41 wood ear recipes

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.

Old fashioned fruitcake bars packed with candied cherries, dates, raisins, and nuts in a moist applesauce batter. Easier than traditional fruitcake and just as festive.

Lightly spiced pear quick bread sweetened with honey and studded with raisins. Moist, tender crumb thanks to applesauce and minimal oil.

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.

Maple walnut bars with raisins, melted butter, and just 7 ingredients mixed in one bowl. Chewy, nutty cookie bars baked in an 8-inch pan and cut into squares.

Vegetarian mincemeat with fresh pears, mixed dried fruit, candied peel, glace cherries, dates, almonds, citrus zest, and whiskey. A meat-free version of the British holiday classic.

No-bake cafe au lait blender cheesecake whips cottage cheese, instant coffee, and whipped topping into a light gelatin-set dessert. Cinnamon zwieback crumbs top each slice.

Made a bunch of these cranberry chews at the weekend, and they were so good. I used half whole wheat flour, which I usually do when I bake. I also used 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup butter, and these bars came out wonderfully delicious. I have been enjoying them for breakfast and snack. I froze most of the bars. A great recipe.

Gooey butter pecan bars layered with melted marshmallows, chocolate chips, and coconut on a cake mix crust. A 5-minute prep, no-fuss dessert bar that disappears at every potluck and bake sale.

Lightly spiced bars made with apricot nectar and dried apricots, finished with a tangy apricot glaze for double the fruit flavor.

Individual rustic fruit tarts with shortcrust pastry, apricot jam glaze, and thinly sliced apples or pears. A French-bistro dessert that bakes in 15 minutes and looks gorgeous.

Banana monkey bars: a one-bowl banana bread baked thin into chewy bars, studded with walnuts and finished with a chocolate sugar drizzle. Lunchbox sweet, ready in under an hour.

Cato's grape bread recreates an ancient Roman recipe with feta, cumin, anise, and grape juice baked over fragrant bay leaves. A 2,000-year-old loaf with rustic Mediterranean character.

Creamy vanilla cheesecake bars on a rich chocolate-graham cracker crust. Melted chocolate chips and butter hold the base together while sweetened condensed milk makes the filling impossibly smooth.

Three-ingredient toffee cake made with angel food cake, whipped topping, and crushed Skor bars. No baking required, just 10 minutes of prep and an overnight chill for buttery toffee flavor in every slice.

Layered toffee cake with angel food cake split into three layers, filled and frosted with caramel whipped cream, and covered in crushed Heath bars. No baking required.