Recipe Sifter

Chocolate mocha mud cake: a dense, fudgy Australian-style cake baked low and slow, then finished with a glossy chocolate-butter icing. Instant coffee deepens the chocolate without tasting like coffee.

Apple-hazelnut muffins with ground hazelnuts replacing half the flour and chewy dried apple pieces folded in. A small-batch six-muffin recipe ready in 30 minutes for breakfast or coffee break.

Instead of store-bought pie crust, we made our own with most whole wheat flour and olive oil, which made the crust a lot healthier with flaky texture and delicious flavor. Now enjoy this juicy-fruity pie without feeling guilty at all.

A straight up French Bechamel sauce from Woman's Day magazine.

This easy and delicious cherry chocolate self-saucing pudding is gooey, chocolaty and packed with cherry flavors. It will for sure please your sweet tooth.

Maple pecan scones cut cold butter into a flour-pecan dough, then bind with maple syrup and heavy cream for a tender, sweet biscuit. Brushed with extra maple before baking.

Reese's peanut butter cake stacks two peanut-butter-and-brown-sugar layers with a cream cheese peanut butter filling and a warm pour-over chocolate glaze. The candy bar in cake form.

Brown sugar pound cake with a deep caramel note and a toasted-pecan frosting that drips down the sides. A dense, buttery tube cake from TV weatherman Willard Scott's kitchen.

German sour cherry chocolate cake: a dense, fudgy chocolate cake crowned with tart pitted cherries that sink into the batter as it bakes. The sharp cherries cut the rich dark chocolate beautifully.

Orange-Banana Bundt Cake with fresh orange zest, mashed bananas, sour cream, and a coconut-lined pan for a tropical twist on banana cake. Food processor method.

Golden-crusted sweetbreads braised in dry sherry and chicken broth, finished with cream and butter. A classic French bistro dish with a warm hint of mace that's easier than you think.

These make everyone happy. Bite into the fluffy, cakey cookie and fudge frosting and the hidden mashmallow will stretch and stretch until it finally breaks leaving you with a Gandalf beard, at least this has been my experience.

Hearty leftover turkey stew with fluffy dumplings, parsnips, carrots, and green beans in a rich homemade stock. The best way to turn your Thanksgiving carcass into a whole new meal.

Buttery lemon scones with bright fresh lemon zest packed into every bite, a tender three-times-sifted crumb, and golden cream-brushed tops. A genuinely lemon-forward scone, not a hint.

By using mostly whole wheat flour, apple sauce and vegetable oil make these cookies much healthier but still taste delicious.

Polvorones: traditional Mexican pecan cookies made with butter and lard, spiced with cinnamon and anise seed. Sandy, crumbly, and sugar-coated.