Recipe Sifter

Palm Beach pineapple squares: a chocolate walnut cake base topped with a lemon-scented pineapple layer, baked together into one tropical dessert bar.

Southern fried dill pickles: crispy cornmeal-battered pickle chips spiked with cayenne, hot sauce, and Worcestershire. The classic roadhouse appetizer, golden and tangy.

Mom's apple cookies are soft, cake-like drop cookies with grated fresh apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. Old-fashioned spiced bakery flavor from a lunchbox-friendly batch of three dozen.

Deluxe chocolate chunk walnut cookies with semi-sweet chunks and milk chocolate morsels in a chewy brown sugar dough. Bakery-style thick cookies with two kinds of chocolate.

Cornmeal cookies blend stone-ground cornmeal with flour for a sandy, slightly crunchy crumb. Studded with dried cherries or raisins and warmed with nutmeg. An Italian-American Christmas tin staple.

Bread machine Italian cheese-potato bread with mashed potatoes, Monterey Jack, oregano, and eggs. Dense, savory, and loaded with flavor in every slice.

Hungarian Christmas bread (makos beigli-inspired loaf): a buttery, lemon-scented yeast bread with a sweet poppy seed and raisin filling. A bread-machine shortcut for the holidays.

Pfeffernuesse are traditional German pepper nut cookies spiced with cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and allspice. Tiny rounds dried overnight and finished with a drop of brandy.

Traditional German Lebkuchen honey cakes spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, studded with candied citron and brushed with a clear sugar glaze.

Homemade sweet bread with eggs, milk, and sugar shaped into round loaves. A soft, golden yeast bread brushed with egg wash and lightly sugared on top.

Best red snapper Veracruz bakes flaky pan-seared snapper under a tangy tomato sauce loaded with green olives, capers, peppers and a whisper of cinnamon. The classic coastal Mexican pescado a la Veracruzana.

Prune corn bread with chopped cooked prunes folded into a classic cornmeal batter. The prunes add natural sweetness and moisture for a tender, slightly fruity cornbread.

Classic counting cake with foolproof 1-2-3-4-5 proportions: butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and baking powder create a tender vanilla cake that's ridiculously easy to memorize and bake from scratch.

Unique apple pie with corn syrup custard and crunchy praline pecan topping spiked with apple brandy for sweet-rich Southern-style dessert.

White asparagus lasagne layered with ham, mozzarella, and a garlic-thyme cream sauce. A quick microwave-friendly Italian-inspired bake that's on the table in 45 minutes.

Banana Cream Cake with Strawberry Cream Filling recipe