Recipe Sifter

Ginger Puffs are soft drop cookies made with cooked oatmeal, molasses, brown sugar, ginger, allspice, and cinnamon. One bowl, 30 minutes, yields 4 dozen warm-spiced cookies.

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.

Ring-shaped orange juice cookies topped with candied cherries or almonds. Delicate bracelet cookies made with oil instead of butter. Dairy-free and freezer-friendly.

Not sure why it's called monkey bread, but I'm very sure that nobody can resist this delicious dessert-like bread. It's buttery and fluffy inside, and crispy outside. When you add chocolate chips in, hmmm...

Buttery melt-in-your-mouth cookies made with cornstarch for an impossibly tender crumb. Rolled in powdered sugar and pressed with a fork, they practically dissolve on your tongue.

Homemade banana layer cake with mashed ripe banana and buttermilk for a moist, tender crumb. A classic two-layer cake ready to frost with your favorite icing.

Mix-in-the-pan chocolate fudge cake with no eggs, no milk, no butter. Poke three holes, pour, stir, and bake. The original depression-era wacky cake that still delivers.

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with milk chocolate chips, chopped toffee bars, and maple syrup. Rolled into balls and baked until just set for a soft, chewy center.

Spiced cherry biscotti studded with candied cherries and almonds, warmed with nutmeg, and dusted with cinnamon-nutmeg sugar. A ruby-flecked holiday coffee cookie.

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.

Scotch black bun, a traditional Scottish Hogmanay fruitcake wrapped in buttery shortcrust pastry and packed with raisins, almonds, brandy, and warm spices. A rich celebration centerpiece.

New England lamb bake is a rustic one-pot supper: tender braised lamb with leeks, carrots and herbs under a golden, buttery potato crust. A hearty cold-weather casserole, lamb hotpot New England style.

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

Croatian poppy seed povitica with a yeasted sweet dough stretched paper-thin and rolled around a honey-sweetened poppy seed filling. Traditional Eastern European holiday bread.

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.

Pennsylvania Dutch funny cake baked in a pie shell with chocolate sauce on the bottom and vanilla cake on top. Two layers swap places in the oven like magic.