Recipe Sifter

Crispy Sri Lankan beef pasties with a spiced filling of minced beef, potato, curry leaves, cardamom, and coconut milk tucked into flaky homemade pastry and deep-fried golden.

A retro salmon loaf made with canned salmon and oats, baked until firm and sliceable, then topped with a from-scratch creamed peas sauce. Comfort food from Grandma's kitchen that still holds up beautifully.

Classic Southern sweet potato pie with boiled sweet potatoes whipped smooth with butter, sugar, cinnamon, evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla. This recipe makes two pies, because one is never enough.

Traditional Welsh honeycake with a spiced, honey-rich crumb topped with glossy meringue. Teisen Mel is a heritage British bake with warm cinnamon, a honey glaze, and a cloud of toasted meringue on top.

Homemade tomato pasta dough tinted a gorgeous rosy-orange from tomato paste, with optional fresh basil kneaded right in. Make it by hand or food processor, then roll into fettuccine, ravioli, or any shape you like.

Bakery-style blueberry muffins with a cinnamon streusel crumb topping. Two cups of berries pack each muffin while the pea-sized streusel bakes into a crackly sweet shell.

Layered corn tortilla casserole with Monterey Jack, sweet corn, green onions, and diced chili peppers in a tangy buttermilk-egg custard. A Tex-Mex weeknight dinner ready in 40 minutes flat.

Orange matzo meal pancakes are Passover-friendly: no flour, no leavening, just stiffly beaten egg whites folded into matzo meal soaked in fresh orange juice for light, citrus-bright bites.

Applesauce oatmeal cookies are soft, cakey, and warmly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, studded with raisins and oats. Applesauce keeps them moist and tender with only a little shortening.

Low-fat banana bran bread with sliced ripe bananas folded through the batter and a full cup of shredded bran for fiber. A wholesome quickbread with only 2 tablespoons of shortening.

Buttermilk toaster pancakes are batch-cook breakfast magic: tangy buttermilk pancakes made ahead, frozen flat, and reheated in the toaster for fast weekday mornings. Better than store-bought.

Cranberry pecan pie with tart fresh cranberries balancing the rich corn syrup pecan filling, brightened by orange zest. Holiday-table dessert ready in 70 minutes.

Make-ahead overnight French toast casserole soaked in vanilla custard and topped with a maple-pecan brown sugar streusel. Pop it in the oven the morning of brunch and you've got hot French toast for a crowd.

Classic pecan pie made easy: a one-bowl filling of corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla poured into a crust and crowned with pecans. The Thanksgiving and Christmas staple, no fuss required.

Oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and three warm spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. The chewy holiday-leaning take on the classic. Four dozen per batch.

Honey orange muffins sweetened with pure honey and brightened with fresh orange juice. One-bowl batter, ready in 30 minutes for a tender, golden breakfast bake.