Recipe Sifter

Date cookies with chopped dates, nuts, brown sugar, and cream of tartar in a slice-and-bake dough. Mix at night, chill overnight, slice and bake fresh in the morning.

These individual danish pastries are filled with raisins and topped with a delicious graze.

No-egg fruit cake loaded with candied cherries, pineapple, dates, toasted coconut, and nuts, bound with sweetened condensed milk and glazed with orange juice and honey.

Triple-chocolate biscotti with Dutch cocoa, semi-sweet chips, and a dipped white chocolate base. Toasted hazelnuts, dark coffee, and twice-baked crunch make these the dunking cookie for serious chocolate lovers.

A show-stopping rhubarb tart in an almond pastry shell, served with fresh strawberry-kirsch sauce and homemade cinnamon ice cream. Three components, one unforgettable spring dessert.

Southern cornbread dressing done right: make-ahead cornbread and homemade turkey giblet broth prepped the night before for Thanksgiving day assembly with rice, mushrooms, pecans, and fresh herbs.

Brandy-soaked apple fritters in a light, airy batter with cinnamon and ginger, deep-fried golden and dusted with powdered sugar. Served warm with chilled whipped cream.

Pumpkin pound cake with warm spices, finished with orange glaze and homemade candied orange peel. Makes two 9x5 loaves, perfect for fall gifting or freezing.

Flowerpot banana bread: classic banana walnut bread baked in a clay flowerpot in a slow cooker for an unusual conversation-piece presentation. Rustic gift idea with a 1970s charm.

King Arthur pizza dough recipe yields crackling-crisp crust with a chewy middle. Classic hand-kneaded yeast dough for homemade pizza night, makes three to four 12-inch pies.

Slow cooker butternut squash with apples layered with brown sugar, butter, and mace. A sweet, caramelized side dish that cooks hands-free for hours.

Traditional French onion soup starting with homemade beef bone stock simmered for 3 hours, then finished with caramelized onions and melted Gruyere. This from-scratch version takes patience but delivers deep, rich flavor.

Triple-chocolate bundt cake with melted chocolate bars, chocolate syrup, and a tender buttermilk crumb. Baked in an angel food pan for a tall, dramatic cake that delivers serious chocolate intensity.

Classic gingerbread people cookies with molasses, brown sugar, and warm spices. Makes 30 crisp-tender cookies, perfect for decorating with kids for Christmas baking.

Classic German chocolate cake: three light layers of sweet chocolate cake with whipped egg whites folded in, stacked with a cooked coconut-pecan frosting made from evaporated milk and egg yolks. The real, from-scratch version.

Granny's broth is traditional Welsh cawl, lamb slowly simmered with leeks, carrots, swede and potatoes into a clear, warming winter broth. A farmhouse classic served with crusty bread.