Recipe Sifter

Peanut butter granola cookies with raisins, brown sugar, and a chewy-crunchy texture from 2 1/2 cups of granola baked right into the dough. Thick, hearty, and packed with crunch.

Moroccan-style lamb with honey, saffron, almonds, raisins, and chickpeas braised in a clay pot. A fragrant one-pot main dish with warm spices, served over brown rice or bulgur.

Savory ground beef and pork simmered with olives, capers, raisins, and almonds in a spiced tomato sauce. A picadillo-style dish served over rice, bread, or in pita pockets.

Cinnamon rolls with walnuts and raisins, finished with an orange-vanilla-almond icing. Big-batch recipe yields 40 rolls for crowds, brunches, or freezer stashing.

Crostata di ricotta is the classic Italian lattice-topped tart filled with sweetened ricotta, grappa-soaked raisins, bittersweet chocolate, and orange zest. Pasta frolla crust, dusted with powdered sugar.

Creamy chicken curry with a surprise ingredient: cola. Simmered chicken in a buttery apple-curry sauce with raisins and half-and-half, served over rice with all the classic condiments.

Sweet rice dumplings (Japanese ohagi) blend cooked sweet brown rice with raisins and cinnamon, then roll the small balls in coarsely chopped roasted walnuts. A naturally vegan, no-sugar treat.

Harvest round bread with whole wheat, oats, carrots, raisins, honey, and molasses. Bread machine dough braided into two rustic round loaves.

Glazed carrots in a sweet orange juice and raisin sauce thickened with cornstarch. A bright, naturally sweet side dish with no butter or cream needed.

Five layer bars with a cocoa graham cracker crust, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, raisins, and chopped nuts. No mixing bowl needed, just layer and bake.

Maple syrup is the only sweetener in these soft, chewy oatmeal cookies with rolled oats, raisins, and chopped walnuts or pecans. Old-fashioned and refined-sugar-free.

Kirghiz baked beef casserole with curried flank steak, dried apricots, apples, raisins, prunes, and yogurt. A Central Asian-inspired dish where sweet fruit meets savory spice.

In other parts of Central Asia this dish is made with red beans and I have it made with beef, horse, camel, chicken, and venison for the meat instead of the lamb. It is excellent anyway it comes.

Cherry cheese coffee cake on a yeasted bread base with cream cheese filling, cherry pie filling, raisins, and a brown sugar streusel top. Uses frozen bread dough for the shortcut.

High-fiber winter garden salad: shredded cabbage, carrots, broccoli, raisins, and sunflower seeds tossed in a curried yogurt and chutney dressing. Crunchy, sweet, lightly spiced.

No-bake chocolate nutty bites with cornflakes, hazelnuts, and raisins in a buttery cocoa mixture. Just six ingredients, ready after an hour in the fridge. Great for kids and holiday treat trays.