Recipe Sifter

Pumpkin cream cheese pie in a graham cracker crust with lemon and orange zest, topped with vanilla sour cream. A cheesecake-pumpkin pie hybrid chilled overnight.

Spaghetti tossed in a from-scratch cream sauce with nutmeg, Marsala wine, and Parmesan, loaded with flaked tuna, sliced mushrooms, and green pepper, then baked until bubbly. Classic tuna tetrazzini the way it was meant to be made.

Try this scrumptious cake recipe when you have company to come over, definitely will impress everyone!

Lemon icebox cookies with cornmeal and cardamom, sliced from a chilled log and baked golden, finished with tart lemon icing and chopped pistachios. Makes 6 dozen.

Danish almond cookies (Mandel Kager) with cardamom and cinnamon, brushed with egg wash and topped with a blanched almond half. A traditional Scandinavian Christmas cookie.

Kourabiedes are traditional Greek butter cookies with ground almonds and brandy, dusted heavily in powdered sugar. Fragile, sandy, and meant for celebrations.

Saffron turns this braided challah a stunning golden hue with a subtle floral warmth you won't find in ordinary egg bread. Topped with poppy seeds and a sweet egg glaze, it's a showpiece loaf worth every minute of kneading.

Thin, crisp Swedish cookies brushed with egg white, dusted with cinnamon-clove sugar, and topped with a whole almond pressed into each one. Lemon zest brightens the buttery dough. Ready in 25 minutes, makes 2 dozen.

The classic Joy of Cooking devil's food cake with a cooked chocolate custard folded into the batter and whipped egg whites for lift. Finished with caramel icing. A vintage recipe worth mastering.

Hungarian poppy seed wafers with fresh orange zest, allspice, and a smooth powdered sugar glaze. Piped butter cookies with warm spice and citrus flavor.

Cream cheese butter cookies with a raspberry jam thumbprint. Tender, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread enriched with cream cheese. No leavening, no spreading.

Note: The original recipe called for 5 1/2 cups of flour. Due to feedback we've reduced the amount to 3-1/4 cups. Add flour gradually until you reach what you think is the right consistency.

Nusskipferl are Austrian nut crescent cookies made with a buttery sour cream yeast dough rolled around a sweet ground almond and egg white filling, baked golden.

Layers of homemade sponge roll with raspberry jam, sherry-soaked custard, crunchy amaretti, and piped whipped cream make this Scottish trifle a showstopper British dessert.

Linzer cookies built on a buttery ground-almond shortbread, scented with vanilla, almond extract, and a hint of cinnamon. Each cookie holds a thumbprint of lemon-spiked raspberry jam, finished with sliced almonds and powdered sugar.

A custardy lemon pudding cake baked in a water bath, served warm with a Grand Marnier blackberry sauce. Two textures in one dish: spongy cake on top, silky pudding below.