Recipe Sifter

Lindy's-style New York cheesecake with a buttery shortbread crust, 40 ounces of cream cheese, lemon and orange zest, and a sour cream top. Classic three-temperature bake for silk-smooth texture.

Jam tarts press tender cream cheese pastry around dollops of fruit jam for bite-size, flaky tea-time pastries with golden browned edges. A 7-ingredient throwback for the cookie tin.

Lemon basil chicken is an oven-bag method that steams boneless chicken breasts in lemon juice, dried basil, and onions for tender, low-fat results with zero cleanup. Ready in about 40 minutes.

Sauteed striped bass escabeche marinated in white wine, sherry vinegar, and citrus with bell peppers, green olives, and crisp green beans. A stunning make-ahead dish.

Fave dolci, Italian almond cookies shaped like fava beans with ground almonds, orange flower water, lemon zest, and cinnamon. A traditional Southern Italian sweet.

Frankfurter Kranz: a traditional German ring cake with three rum-soaked sponge layers, a rich egg-yolk buttercream filling, and a crunchy almond praline crown. The classic Frankfurt coffee-table cake.

Easy baked chicken with crispy paprika crust and sweet honey-lemon glaze. Flour-coated breasts bake until tender, then get smothered in buttery honey sauce for weeknight wins.

Maple pecan upside-down cake with pure maple syrup, brown sugar, currants, yogurt, and a hint of mace. Inverted to reveal a sticky, caramelized pecan topping served warm.

Fresh ginger muffins: bakery-style buttermilk muffins packed with finely chopped fresh ginger candied with sugar, plus fragrant lemon zest. The classic Marion Cunningham recipe, with serious ginger bite.

Three-layer cranberry cheese bars with a buttery oat crumble crust, tangy cream cheese filling, and whole berry cranberry sauce on top. Makes 24 bars for holiday baking trays.

A rich, egg-laden yeast bread studded with raisins and scented with anise, lemon zest, and orange zest. Makes 4 fragrant loaves with a tender, golden crumb.

The traditional cookie for Purim, hamantashen is Yiddish for "Haman's pockets". They are meant to recall the story of Haman, a wicked Persian prince who wished to destroy the Jews but was foiled by Mordecai and Esther."

Apple pie with a marshmallow meringue topping. Egg whites whipped with marshmallow creme spread cloud-soft across cinnamon-spiced apples and brown into golden peaks. A retro 1950s twist on classic apple pie.

Lemon poppy seed cookies with fresh lemon zest, ground coriander, and lemon extract baked low and slow at 300F. Tender, citrusy drop cookies with a subtle crunch from poppy seeds.

A must on your Christmas cookie tray. Despite the lemony frosting, the cinnamon flavor comes through.

Apple pie streusel folds chopped apples into a sour cream custard inside a single crust, then crowns it with a buttery cinnamon streusel topping. The Pennsylvania Dutch sour cream apple pie.