Holidays recipes

Traditional Jewish carrot tzimmes with sweet potatoes, prunes, brown sugar, and orange juice simmered low and slow until thick and tender. A sweet, comforting side for Rosh Hashanah or any holiday table.

Pingulati are Italian honey balls: tiny bites of fried dough tossed in warm honey and cinnamon, then heaped together and showered with candy confetti. A festive, sticky-sweet holiday treat like struffoli.

Chocolate peppermint candies start with a cream cheese and peppermint mint base, chilled firm, then filled with a pool of melted chocolate. A no-bake, York-style mint patty for the holidays.

Old-fashioned fruitcake packed with dates, candied pineapple, candied cherries, and a full pound of pecans. Baked low and slow for a dense, jewel-toned holiday loaf that's more fruit than cake.

Lemon cream and nut cookies, buttery shortbread ovals spread with homemade lemon curd and crowned with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, prunes, rum-soaked raisins, and candied orange. A jewel-box holiday cookie.

Granny's Christmas punch: grape and strawberry soda blended with pineapple, sugar, and lemon, frozen, then thawed to a slushy chill. A fizzy, fruity, kid-friendly party punch that's a holiday-table tradition.

Make-ahead breakfast casserole layering crisp bacon, cubed bread, eggs and sharp cheddar into a savory overnight strata. Assemble it the night before and bake in the morning. Feeds a holiday crowd.

Turkey pasta salad with red grapes, celery, and creamy mayo-sour cream dressing over mostaccioli. An easy cold lunch or potluck side that turns leftover holiday turkey into something genuinely crave-worthy.

Cheesy hash brown casserole baked until golden, made creamy with sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, and plenty of sharp cheddar. A potluck and holiday-table favorite that feeds a hungry crowd.

Baked Brie with cranberry chutney made from fresh cranberries, brown sugar, lime juice, and pickled jalapeno, spooned over the wheel and baked until melting. A holiday appetizer that's ready in 30 minutes.

Tourtiere, the French-Canadian meat pie served every Christmas in Quebec: spiced ground veal and pork simmered with potato, onion and thyme, tucked into a double crust and baked golden. A cozy, savory holiday tradition.

Overnight caramel French toast bakes layered bread over a brown sugar, butter, and pecan caramel that turns into a gooey, sticky topping. Assemble the night before and bake fresh for an effortless holiday brunch.

Santa Claus cookies decorate flat sugar cookies with red sugar caps, miniature marshmallow tassels, currant eyes, cinnamon candy noses, and coconut beards. A festive holiday craft cookie kids can help build from baked rounds.

Easy citrus cranberry cake spoons alternating light yellow and deep red batters into a loaf pan, using cranberry juice, orange zest, and cranberry-orange relish for marbled holiday color. A festive boxed-mix shortcut perfect for tea or gifting.

Pumpkin cheese tart with a gingersnap-oat crust and a marbled cream cheese-pumpkin filling, finished with warm caramel sauce. A lighter take on pumpkin pie that actually holds its own on the holiday table.

Kahlua eggnog pie in a chocolate wafer crumb crust with a coffee-spiked custard filling lightened with whipped cream and meringue. A boozy, mousse-like holiday pie that chills overnight for effortless entertaining.