Recipe Sifter

Low-fat creamed spinach: fresh spinach wilted with shallot and garlic, then folded into a light milk-based bechamel with nutmeg and Parmesan. All the creamy comfort with far less fat.

Black Forest oatmeal cookies with white and semi-sweet chocolate chunks, maraschino cherries, toasted almonds, and almond extract. A bakery-style drop cookie.

Bread machine sticky rolls with cardamom and buttermilk. Shaped as knots or cloverleaf, brushed with butter-sugar glaze. Includes brown-and-serve and cinnamon roll options.

Christmas Lizzies are boozy Southern fruitcake cookies loaded with candied cherries, raisins, dates, pecans, and citrus zest, soaked in whiskey. Make them weeks ahead and drizzle with spirits to age.

Southern peanut butter pie with a creamy custard filling, crunchy peanut butter crumble layered on top and bottom, and golden meringue. An old-fashioned Georgia-style dessert.

Homemade cayenne-spiked biscuit bowls cradling hearty ground beef chili loaded with kidney beans and stewed tomatoes. Pile on sharp cheddar, sour cream, and scallions for the ultimate cozy one-bowl dinner.

Layered chocolate torte with a dried sour cherry and Marsala filling, coffee-soaked cake layers, and a cream cheese whipped cream. A multi-component holiday showpiece that tastes like Black Forest cake's sophisticated Italian cousin.

Five-grain soda bread for the bread machine, with white, whole wheat, rye, graham, and oats, plus raisins and tangy buttermilk. A hearty no-knead loaf with no yeast and no rise time.

This is my best soup for a cold winter day, hearty and delicious. Actually it's great anytime of year.

Apricot tea ring with oat-enriched yeast dough, homemade apricot filling, and spiral-cut sections that fan open to reveal the fruit. Finished with a confectioner's sugar drizzle.

Pepsi-Cola cake with broiled peanut butter frosting: a Southern sheet cake made with a cup of Pepsi and melted marshmallows in the batter, topped with a bubbling brown sugar peanut butter frosting toasted under the broiler. Retro comfort baking at its most over-the-top.

A creamy Cajun oyster pie with shucked oysters in a buttery béchamel sauce seasoned with filé powder, hot sauce, and pimientos, baked under a golden pie crust. Old-school Louisiana comfort food.

Old-fashioned chocolate potato cake with riced potatoes folded into the batter for incredible moisture. Layered with whipped cream and smothered in chocolate frosting.

Buttery rolled sugar cookies with a hint of sour cream and fresh lemon zest, cut into any shape you like and sprinkled with crunchy granulated sugar. A chilled dough that rolls out beautifully every time.

Pear granola bread with grated Anjou pears, buttermilk, raisins, and a crunchy granola topping baked into a tender quick bread loaded with texture and warm fruit flavor.

This is a lime and banana cake recipe the combination is dreamy!