16 spicy candy recipes

Rhubarb jam with Chinese five-spice, crystallized ginger, and a whisper of hot sauce. Tart-sweet preserve with warm spice and gentle heat, perfect on toast or alongside roast pork.

Vegetarian mince pies with a suet-free, no-suet British mincemeat: dried fruits, ripe banana, almonds, brandy, and warm spice tucked inside flaky shortening pastry. The traditional Christmas pie, made meatless.

This Christmas pudding has plenty of delicious fruit and nuts, but it's really simple to make - just plan ahead and then make the warm vanilla-bean custard on the day.

Vegan fruit cake packed with dried fruit, candied peel, orange rind, and almonds, leavened with a soy milk and vinegar reaction instead of eggs. A dense, dairy-free holiday cake baked low and slow.

Pfeffernusse-style German pepper cookies with white pepper, cinnamon, mixed spice, candied peel, and lemon zest. Small, puffy spice balls dusted in powdered sugar.

No-bake pumpkin ice cream pie in a graham cracker crust with vanilla ice cream, pumpkin puree, and warm spices. A frozen Thanksgiving dessert that takes minutes to assemble and tastes like fall in every bite.

Aran Spiosrai is a traditional Irish spice bread with raisins, candied fruit, golden syrup, and mixed spice baked low and slow in a loaf pan. It actually gets better after a day or two as the flavors deepen.

Classic British Christmas fruit cake packed with fruit that will keep without refrigeration until Christmas.

Halloween mini pumpkin cupcakes are tender pumpkin spice bites topped with cream cheese frosting tinted orange, black, and white. Decorate with candy and sugar crystals for spooky kid-friendly party treats.

Flaky Asian pear and lychee strudel with phyllo dough, crystallized ginger, toasted coconut, walnuts, and Chinese five spice. A showstopping fusion dessert dusted with powdered sugar.

Sweet and spicy candied pickle sticks made from dill pickles soaked in sugar with cherry peppers, celery seed, and mustard seed. No cooking, just patience. Addictively crunchy.

Spicy applesauce mold with cinnamon candies, nutmeg, and lemon juice sets into a shimmering gelatin dessert that's equal parts retro charm and warm autumn flavor.

Curried fruit pizza topped with apples, pears, banana, grapes, and candied pineapple simmered in curry cream on crispy pizza dough. Sweet, spicy, and totally unexpected.

Homemade apple jelly made in the microwave with apple juice, pectin, and red hot cinnamon candies for a spicy-sweet twist. Yields 6 half pints in under an hour.

Candied spicy pecans coated in cinnamon sugar and egg white, slow-baked at low heat for one hour until crisp and caramelized. An addictive sweet-spiced nut snack or holiday gift.

China Moon serrano-lemongrass vinegar, a fragrant infused rice vinegar simmered with fresh ginger, lemongrass and serrano chiles. A bright, spicy condiment to splash into dressings, dipping sauces, stir-fries and noodle bowls.