter cheesecake recipe that delivers the chocolate-and-cream flavor without the heavy fat content.

Traditional Lancashire-style lamb hotpot layered with onions and thick-sliced potatoes, infused with caraway seeds and topped with crispy bacon. Slow-baked until the lamb is fall-apart tender.

Wellesley Fudge Cake is the classic two-layer chocolate cake from the Wellesley College era, topped with a deep fudge frosting and chopped walnuts around the edge. Old-school, properly rich.

Cinnamon chocolate sheet cake with a boiled cocoa-margarine base, buttermilk batter, and chocolate cream cheese frosting. A Texas-style sheet cake with warm cinnamon spice throughout.

Three-layer peanut butter brownies with a fudgy chocolate base, creamy peanut butter filling, and glossy semi-sweet chocolate glaze. Loaded with chopped peanuts for extra crunch.

Herbed breakfast muffins are savory, lightly sweet muffins studded with fresh chopped herbs. A great brunch pairing with eggs, soup, or cured salmon.