Holidays recipes

Pumpkin cheesecake with graham cracker crust, spiced pumpkin custard filling, and a tangy sour cream topping. Holiday dessert with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, garnished with pecan halves on each slice.

Old-fashioned peach pickle, a Southern heritage recipe with whole peaches studded with cloves and steeped in cinnamon-spiced sweet vinegar syrup over three days. The classic holiday ham accompaniment.

Pecan thumbprint cookies, the classic shortbread-style holiday cookie. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth dough rolled in finely chopped pecans with a thumbprint well ready for jam, chocolate, or icing.

Bread machine gingerbread loaf scented with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon. A soft yeasted bread (not a quick bread) with spicy holiday warmth and a tender crumb. Just dump and press start.

Peanut butter bears: cinnamon-spiced peanut butter cut-out cookies shaped like teddy bears with detailed dough faces. A holiday baking project that's as fun as the cookies are good.

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.

Swedish cardamom-scented sweet bread braided into a golden loaf studded with raisins. A Scandinavian classic with aromatic spice and tender crumb, perfect for coffee breaks or holiday mornings.

Ham bone and bean soup made from leftover holiday ham scraps simmered with beans, onion, garlic, and a homemade aromatic stock. A thrifty, waste-nothing soup that turns a spent ham bone into dinner.

Zimtsterne, traditional German cinnamon stars made from ground almonds and hazelnuts bound with meringue and barely any flour, spiced with cinnamon and topped with a white icing. A chewy holiday classic.

Panforte is the dense, chewy Sienese Christmas cake packed with toasted hazelnuts and almonds, dates, cherries, cocoa, and warm spices, bound by hot honey caramel. A traditional Italian holiday confection.

Guilt-free pumpkin swirl cheesecake uses yogurt cheese and egg substitute to drop the fat without losing the creamy body. Marbled pumpkin filling, spiced cinnamon graham crust, holiday-worthy flavor.

Danish Mayor's Braid (Borgmeister Krans): a braided ring of Danish pastry filled with almond paste, baked golden with sliced almonds and crystallized sugar on top. A holiday-table showstopper.

Chef Paul Prudhomme-style rice with apple and raisin dressing: pecans, bell peppers, and spiced Cajun seasonings folded through fluffy rice. A holiday side with sweet-savory Louisiana flair.

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.

Mexican wedding cookies (polvorones): tender almond shortbread balls baked low and slow, then rolled twice in powdered sugar for that signature snowy coating. Melt-in-your-mouth holiday classics.

Old-fashioned raisin pastries: flaky pie-dough half-moons stuffed with ground raisins, nuts, and citron in a honey-cinnamon-jelly filling. Hand pies for the holiday cookie box.