Recipe Sifter

Light pumpkin praline cheesecake: low-fat cottage cheese stands in for cream cheese, wheat germ replaces graham crumbs in the crust, and pumpkin pie spice carries the flavor. Topped with maple-drizzled pecans.

Flaky puff pastry twists filled with honey-sweetened pistachios, cinnamon, and a pinch of cloves. Buttery, nutty, and golden-baked, these make 2 dozen elegant pastries in just 45 minutes.

Frosted applesauce cookies with molasses, bran flakes, raisins, and a boiled caramel frosting. Soft, spiced drop cookies with warm allspice and clove flavors topped with buttery brown sugar icing.

Oxtail consomme is a crystal-clear fine-dining broth made from slow-simmered oxtails, aromatics, and an egg-white raft clarification. The classic French technique gives a rich beef flavor in a see-through bowl.

Homemade turkey sausage patties with roasted poblano pepper, cilantro, parsley, oregano, cumin, and cloves blended into lean ground turkey. A low-fat, green-spiced breakfast sausage with Southwestern heat.

San Francisco-style cioppino with clams, lobster, shrimp, and red snapper in a saffron-tomato wine broth with fennel. Italian-American seafood feast.

Spiced pickled fruit preserves peaches, pears, or crabapples in a cinnamon and clove spiced vinegar syrup. An old-fashioned Southern-style sweet pickle that shines alongside roast ham or Thanksgiving turkey.

Curried pumpkin soup with crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and a hint of clove thickened with milk. A creamy, warmly spiced fall soup ready in under an hour.

Pecan-stuffed flank steak rolls pounded flank around a mushroom-pecan stuffing spiced with cardamom and cloves, braised in orange juice and beef broth. An elegant roast for company.

Colorful ham kabobs with pineapple and bell peppers, basted in a tangy cranberry glaze spiked with mustard and cloves. A smart way to use leftover holiday ham in just 30 minutes.

Chicken and zucchini soup built from scratch: a whole chicken simmered with parsnip, turnip, and lemon, then enriched with browned Italian sausage, pasta shells, and grated zucchini stirred in at the end.

Pumpkin sheet cake: a fast, one-bowl fall cake loaded with canned pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Moist, not-too-sweet, and big enough to feed a potluck without breaking a sweat.

No-bake pumpkin layer pie with sweet cream cheese and whipped topping over a graham cracker crust, plus a thick spiced pumpkin pudding layer. A lighter holiday alternative.

Homemade sweet chili sauce with fresh tomatoes, peaches, pears, bell peppers, and warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. A fruity, tangy condiment cooked low and slow until thick.

Homemade chicken-veal sausages seasoned with brandy-flamed garlic, coriander, and cloves. Ground with bacon for richness, then stuffed into casings, formed into patties, or wrapped and poached.

Chewy molasses ginger cookies spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, then topped with a bright orange zest glaze. Buttermilk keeps them impossibly soft. Freezer-friendly!