Baking

If you've never cooked with quince before, here's a great intro. It tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear.

The secret to the delicious (and easy) meringue? Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme. Trust us.

Kumquats, small, oval citrus fruit with an edible peel, start turning up in markets this month. They're candied here for a gorgeous cheesecake topping.

Mascarpone lightens up the filling of this classic pumpkin pie.

In this refined version, pecan pie is all grown up.

Flavored with traditional stuffing herbs, these are great for mopping up gravy. They also make a tasty snack sandwich with leftover turkey.

These whole wheat rolls will impress everyone with how incredibly soft and moist they are. The secret ingredient? Instant potato flakes.

With its pure flavor, this firm and simply seasoned flourless cornbread is perfect for use in stuffings. It's also delicious toasted, spread with butter, and drizzled with honey.

Deliciously sweet, savory, and salty.

This bread is turned out of the skillet to reveal a lovely array of whole sage leaves.

Impress your guests with these individual flourless chocolate cakes. The lack of flour makes the cakes very moist—and causes them to sink a bit in the middle.

Warm up on a chilly fall evening with this pumpkin spice bread pudding.

The crisp edge and pillow-soft, chewy middle of these cookies will be the first things that strike you when you bite into them. But it's the faintly peppery traces of ginger that will make you crave more.

Far from being little more than crisp vehicles for the prosciutto , these have the flavor of a freshly baked olive-oil bread.

Serve these handheld pies alone or with applesauce, mustard, or roasted apples.

This is a wonderfully easy cake with flavors for which Piemonte is known. The best hazelnuts in Piemonte are called tonda gentile delle Langhe—the “gentle round one of the Langhe”—and with a bit of chocolate, you have the match made famous in Torino, gianduja. I love this torte for its versatility as well. I serve it simply with powdered sugar or whipped cream, or you can flank it with a scoop of chocolate ice cream or give it a drizzle of warm chocolate sauce. In Piemonte, I’ve had the torte with zabaglione—and if you turn to page 156, you’ll find a perfect partner in Zabaglione al Caffe` Nero.

This pastry recipe was one of those rare revelations that send shock waves through our test kitchens: How utterly brilliant to make extra dough, freeze it, and then just grate it directly into the pans when you need it! Rowe makes these adorable little tarts with damson plums, but we've found that prune plums work just as well. Although the pastry and compote make enough for twice this many tarts, they keep beautifully and they are so good you will be glad to have extra on hand.

Crème fraîche—a French heavy cream that's slightly sour—can be found in the dairy section of some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.