Recipe Sifter

Festival sugar cookies: tender cake-flour roll-out cookies that hold any shape, perfect for cutter cookies, icing, and sprinkles. Holiday-tested recipe yielding five dozen.

Egg-free, dairy-free cocoa cookies made with silken tofu, soy milk, and applesauce. Soft, fudgy, and dusted with powdered sugar. A vegan chocolate cookie that nobody will guess is plant-based. Makes 3 dozen.

Homemade pita bread that puffs into pockets on a hot baking sheet at 500 degrees. Four basic ingredients, no fat, freezes well, and makes 6 large or 12 small pitas.

Triple layer brownies stack a fudgy pecan brownie base, a vanilla buttercream middle, and a glossy chocolate drizzle on top. Bake-bar territory, made at home.

This vegan shepherd’s pie is comforting, healthy, delicious and really easy to make. You can also make it in batches to freeze and serve when you don’t have much time to cook. We used lentils to make ours, but you could use chickpeas instead, if you’d prefer.

Slow cooker apple butter simmers unpeeled apples and cider for 10 hours, then adds sugar and warm spices for the last hour. Yields ten 6-ounce jars of deep, spiced spread for toast or biscuits.

Homemade string hopper sweet rolls, delicate steamed rice-flour noodle disks wrapped around a sweet coconut treacle and cinnamon filling. A soft, lightly sweet Sri Lankan steamed treat for breakfast or tea.

Authentic Lebanese tabouli with bulgur, mountains of fresh parsley and mint, tomato, scallions, lemon, and olive oil. A bright, parsley-forward Middle Eastern salad.

Moist lemon blueberry cake with cornmeal, buttermilk, and fresh lemon zest. Bursting with 3 cups of blueberries, this from-scratch sheet cake has a golden crumb and bright citrus flavor in every slice.

Mom's chili stacks beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, and a quiet blend of cumin, oregano, and basil into a slow-simmered family-style pot. Old-school weeknight chili with a long-simmer payoff.

Mango cream ice cream uses just four ingredients: ripe mango purée, lime juice, sugar, and sour cream. Tangy, tropical, and churned in an ice cream maker for a refreshing scoop with serious depth.

Decorated sugar cookies use powdered sugar and a touch of almond extract for tender, rollable dough that holds intricate cookie cutter shapes. The classic Christmas cookie recipe.

Foolproof chocolate truffles made with cream cheese, no tempering or ganache fuss. Just melt, mix, chill, and roll into balls coated in nuts or coconut. An easy, make-ahead candy for gifting or the holidays.

Chickpea salad with tahini made from dried garbanzo beans, lemon, garlic, cumin, and coriander. A from-scratch hummus-style dip that's sieved smooth and chilled overnight for the best flavor.

Pressure cooker brisket with sweet potatoes, parsnips, prunes, and apple cider gravy. A spiced Jewish-style braised beef finished with cinnamon and allspice for a holiday-leaning Sunday dinner.

Great dinner for two. Pork chops braised with cabbage and seasoned with Madeira wine and cider vinegar.