Baking

A classic Christmas bread from one of Buenos Aires's most famous bakeries, Las Violetas.

Coarsely ground black pepper lends a spicy note to this dense, moist brownie cake studded with dried cherries and chocolate chips. Cherry Preserves are thicker than cherry jam and give the Black Forest Torte more body. Look for cherry preserves in supermarkets.

A sumptuous chocolate-caramel ganache alternates with layers of cake sweetened with chestnut cream.

Dallas chef Kent Rathbun created this fabulous dessert for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

You'll feel positively Continental after your first taste of these tartlets, made with the thoroughly French combination of prunes and Armagnac. The creamy Italian mascarpone filling is just the thing to mellow out the sophisticated flavors.

This pie is an ideal dessert after a heavy meal. Just a bit of additional sugar allows the bright flavor of lemon to shine through.

These dainty tea cakes took many of us back to our childhood. A few drops of kirsch gives them a faintly eastern European air.

Guests will go wild for these little pies. They're at once delicate and decadent, the airy puffs of crisp meringue giving way to rich, vanilla-flavored pastry cream and a sprightly mix of fresh fruit.

Don't be nervous about making meatless mincemeat if you've never tried it before—it's a knockout combination of dried fruits and spices that adds wonderfully deep flavor to baked goods. Here, chunks of sweet pear and a handful of tart fruit create a pie that's fantastic with vanilla ice cream.

Caramelized sugar laces this classic with a sensuous richness, extraordinary in the context of this unbelievably light and delicately spiced pie. And since it's cooked in a deep quiche pan, a single pie will serve 12 guests.

Muscat-poached Seckel pears are tucked into moist almond cakes for a charming dessert. Besides being cute, these tiny cakes leave guests room for pumpkin pie.

These luscious cranberry-studded cakes enriched with bourbon and pecans break away from traditional pumpkin pie without eliminating all those beloved ingredients that say Thanksgiving.

The recipe for this eastern European favorite varies from Russia to Slovenia, but it is always rich, sweet, and dense. Poppy seeds can easily become rancid, so make sure your poppy-seed filling tastes fresh.

Soufflés often contain so much cheese it dominates the dish. Swiss cheese subtly enriches this flavorful version.

The flavors of this tart are remarkably balanced—it's a bit savory and a bit sweet. (In fact, in the south of France, where it's known as tourte aux blettes, you'll often see the pastry served for dessert.) Paired with a simple salad, it makes for a supremely satisfying light dinner.

These beef pies make an immensely satisfying meal or snack on the go. The ready-to-use puff pastry bakes up golden and flaky—the perfect accompaniment to the rich, meaty filling.

One dough yields three kinds of thin, buttery Cheddar crackers. While it's a good idea to keep appetizers to a minimum on Thanksgiving, these (along with mixed nuts in the shell) will pique everyone's appetite just enough. Make sure you sample one of each—there won't be any leftovers.

This type of pan de muertos is made for the celebration of the Days of the Dead, November 1 and 2, when families honor their dead by setting up a colorful altar in the house and preparing special foods to put on it and take to the graveside. While this custom has its roots in pre-Columbian central Mexico, it has become popular even in the north (though a friend from Sonora says that her mother considered it very bizarre). This semisweet yeast bread enriched with egg yolks and other similar breads are circular in form, transversed with "bones," and topped with a "skull." The same dough is used for the rosca de reyes, made for the celebrations for Twelfth Night, January 6. Don't try to hurry the dough along; the flavor will develop better with slow rising. I certainly advise an electric mixer with dough hook for this type of dough, which is rather messy to handle.

Think of this pretty tart as a tropical version of traditional pecan pie. The sweet, buttery filling bakes up like a custard, and each slice is packed with macadamia nuts and sweetened flaked coconut.