Holidays recipes

Chocolate hazelnut raspberry thumbprints: chocolate-cocoa cookies rolled with ground toasted hazelnuts, indented and filled with raspberry jam. Three dozen elegant holiday cookies.

Christmas braided bread with candied fruit, walnuts, and mincemeat under a fragrant cardamom milk glaze. A festive holiday loaf using frozen bread dough as a head-start shortcut.

Triple-spirit eggnog spiked with dark rum, brandy, and bourbon, folded with whipped cream and fluffy egg whites. Topped with fresh nutmeg for the holidays.

Tiny Bohemian chocolate cookies with melted milk chocolate, grated walnuts, and butter, baked low and slow until they melt on your tongue. Makes 16 dozen bite-sized cookies for holiday platters.

Swiss gingerbread from Lucerne with pear purée, walnuts, whole wheat flour and a warming mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. Traditional Lebkuchen-style holiday bake.

Roast pork loin stuffed with cornbread, oysters, fennel, and Tabasco. Southern-style stuffing baked right into slits along the loin. Holiday-worthy main with Lowcountry roots.

Oysters and wild rice casserole, a Southern holiday-style bake with plump oysters, nutty wild rice, sage, thyme, and a buttery Ritz cracker topping.

Baked cranberry squash stuffed with pears, cranberries, orange juice concentrate, honey, and warm spices. A stunning vegetarian main or holiday side dish with no added fat.

Christmas bread made with sourdough starter, currants and warm mace and cinnamon. Two loaves of fragrant holiday breakfast bread, slow-risen for deep flavor.

Eggnog bread pudding with warm rum sauce: nutmeg-spiked custard soaks crusty French bread cubes and plump raisins, finished with a buttery brown sugar rum drizzle. Holiday dessert built from pantry staples.

Slow-roasted duck stuffed with oyster bread dressing and basted with a lemon-butter-thyme mixture until golden and crispy. A showpiece roast for holiday dinners and special occasions.

Silky chicken and ham mousse blended with Madeira wine and whipped cream, set in a gelatin mold. An elegant make-ahead appetizer for cocktail parties and holiday entertaining.

Filled butter ring cookies sandwich apricot preserves between two shortbread rounds, the top one cut with a thimble window, dusted with powdered sugar. Linzer-style holiday classic.

Kishka (stuffed derma) made with flour, corn flakes, bread, and paprika rolled in foil and baked until firm. A classic Jewish deli appetizer that freezes beautifully for Shabbat or holidays.

Old-fashioned Christmas fudge packed with candied pineapple, candied cherries, almonds, and pecans. Creamy, fruity, and nutty in every square, this holiday candy makes 80 pieces for gifting.

Bite-sized shrimp quiches with a buttery cream cheese pastry shell, Swiss cheese, chives, and a hint of nutmeg. A from-scratch appetizer for parties and holidays.