Holidays recipes

Gingerbread martini shakes RumChata with gingerbread liqueur over ice and pours it into a cookie-crumb-rimmed glass. A creamy, spiced holiday dessert cocktail that tastes like Christmas in a glass.

Old-fashioned Southern pecan pie: butter, dark syrup, and eggs baked over a layer of pecans into a deep, gooey, just-set filling under a crackly top. A holiday-table classic.

Praline pumpkin pie with a candied brown sugar pecan layer baked into the bottom of a flaky homemade crust, plus a bourbon-spiked spiced pumpkin custard. Holiday pie at its richest.

Roast loin of pork with apricot glaze: a honey-sweetened apricot and citrus glaze brushed onto pork loin as it roasts. Elegant holiday main with a microwave shortcut for the sauce.

Chocolate and chestnut layer cake with a tender olive oil and white wine sponge, a smooth sweetened chestnut cream filling, and glossy dark chocolate ganache. An elegant autumn and holiday dessert.

Roasted baby vegetables: pearl onions, carrots, and turnips tossed with maple syrup, thyme, and cider vinegar. A caramelized, lightly glazed side dish that pulls double duty for weeknights and holiday tables.

Pumpkin walnut cream cheesecake with a toasted walnut crust, spiced pumpkin filling, and a brown sugar walnut praline topping. A holiday-worthy dessert that splits the difference between cheesecake and pumpkin pie.

Magic Fruit Cake bakes up tender and jewel-bright with mincemeat, sweetened condensed milk, red and green cherries, and chopped walnuts. A no-fuss holiday tube cake that mixes in one bowl and slices into glossy, fruit-studded rounds.

Classic giblet gravy made the old-fashioned way: simmered chicken or turkey giblets folded into a rich pan-drippings roux thickened with their own savory broth. The from-scratch holiday gravy your bird deserves.

Wild rice amandine en casserole with slivered almonds, chives, shallots, and green pepper, baked slow in chicken broth until the grains burst. Elegant holiday side that finishes hands-off in the oven.

Fancy spritz cookies are tender, buttery pressed cookies enriched with ground almonds and almond extract for a marzipan-like flavor. Shape them with a cookie press into pretty holiday wreaths and stars.

Pecan-coated roast pork loin with baked peaches: an overnight-marinated pork loin in a sage-thyme-garlic crust, rolled in chopped pecans and roasted with brown sugar peaches. Southern holiday showpiece.

Cinnamon rugelach made with a tender cream cheese pastry dough, rolled crescent-style around a cinnamon filling and dusted with cinnamon sugar. Flaky, buttery little cookies for the holidays and cookie trays.

Shamrock cookies for St. Patrick's Day, a tender mint-scented shortbread tinted green, shaped from three little dough balls plus a stem and dusted with green sugar. A fun holiday baking project.

Old-fashioned rolled coconut cookies bake up tender and slightly crisp at the edges. A vintage drop-and-cut recipe that yields 60 cookies, perfect for tins, cookie swaps, or holiday boxes.

Lattice-topped cranberry raisin pie with a buttery vanilla filling and a sparkle of coarse sugar on top. A gorgeous, tart-sweet holiday pie that's a bold change from the usual pumpkin.