Easy

Season: Late summer to autumn. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so very simple. Moreover, you can turn up the heat or cool it down to suit your mood by the variety of the chile pepper you use. In the late summer and autumn, look for hot fruity habaneros, rich mild poblanos, tiny hot Thai chiles, or flaming jalapeños to use in this sizzling jelly relish. I like to use red bell peppers, as they are symbolic of the heat, but, of course, there’s no reason why you can’t use yellow, orange, or green, or a mixture of all four. Use this punchy jelly with cream cheese, smoked mackerel, rice dishes, and crispy stir-fried vegetables.

Season: September. You’ve got to be quick to beat the squirrels to the hazelnuts each autumn. Once you have found some, it’s important to store them carefully. Even with their shells on, they have a tendency to dry out and shrivel up, but preserving them in hone will keep them fresh and fragrant for ages. Use wild hazels that you have gathered yourself, or filberts, which are simply a cultivated form of hazelnut. Spoon your honeyed hazels over plain yogurt, chocolate ice cream, porridge, or muesli.

Season: Late August to September. Fruit leathers are thin, pliable sheets of dried, sweetened fruit purée with a flexible consistency like leather. To be truthful, I had always avoided making them, thinking they sounded complicated. But in a spirit of experimentation, I decided to try some out. They were a revelation. I discovered how easy it is to create these strong, semitransparent sheets, and how versatile they are. They are fun to use and eat–you can cut them, roll them, fold them, and pack them away. Light and easy to carry, they’re full of fruity energy, so they’re great for lunch boxes or long walks. Snip off pieces to dissolve gently into fruit salads, or save them for the festive season when their translucent, jewel-like colors will look gorgeous on the Christmas tree.

Season: June to October. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, whose recipe this is, thinks the secret of success is to pick the raspberries on a hot, dry day, aiming for a good mixture of ripe and almost-ripe fruit, then to make the jam immediately to capture the full flavor of the berries. The light boiling and lower-than-normal quantity of sugar produce a loose, soft-set jam with a fresh, tangy flavor. Low-sugar jams of this type are often called fridge jams (see p. 36). In fact, as long as it is capped when still above 195°F, this preserve will keep well in the pantry. However, once it is opened, you must keep it in the fridge. It won’t last long after opening – maybe 2 or 3 weeks – but as it tastes so very, very good, this is unlikely to be a problem. It’s one of those things you’ll find yourself eating straight from the jar, maybe in the middle of the night! This light, soft jam is fantastic in cakes or sherry trifles or stirred into creamy rice puddings. Best of all, layer it with toasted rolled oats, cream, Drambuie, and honey for a take on Cranachan, the traditional Scottish dessert.

The refreshing sweet-tart flavor of these crumbly cookies is just right after a spicy meal. Other citrus juices and zests can be substituted for the lime juice and zest.

Mandelbrot comes from the German words for “almond” (Mandel) and “bread” (Brot). Our variation contains pecans instead of almonds. As with biscotti, the dough is partially baked, sliced, and baked again.

If you’re looking for something to offer with tea or coffee, look no further—these dainty little sandwich cookies are the quintessential afternoon treat. They’re also ideal for bridal and baby showers.

The snowy sugar surface contrasts with the peppery flavor of these German spice cookies. Pfeffer means “pepper” in German; Nuss means “nut,” and refers more to the shape than to the ingredients.

Baking this shortbread in a round cake pan and then cutting it while it’s warm make it quite easy to prepare. The only trick is to make sure you don’t overbake the shortbread, so keep an eye on it as the suggested baking time draws near.

This crumbly shortbread is studded with dried currants, which are tiny raisins made from Zante grapes. The currants must be soaked overnight, so you’ll need to plan your craving a day in advance.

To toast the pecans, spread them out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Take care not to overprocess the nuts in step 1; you want them to be finely ground, not paste-like. If desired, sift confectioners’ sugar over cookies just before serving.

This simple shortbread is first baked in a square pan and then cut into heart shapes. For variation, other dried fruits or mini chocolate chips can be substituted for the cranberries.

These melt-in-your-mouth treats are fragrant with warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and vanilla. They are also infused with a healthy dash of dark rum. The dough can be made up to one month in advance, frozen, and sliced to bake as needed.

These were originally developed as favors in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. Rosemary, which denotes remembrance, love, loyalty, and friendship, has long held a place of honor in wedding ceremonies.

The dusting of cocoa on these little cookies, much like that on a chocolate truffle, may seem to promise a similar velvety interior, but the illusion is fleeting. One bite reveals the unmistakable crumbly texture of shortbread. If giving as a gift, enclose about three tablespoons of cocoa powder in a small bag, along with instructions for dusting.

Malt powder enriches these cookies with a creamy caramel and vanilla flavor that calls to mind a malted milk shake at an old-time soda fountain.

The name for these pressed cookies comes from the German word spritzen (“to squirt”); they can be quickly formed with a cookie press. Although they have a very fine crumb, the wreaths are sturdy enough for packaging (see page 342 for a gift idea).

The six ingredients called for here come together in a delightful cookie. Pistachios and lemon juice make a great flavor combination, and the egg white gives a soft texture.

Matzo is an unleavened bread, made with flour and water and traditionally served during Passover; matzo farfel is made from dried noodles that are broken into small pieces. Both can be found in kosher sections of grocery stores. Vegetable oil is used in place of butter, to keep the cookies nondairy.

A glass of milk is the ideal accompaniment to these drop cookies. Besides white chocolate, the cookies are also chockablock with oats, coconut, golden raisins, and walnuts.