25 second recipes

Fudgy cocoa cookie balls loaded with chocolate chips, dipped in melted white chocolate, and rolled in festive sprinkles. Kid-friendly, bite-sized, and gone in seconds.

No-bake chocolate haystacks with coconut, dried apricots, oats, and chopped nuts. A stovetop candy that boils for 30 seconds, drops onto wax paper, and sets as it cools.

Cold spaghetti pasta salad tossed with diced cucumber, red bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce, and bottled Italian dressing. A potluck classic that travels well and tastes better the second day.

Susan's apple cake is a one-bowl dump-and-bake with three whole apples, toasted walnuts, and a full tablespoon of cinnamon. The kind of homey loaf that improves the second day.

No-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies with peanut butter and pecans. Boil the base for 90 seconds, stir in oats and nuts, drop on wax paper, and let them set. Done in 30 minutes.

Three-layer butternut cake with tangy cream cheese frosting and chopped nuts. Rich buttermilk batter laced with butternut flavoring bakes up tender and moist, then gets slathered in a thick, nutty frosting that'll have folks lining up for seconds.

Puchero is to Mexican cooking what Pot-au-Feu is to French. The difference lies in Puchero's imaginative combination of vegetables and fruits. Since it is even more delicious the second day, this recipe will make an ample amount to serve 8 for dinner, with some left over for lunch the following day.

This is the second recipe I'll post tonight--promised it to AH earlier tonight. My mother found this recipe 35 or so years ago in a magazine and it has become a family favorite. For years she only made it at Thanksgiving until I took over the baking reigns in the family; now she makes it more often especially when my brother, Lewis, is going to be in.

Onion soup Provencal with 8 pounds of slowly caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, red wine, herbs, and barley miso for umami depth. Topped with croutons and Emmentaler cheese.