Holidays/12 recipes

No-bake walnut chocolate rum balls rolled in cocoa powder. Made with grated milk chocolate, chopped walnuts, powdered sugar, and real rum. A rich holiday candy ready in 15 minutes, makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Southern boiled custard eggnog made from scratch with 8 egg yolks, cream, vanilla, and nutmeg. Spiked with whiskey or served virgin, this silky holiday drink serves 12.

Fruitcake drop cookies with brandy, candied cherries, dates, candied pineapple, and nuts. All the holiday fruitcake flavor in a bite-sized cookie that bakes in 12 minutes.

None Such mincemeat cookies: a vintage drop cookie made with crumbled prepared mincemeat folded into a simple shortening dough. Bakes 4 dozen in 12 minutes for the holiday cookie tin.

Crispy vanilla rosettes fried on a decorative iron, then dipped in vanilla icing. Scandinavian holiday cookies that look like edible snowflakes. Yields 12 cookies.

Microwave roast turkey with pan gravy cooks a 12-pound bird in under 90 minutes using the breast-down, breast-up method. A speedy small-kitchen solution for holiday dinner without tying up the oven.

Portuguese-American turkey stuffing with chorizo sausage, turkey giblets, and soaked bread. A bold, meaty stuffing with garlic, paprika, and parsley for a 12-pound holiday bird.

Holiday mint log is a light chocolate sponge cake rolled into a classic yule log shape. Separated eggs keep the cake airy enough to roll without cracking, baked in just 12-15 minutes.

Old-fashioned divinity candy with holiday, chocolate, and ginger variations. The classic Southern white candy: cloud-light, melt-on-your-tongue texture, made by streaming hot syrup into beaten egg whites.

No-bake rum-raisin balls with dark rum-soaked oats, cocoa, golden raisins, walnuts, and coconut rolled in sugar. A boozy, fudgy holiday treat that keeps for 10 days or freezes for months.

Massive holiday stuffing with crumbled cornbread, hot and sweet Italian sausage, cranberries, maple syrup, rosemary, and orange marmalade. Makes 10 litres for a crowd-sized Thanksgiving feast.

Non-alcoholic holiday punch with lemonade, orange juice, grenadine, and bubbly ginger ale. A festive, kid-friendly party drink ready in 10 minutes flat.

Frozen fruit salad with vanilla pudding, whipped cream, pineapple, pecans, and fruit cocktail. Make-ahead dessert that serves 10, perfect for holidays.

Whole roasted turkey stuffed with wild rice, brandy-soaked apricots, and rosemary, basted in garlic-herb butter. A stunning holiday centerpiece that feeds 10.

Spiced date drop cookies with chopped dates, toasted walnuts, cinnamon, and cloves baked into a soft, chewy drop cookie. An old-school holiday tin classic that bakes in just 10 minutes.

No-bake graham orange walnut cookies roll up bright orange juice concentrate, crunchy walnuts, and graham crumbs into bite-sized balls. No oven, no eggs, ready in 10 minutes for a citrus-kissed holiday cookie.