Baking

Filled with a mixture of nuts, brown sugar, honey and grated orange peel, this tart will dress up any holiday table. Serve it with whipped cream and, if desired, the Orange-Cranberry Compote

Schiacciata means "flattened down," and in Tuscany the term generally refers to flatbread—what everyone else in Italy calls focaccia. During the wine-grape harvest, Tuscans make a not-too-sweet dessert or snack of bread dough and grapes, said to be of Etruscan origin. Realistically, at this time of year in the United States it will be hard to find a grape flavorful enough for this recipe. If you can't find great grapes, save this recipe for next autumn, when Concord grapes are in season, and substitute the almond cookie recipe.

Berries are in top form here; the filling is a cool, tangy crème fraîche sorbet rather than the usual whipped cream.

This is a typical Norman recipe, a way to use up the little bits of cheese that somehow manage to end up on a cheese platter. It is delicious.

These delicious chocolate chip cookies are worth the calorie splurge.

Truffle oil adds an earthy nuance, but using olive oil will also result in a delicious bread.

One recipe, two different looks: Half of the cookies are rolled in granulated sugar mixed with cardamom; the rest are sprinkled with a powdered sugar-cardamom mixture.

Be sure to cool these cookies before transferring them to a rack—they are very soft when they first come out of the oven and need a moment to set.

If you set aside several hours on three days to make the house, that will allow plenty of time for all the icing to set firmly and plenty of time for you to have some fun. The completed house can stand for up to one month.

At one time, musicians who entertained in Catalan countryside were paid with dried fruit and nuts. This came to be known as the "musician's dessert," which is still served to this day. Many places have updated the custom by turning the "pay" into a tart. Here's a rendition, with a rich caramel topping and sweet crust.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or crème fraîche, or with slices of aged kefalotyri cheese or white cheddar.

Meriel MacDonald of London, England, writes: "Having grown up at Kinloch Lodge, my family's hotel on the Isle of Skye, I truly understand what it means to be too busy to cook. There were always guests to attend to, telephones ringing, and other interruptions. Still, my mother found the time to cook while overseeing the hotel's day-to-day business. Today, she continues to run Kinloch Lodge, and over the years she has shared with me many of her recipes and cooking tips, which have helped me in my job as catering manager for a large advertising agency. For work events, I often rely on family recipes, because they're dependable and delicious. I also use many of those same recipes for simple home suppers during the workweek." This pudding is really more like a warm chocolate soufflé cake.

Over the past century, pecans have become closely associated with the South. However, walnuts were actually the pecan's predecessor in the Low Country, and were far more popular in earlier times.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min