Recipe Sifter

No-bake fruit and nut bars with dates, apricots, toasted almonds, and corn cereal in a brown sugar caramel. Chewy, crunchy, and ready in 40 minutes.

Vintage gumdrop squares: chewy brown sugar bars studded with chopped gumdrops and walnuts, finished with a tangy orange butter frosting. A retro Christmas cookie tray treat.

Sweet and sour turkey meatballs: lean turkey meatballs spiced with Chinese five-spice, simmered in a homemade sweet-and-sour sauce with pineapple, peppers, carrots and bean sprouts. A lighter take on the takeaway favorite.

This barbecue sauce is quick to make from scratch and wonderfully packed full of flavor.

Irish whiskey cake with raisins soaked overnight in Jameson, brown sugar, and a lemon glaze dripping down the sides. Traditional St. Patrick's Day cake with a warming whiskey-soaked crumb.

A bubbly, protein-packed casserole with ground turkey, lima beans, baked beans, and kidney beans in a sweet-tangy brown sugar and molasses sauce. Oven or microwave ready in about an hour.

Chunky peanut butter cookies loaded with chocolate chips, honey roasted peanuts, and chopped peanut butter cups. These blowout cookies are thick, chewy, and completely over the top.

Chunky drop cookies packed with milk chocolate chips, maraschino cherries, granola, flaked coconut, and chopped nuts. Brown sugar keeps them chewy, and a hint of orange zest ties it all together. Makes 3 dozen.

Asian plum-glazed chicken legs with a sticky five-spice, soy, and wine glaze. Oven-roasted with basting for deep lacquered color and sweet-savory Chinese flavor in one pan.

Caribbean ginger turkey breast marinated in soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, apricot jam, and ginger, then broiled or grilled and served over rice with fresh fruit.

Chocolate cream torte made from four cocoa cookie layers stacked with whipped chocolate cream filling. Chills overnight so the cookie layers soften into cake-like slices.

Sichuan-style stir-fried green beans with fermented black beans, fresh hot chilies, garlic, and a tangy rice vinegar glaze. A spicy Chinese vegetable side in 30 minutes.

Slow cooker beef stew loaded with potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and tender chuck roast simmered in red wine broth. Set it and forget it for a soul-warming supper that feeds a crowd.

Sauerbraten meatballs: cooked beef meatballs simmered in a tangy-sweet German-style gravy thickened with crushed gingersnaps. A 30-minute weeknight riff on the slow-braised classic.

Amazing Spiced Apple Cake with Raisin and Walnuts recipe

Overnight cinnamon rolls with a refrigerator-rest yeast dough, swirled with cinnamon-brown-sugar butter and finished with vanilla butter icing. Make-ahead breakfast that bakes off fresh in the morning.