Recipe Sifter

Chilled cantaloupe soup with orange juice concentrate, honey, Calvados apple brandy, and cream. A stunning cold summer starter served in stemmed glasses with fresh mint.

Scotch mock apple pie: a Depression-era trick that uses soda crackers, lemon juice, and warm spices to taste exactly like apple pie. No apples required.

Maple macadamia quick bread with whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and a warm maple-cinnamon glaze. Rich, nutty, and sweetened entirely with real maple syrup.

Baked ham slices in a spiced cherry sauce with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and rose wine. A sweet and savory glazed ham for holiday dinners or Sunday suppers.

Sweet-tangy peach chutney with shallots, golden raisins, ginger, and cinnamon simmered in cider vinegar and brown sugar. Makes 3 cups of versatile condiment for grilled meats, cheese boards, or fish.

Caramel almond apple pie is a single-crust apple pie with sliced tart apples under a bubbling brown-butter caramel and sliced almond topping. Scratch oil-crust, one hour bake.

Granny Smith apple pie packs tart sliced apples between flaky shortening crusts with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and lemon zest, finished with a honey-spiced whipped cream on the side.

Fresh fruit medley with apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes tossed in orange juice concentrate, topped with a spiced yogurt-ricotta sauce. A light, diabetic-friendly dessert.

Streusel and cream pear kuchen with a yeasted hot-roll base, sweet cream cheese filling, cinnamon-pecan streusel, and fanned poached pears on top. A German-style coffee cake worthy of a holiday brunch table.

Apple praline cheesecake layers spiced sauteed apples into a cream cheese filling, then bakes under a buttery brown sugar pecan praline crust. Fall dessert showstopper.

Slice-and-bake butterscotch cookies with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a make-ahead frozen dough. Press into loaf pans, freeze, then slice thin and bake whenever the craving hits.

Carrot fruit cake loaded with raisins, candied fruit, and pecans in a spiced batter. No eggs needed. Soak with rum or brandy and store for up to 3 months.

Orange sweet potatoes whipped with fresh orange juice, zest, brown sugar, and a secret splash of Angostura bitters. A lighter, butterless holiday side dish.

Apple cinnamon crumb pie with cinnamon-spiced apple slices thickened with tapioca, topped with a buttery brown sugar streusel crumb. Classic Dutch apple pie style.

Deep-dish rhubarb strawberry pie with a flaky shortening crust, fresh fruit filling spiced with cinnamon and cloves, and a sugared lattice top. The classic spring-into-summer pie baked in a square dish.

Applesauce walnut cake made from golden butter cake mix with applesauce, cinnamon, and black walnuts, frosted with mocha frosting. A two-layer shortcut cake with deep autumn flavor.