Recipe Sifter

Spanish seafood empanadillas filled with shrimp, bay scallops, anchovy, peppers, and tomatoes in a flaky lard pastry crust. Baked golden and served warm or at room temperature.

Lemon anise biscotti with fresh lemon zest and star anise, twice-baked until crisp and golden. A crunchy Italian cookie that stores for a month and pairs beautifully with espresso.

Lemon bars with an oat-brown sugar crumble crust and a tangy sweetened condensed milk lemon filling. Crumbly, creamy, and tart in every bite.

Bread machine Portuguese sweet bread (massa sovada): a tender, lightly sweet, lemon-scented yeast loaf enriched with eggs and evaporated milk. Set it and forget it for the Hawaiian-style bread you'd buy in a bakery.

Italian ricotta cheesecake with lemon zest, whipped cream, and fluffy beaten egg whites folded into a light, creamy filling on a graham cracker crust. Freezer-friendly.

Lemon sponge pudding cake that magically separates into three layers as it bakes: meringue top, sponge cake middle, and creamy lemon pudding on the bottom.

Buttery rolled sugar cookies with lemon zest and vanilla, made with cake flour for a melt-in-your-mouth tender crumb. A classic cut-out cookie recipe that's ideal for decorating and holiday baking.

Traditional German lebkuchen: honey-and-molasses spice cookies studded with citron and nuts, finished with a brushed sugar glaze. A heritage Christmas cookie that gets better as it ages.

A favorite throughout the South, chess pie takes its name from the description given by a cook who was asked what sort of pie it was, and replied, "jes pie, honey."

Lemon coconut snickerdoodles with cream of tartar tang and bright lemon zest. A bakery-style drop cookie with crisp edges, soft centers, and shredded coconut for chew.

Old-fashioned double-lemon cake: a tender butter cake made with zest-infused lemon sugar, soaked in hot lemon-sugar glaze, and finished with lemon frosting. Served with rum-kissed lemon-zested strawberries for a bright spring dessert.

This great looking cheesecake has two creamy layers one strawberry and one vanilla. It taste as good as it looks. To avoid cracking, run the knife just trough the very top when swirling the strawberry puree.

Classic pound cake the old way: a pound each of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs, separated and folded for a tall, tender, golden loaf. Serve with berries and toasted almonds.

Give the traditional pumpkin bread a new twist by adding some freshly grated lemon zest and freshly squeezed orange juice. They add some deliciously citrus taste to the moist pumpkin bread. Be sure to make enough, because everyone will ask for a second slice.

A magical dessert that separates into two layers as it bakes: fluffy cake on top, tangy lemon pudding underneath. Serve it warm for the full comfort-food experience.

Here I adapted an 18th century English spice cake recipe which also makes nice cupcakes.