32 special recipes

These Special Peanut Butter Cookies combine creamy peanut butter, rich chocolate chips, crunchy peanuts, and miniature peanut butter cups for a delightful treat. Perfectly soft with a slight crisp edge, they’re a peanut butter lover’s dream!

Low-calorie cottage cheese plate with fresh vegetables or tropical fruit, a hard-boiled egg, and rye crisp crackers. A high-protein, no-cook light lunch on a bed of lettuce.

Sauerkraut and ground beef casserole with rice, tomatoes and green pepper. Tangy Midwestern potluck dish that doubles easily for a crowd.

Vintage 1930s special cocoa cake: a tender chocolate layer cake made with bloomed cocoa, brown sugar, and cake flour. Old-fashioned recipe that beats most modern boxed mixes.

Sour cream apple pie with a cinnamon-spiced shortbread crust and a buttery walnut streusel top. McIntosh apples bake into a custardy filling that sets up creamy under the crunchy walnut topping.

Koulourakia, Greek special occasion cookies made with olive oil, cinnamon, brandy, and sesame seeds. Egg-free, dairy-free, and hand-shaped into traditional forms.

Hearty Dutch oven rump roast braised low and slow with pinto beans, tomato sauce, peppers, and onions. This cowboy-style one-pot beef and bean dinner feeds a hungry crowd.

If you're tired of having popcorn during movies, then try this crunchy and scrumptious snack that won't disappoint.

A delicious and hearty stew made with kohlrabies, sweet potatoes, chickpeas and raisins.

Chocolate spice bundt cake folds ground cardamom into a sour cream chocolate batter, then drips with warm ganache glaze. Aromatic showstopper bundt cake for special occasions.

Buttery strawberry bread with rich flavor and tender texture. Classic sweet loaf showcasing fresh berries in every slice for special occasions or weekend baking.

Vegan Queen Scones made with blended soft tofu and water instead of dairy. A simple, moist baked good recipe perfect for breakfast or brunch when you want something special.

Homemade whole wheat pita bread baked in a hot oven until each round puffs into a pocket. Five ingredients, no special equipment, and ten Middle Eastern flatbreads in under two hours.

No-bake cereal bars with peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch chip topping. Church potluck favorite ready in 35 minutes, feeds a crowd sweetly.

This recipe comes from Italy by way of Argentina. Maxwell Mowry of Charleston got this recipe when he lived in Buenos Aires in the early l970s. Since there are more people of Italian ancestry in Argentina than of Spanish ancestry, it is not surprising to find panettone there, where it is called in Spanish pan dulce, meaning 'sweet bread.' At Christmas in Argentina, pan dulce is eaten accompanied by sparkling apple cider. Houseware shops in Argentina sell special tall cylindrical springform pans to bake the pan dulce, but an empty, greased 1-pound coffee can may be used.

Kuba, a traditional Eastern European barley and mushroom casserole with dried mushrooms, butter, garlic, and marjoram. A hearty, earthy side dish for holiday meals and special occasions.