Baking

I love apples. I have this recurring dream where I leave the stress of the restaurant world behind and start a cider house, making exquisite hard cider. I start at sunrise and I finish in the mid-afternoon and retire to the farmhouse to cook a dinner for Mary and the girls. Apple brown betty is like a crisp made with bread crumbs. It's a wonderful dessert that is so simple and so rewarding in results. This is a good one for roping the kids into helping. Those apples aren’t going to peel themselves. Zabaglione is also known in France as sabayon. It is a custard-based dessert, cooked with a dessert wine. I stabilize mine with whipped cream and serve it cold, whereas in Italy and France you often see them served warm. Kind of like an eggnog in heaven.

The monounsaturated fats in this dessert's hazelnuts are super satiating. Trust us: You'll want seconds—but maybe not until tomorrow.

SOY-FREE
Can be made NUT-FREE by omitting almonds Honey cake is a traditional dessert at Jewish celebrations, whether formal holidays or not, and is a fixture in the Ashkenazic Rosh Hashanah repertoire. In this recipe, dark agave nectar and maple syrup are combined to create a truly authentic flavor.

NUT-FREE Thanksgiving dinner without pumpkin pie is almost unimaginable to most people, no matter what their dietary bent. To that end, I present two versions of this iconic dessert. Still, though it’s hard for us pumpkin pie fans to imagine, there are plenty of people who don’t care for it. (“Je n’aime pas le citrouille,” said the Parisian mother of my niece-by-marriage at a recent Thanksgiving gathering. My brother-in-law concurred, “I’m not a big pumpkin pie fan.”) Since I have two pumpkin pie naysayers in my family, I’m sure there are others out there. For them, I’ve provided a trio of additional desserts to choose from. This is just as good made with butternut squash as it is with sugar pumpkin. Once the pumpkin or squash is baked, which you can (and should) do ahead of time, the pie comes together quickly. It goes down very easily, which is why I recommend making two pies for practically the same effort as one.

These cinnamon buns are well worth the extra effort to make. They're so moist, sticky, cinnamon-y, and delicious you'll never miss those sugar-laden ones sold at malls. P.S. These smell even better than "those" when they're baking...and they don't have a million calories. Make them vegan by using butter and milk substitutes.

These vegan cupcakes are very moist and decadent. The peanut butter filling doubles as a cake filling.

Without exception, this was the most sought-after recipe at my restaurant and bakery. You would never believe these incredibly fudgy brownies are made with beans but no flour. The beans provide great body and fiber without a "beany" taste. Keep the brownies in the refrigerator. They will slice much better if refrigerated for several hours or overnight. Find natural coffee substitute at natural food stores.

Because so many of our desserts for the restaurants are plated and served by a surly kitchen of 99.9 percent men, we wanted to come up with a deep, malted, surly crunch. This pretzel crunch straddles the line between savory and sweet. Toss this into some Chex Mix on Super Bowl Sunday, or serve it solo in a bowl at your next cocktail party.

Serve these pillowy rolls along with the ham and set out small bowls of your favorite mustards. Double the recipe for a large crowd—or, if you want to forgo baking your own, brush store-bought rolls with the egg wash, sprinkle with the caraway salt, and warm them in the oven.

"I love mint Oreos," says owner Mindy Segal. "This is my take on that combination." The smooth pots de crème are offset by a chocolate brittle that's so addictive and simple to make, we serve it on its own for a quick dessert fix.

Deputy food editor Janet McCracken adds fresh ginger to a family recipe to create this moist spice cake.

Egg whites vary in size, and the quantity of whites used in a meringue affects its texture. When making these cookies, it's best to use a liquid measuring cup to measure the whites. You'll want to chill the cookies overnight to get the perfect balance of crisp and chewy.

Adding pretzels to the caramel gives these over-the-top bars a crunchy texture and salty-sweet finish.

Customize your favorite store-bought jam with orange zest and Earl Grey tea. Use any leftover dough to make delicious hazelnut cookies: Just roll, cut out, and bake.

When quickly cooked on the stove-top and then spooned onto baking sheets, this simple batter bakes into delicate lacy crisps.

To keep the rolled dough's cylindrical shape, chill or freeze it inside empty cardboard paper-towel tubes.

Candied orange peel is the star of this granola.

Use a triple hit of ginger—fresh, ground, and crystallized—and blackstrap molasses to lift your ginger cookies to the next level. The dough is rolled in raw sugar for a sparkly effect.

Serve these fragrantly spiced classics with coffee or tea.