Holidays recipes

Turkey gumbo built from a leftover carcass with a dark roux, okra, smoked sausage, bacon, and Cajun spices. A rich, hearty way to use your holiday turkey.

Three-layer cranberry cheese bars with a buttery oat crumble crust, tangy cream cheese filling, and whole berry cranberry sauce on top. Makes 24 bars for holiday baking trays.

Ragout de boulettes: Quebec-style pork meatball stew with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a browned flour gravy. A traditional French-Canadian holiday dish.

Jam shortbread bars sandwich a layer of cherry or raspberry preserves between two almond-rich shortbread layers. A buttery, almond-scented sliced bar for tea trays and holiday tins.

Little snow people cookies: holiday snowman cookies shaped from festive dough with three stacked balls, decorated with mini chocolate chip eyes, cinnamon candy buttons, and peanut butter cup hats.

Traditional yeast-raised kolachky filled with spiced prune lekvar, folded at the corners so the filling peeks through, then dusted with powdered sugar. An old-world Polish and Czech holiday pastry.

Bread machine challah: soft, golden, slightly sweet Jewish egg bread made easy by letting the machine do the kneading, then braided and baked. The traditional Shabbat and holiday loaf at home.

No-bake graham orange walnut cookies roll up bright orange juice concentrate, crunchy walnuts, and graham crumbs into bite-sized balls. No oven, no eggs, ready in 10 minutes for a citrus-kissed holiday cookie.

Orange balls are a no-bake holiday classic: crushed vanilla wafers mixed with butter, powdered sugar, frozen orange juice concentrate, and pecans, rolled in coconut for a bright citrus bite.

Mock mincemeat made from green tomatoes, apples, and raisins with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. No meat needed. Water-bath canned for shelf-stable holiday pies and baking.

Standing rib roast with a roasted garlic and parsley crust, served with tarragon carrots, browned butter parsnips, roasted onions, and red wine au jus. A holiday showpiece.

Cranberry-barbecued chicken wings glaze grilled wings in a sweet-tangy sauce of cranberry, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire. Sticky, glossy and festive, a holiday-leaning twist on classic BBQ wings.

Festive cherry bread with maraschino cherries, flaked coconut, and chopped nuts. A sweet holiday quick bread made with cherry juice for extra flavor. Makes two loaves.

Cranberry walnut tart layers a flaky blind-baked crust with a brown sugar and corn syrup custard studded with tart cranberries and toasted walnuts. The holiday pie's more sophisticated cousin.

Cranberry swirl cheesecake, a silky vanilla cream cheese filling marbled with ribbons of tart fresh cranberry puree, baked low and slow for a crack-free holiday-ready dessert.

Tofu pumpkin pie: vegan pumpkin pie made with silky firm tofu instead of eggs and dairy. Warming spices and crystallized ginger top for a dairy-free holiday dessert.