Recipe Sifter

Spiced cranberry hazelnut bread with cinnamon, cloves, and orange juice baked into mini loaves. Wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth, this holiday quick bread deepens in flavor for weeks.

Classic French currant tart with a vanilla butter pastry shell, silky pastry cream, fresh red currants, and a kirsch-currant jelly glaze edged with toasted almonds.

Italian macaroons made from almond paste kneaded with egg whites and sugar, baked into chewy, fragrant amaretti-style cookies. A short rest before baking gives them their crackly top and tender center.

This is the second recipe I'll post tonight--promised it to AH earlier tonight. My mother found this recipe 35 or so years ago in a magazine and it has become a family favorite. For years she only made it at Thanksgiving until I took over the baking reigns in the family; now she makes it more often especially when my brother, Lewis, is going to be in.

Thin chicken breast slices crusted in cracked black pepper and dry mustard, pan-seared with garlic, then drizzled with a rich sherry reduction. A 30-minute French bistro classic for two.

A flaky, tender pie crust made with a blend of whole wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour, butter, egg yolk, and a splash of lemon juice. A healthier high-fiber crust that rolls out like a dream.

Start a fiesta with these delicious cookies made of pecans and ground cinnamon.

This is a simple, quick, and easy recipe for cookies. The children will love to help with this one.

Autumn breakfast muffins built on pumpkin puree, applesauce, chopped apples, and warm spices, with bran and granola for fiber-rich crunch. Egg whites and applesauce keep them low-fat without sacrificing moisture.

Blueberry cream scones combine cold butter, heavy cream, and fresh berries into tender diamond-shaped pastries with golden tops. A classic English-style breakfast scone in 45 minutes.

Hungarian vanilla kifli cookies: tender butter crescents rolled in vanilla sugar, then dipped in semi-sweet chocolate. A traditional Eastern European holiday cookie with a melt-in-the-mouth crumb.

Peanut butter double chip cookies stir chunky peanut butter, salted peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips into a tender brown sugar dough. Three textures in every bite.

Chocolate chip and almond biscotti are twice-baked Italian cookies built for dunking. Toasted almonds, semi-sweet chips, and a splash of whiskey give these crisp logs serious depth.

Moist chocolate brownies use sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, and semisweet chips for a fudgy, no-butter brownie that bakes in 20 minutes. A leaner brownie with all the deep chocolate flavor.

It's easy to make your own home-made pasta. Many Italian families do it every day. This is a very traditional original recipe from Larousse Gastronomique the French bible of fine dining and cooking.

This rustic peach galette doesn't require fancy tart pan or complicated pinchy skill to make a delicate crust. This rustic galette is very simple and easy to make, meanwhile lots of fresh seasonal peaches are filled into it. A definite summer dessert, light, fruity and very delicious, which will satisfy your sweet tooth and the craving for dessert.