Baking

Editor's note: This recipe is from Ming Tsai's Simply Ming. This recipe only uses 1/4 of Ming Tsai's butter shortbread cookie dough. Use the rest to make his five-spice shortbread, double chocolate-ginger shortbread, and caramel macadamia nut crunch.

You can freeze the dough flavored or unflavored, in logs or not—for up to two weeks.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham. To read more about fruitcake, see the related Daily Dish. Every kitchen file should have a recipe for a distinguished dark fruit cake. This is as good as any to be found.

On a recent trip to San Francisco, I had dinner at Frisson. I can't stop thinking about the amazing chocolate soufflé with a creamy peanut butter center. Annie McLeir, Falmouth, MA

Chunks of bacon give this English classic newfound appeal.

This recipe can easily be halved to make one pie. It's great with whipped cream.

Classic taste, new look. The borders puff up beautifully to keep the filling in place.

This recipe yields extra gingerbread — enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee.

There will be a bit of pistachio paste left over: stir it into your next batch of brownies.

It's all about the interplay between cake, syrup, and pears in this sophisticated dessert. The rosemary syrup would also be delicious in a cup of tea.

Here's a grown-up spin on the caramel apple — in tart form.

The bread is terrific on its own, too.

Perfect for the morning after Thanksgiving.

Sweet caramelized onions and pungent blue cheese make a good pair in this simply elegant appetizer.

A topping of crunchy chopped chocolate-caramel toffee and a ring of candied pecans complement the sweet nuttiness of this pie's classic filling. It's a lot. But isn't that what you're looking for in pie? 

A creamy frozen eggnog mousse layered with paper-thin sheets of crisp chocolate. Be sure to make the chocolate disks and lace before making the mousse filling.