Recipe Sifter

Tra-La coffee cake muffins with stewed figs baked into a quick batter, topped with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and walnut streusel. A vintage breakfast treat.

Lincoln log cookies shaped from cocoa-chocolate chip dough into two-inch logs, then drizzled with white and chocolate icing stripes. A fun, chocolatey bake for kids and adults.

Impossible chocolate pie: blend everything in a blender, pour into a pie plate, and bake. The pie forms its own crust as it bakes. A crustless chocolate custard pie with 2 minutes of prep.

Rolled oat icebox cookies. Slice-and-bake dough with butter, brown sugar and quick oats for crisp, lightly caramelized cookies made from a log you can keep in the fridge.

Peppernuts cookies with ground raisins, coconut, and nuts in a brown sugar-buttermilk dough, rolled into ropes and cut into bite-sized pieces. A Mennonite holiday tradition.

Old-fashioned baked beans made from dried navy beans with salt pork, molasses, brown sugar, and pure maple syrup. Slow-baked for 5-7 hours until the sauce turns thick and the pork rind crisps up.

Pineapple pecan bars with a shortbread crust topped with a crushed pineapple, brown sugar, and pecan custard filling. A chewy tropical bar cookie that cuts cleanly into 32 pieces, perfect for cookie trays.

Showstopping three-layer cappuccino torte with a nutty graham crust, thick semisweet fudge layer, and espresso chocolate buttercream. A make-ahead dessert that chills overnight.

Texas-style beef brisket braised in a sweet brown sugar and vinegar sauce with ketchup and onions. Dutch oven or crockpot, fork-tender in either method.

Buttery drop cookies loaded with oats, vanilla milk chips, flaked coconut, and macadamia nuts. Sour cream keeps them soft and chewy. Makes 5 dozen for the holiday cookie swap.

Traditional Welsh currant bread (Bara Brith) with sultanas, candied peel, brown sugar, and pudding spice. A slow-risen fruit loaf that bakes into a dense, richly spiced slice.

Apple pie bread made easy in the bread machine: sweet yeasted loaf flavored with sliced apples, cinnamon, buttermilk, and apple juice concentrate. Fragrant, soft, and tastes like autumn baking in a single slice.

Rich mahogany chocolate pound cake with cocoa, sour cream, and both white and brown sugar, baked in a bundt pan. Dense, moist, and deeply chocolatey with an optional quick chocolate sauce.

Mint Surprise Cookies hide a melty chocolate mint wafer inside soft brown-sugar dough, each one crowned with a toasted walnut. Chill the dough so it seals the surprise neatly before baking.

Mrs Fields' applesauce oatmeal cookies loaded with chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts. Soft, chewy, and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg for a bakery-style cookie.

Peanut butterscotch squares with a buttery shortbread base topped with melted butterscotch chips, chunky peanut butter, and crunchy corn flakes. No-bake topping on a baked crust.