Recipe Sifter

Toasty pecan drop cookies with German sweet chocolate, cinnamon, and toasted pecans. Brownie-like centers with crisp edges, two dozen in 30 minutes.

Toasted coconut cookies with oats, walnuts, and flaked coconut baked until golden brown. A chewy drop cookie with nutty, tropical flavor from toasted coconut and toasted walnuts in every bite.

I liked these a lot. The poppyseed taste is subtle yet makes them a little different and more "elegant" than ordinary butter cookies.

Basic sausage gravy gets a flavor upgrade with sage, a whisper of nutmeg, and sauteed onion folded into the classic creamy roux. Pour this peppery Southern gravy over hot biscuits for breakfast that sticks to your ribs.

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies with rolled oats and your choice of chocolate chips or chopped peanuts. Chewy centers, crisp edges, and a 5-dozen yield from one batch.

Chewy, buttery oatmeal raisin cookies loaded with cinnamon and brown sugar that vanish from the cookie jar before they cool. Quick 25-minute recipe the whole family will fight over.

Sesame cheese crackers with cheddar, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, and cayenne in a buttery dough rolled thin and baked crisp. Homemade crackers with an Asian-cheddar twist.

Poached apples with maple cream sauce made from real maple syrup, butter, and half-and-half. An elegant fall dessert with whole tender apples in a rich, reduced maple sauce.

Chewy peanut butter chip bars with deep cocoa brownie batter and pockets of peanut butter chips. A jelly-roll pan recipe that yields four dozen fudgy chocolate bars.

Schwaemme, a traditional German cream sauce with king boletes and chanterelles, finished with parsley and lemon. Serve over potato or bread dumplings for a classic Bavarian side.

Stuffed green olives wrapped in a sharp cheddar dough with paprika and cayenne, then baked until golden and puffy. Bite-sized, salty, cheesy, and gone in seconds at any party.

A one-skillet curried rice dish with chicken breast, crunchy walnuts, and applesauce stirred through for natural sweetness. Finished with a cool swirl of yogurt. Quick, light, and full of warm spice.

Jumbles are old-fashioned filled sandwich cookies, two rolled rounds enclosing a smear of grape jelly with three peek-a-boo windows cut into the top. Vintage pantry treat.

Pounded chicken breasts wrapped with prosciutto and sage, pan-seared golden and finished in a Marsala mushroom sauce. Italian elegance in 30 minutes flat.

German potato pancake (Kartoffelkratzet) made from boiled potatoes grated with eggs, sour cream, and flour, then pan-fried in lard until crisp. Traditionally served with stewed rhubarb.

Spiced applesauce cookies with cinnamon and cloves bake into soft, cake-like drops sweetened with thick unsweetened applesauce. Makes 3 dozen tender old-fashioned cookies in 30 minutes.