Cranberry Orange Cake

Celebrate fall flavors with this easy, company-worthy delight

Autumn arrives this week in our part of the world. So we’re looking forward to seasonal treats.

Cranberries and oranges are two of our fall faves. Here, we combine them in an easy, tasty sheet cake – great for desserts or snacks.

Perfect for company, too. Let them eat cake. 

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

 

An autumn-appropriate dessert that’s rich, creamy – and totally company worthy

November means peak cranberry in the US. Cranberry sauce, relish, and salads are staples on Thanksgiving tables.

But cranberries like dessert, too. As in these Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars.

Because why should pumpkin pie have all the fun?

Cranberry Walnut Bread

An easy breakfast, dessert, or snack option

‘Tis the season for baking. Cue that sugar high.

Or not. Our version of Cranberry Walnut Bread is sweet, but not overmuch. So you can eat it without fear of bouncing off the walls.

Of course, you may want that bounce, especially during the holiday season. In which case, have seconds. But don’t forget your crash helmet.

Cranberry Buckle

An easy, seasonal dessert for fall

Chilly weather and short days can be a downer. So whip up some cranberry cheer.

Cranberries are the iconic autumn fruit, arriving in our markets just as winter threatens. And they’re a staple on Thanksgiving tables in the US.

But they’re also wonderful in baked goodies (like this Cranberry Buckle), where their tart edge cuts through sweet, cakelike surroundings like a happy surprise.

So buckle up.

Belgian Endive and Walnut Salad

Pears and blue cheese make this the perfect winter salad

Looking for a winter starter? Something fast enough for weeknights, but elegant enough for company?

We’ve got it! This Belgian Endive and Walnut Salad makes the season bright. Just add pears (which are at the height of their season) and tangy blue cheese (we opt for French Roquefort), and you have an easy dish that will make your tongue tingle.

And tingle rhymes with jingle.

Date-Walnut Squares

Lighter and tastier than many traditional recipes

Date-and-nut squares (aka bars) are a classic at holiday time. Problem is, many recipes yield dense – and filling – concoctions. This recipe is lighter, but still packs plenty of flavor.

Your guests will appreciate that. Because they’ll certainly want more than one.

So for your next holiday bash, we suggest baking a double batch of these beauties. You’ll have leftovers, but that’s the point. Because these are wonderful for breakfast, too.

Cranberry-Apple Crisp with Nut Crumble

Autumn’s most popular fruits make this a festive dessert

Apples and cranberries are both autumn icons. So why not set them up for a date?

They get along beautifully in this dish: Cranberry ting enlivens apple mellowness. And baking concentrates their flavors, bringing out the best in both.

With Thanksgiving coming up soon, you’ll want to add this dish to the menu. Your guests will gobble it up.

Chocolate Almond Sesame Bars

A richly decadent holiday treat

Chestnuts roasting by an open fire? Let’s get real. What most of us crave at holiday time is chocolate. And lots of it.

So get ready to deck your plates with these Chocolate Almond Sesame Bars. They’re decadence in cookie form.

Their flavor gets even better if you let them rest overnight, so they’re also a great make-ahead treat. Bake them when it’s convenient for you, and they’ll be ready for any guests who drop by.

Assuming you can resist eating the whole batch yourself.

Lemon Cheesecake with Walnut Crust

Mascarpone amps up this gluten-free delight

Looking for a dessert that’s a BFD—you know, a big fancy deal? One you can serve to your boss or your fussiest relatives?

Well, your search is over. This mascarpone-driven Lemon Cheesecake with Walnut Crust delivers “Wow!” factor.

It’s the perfect dessert for an important dinner party. That’s because you can (and should) make this dish ahead of time, preferably the day before you intend to serve it. When you’re planning a big dinner, that “make ahead” thing isn’t a bug, it’s a feature: You get dessert out of the way early, so you can obsess over the main course on the day of.

Plus, it will give you plenty of time to anticipate the standing O you’ll receive from your guests when they take their first bite of this tongue pleaser.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Intense and irresistible

Hey, chocolate obsessives (you know who you are). Looking for your next cacao-laden fix?

Well, welcome to the deep, dark flavor of these cookies. Their richness will remind you of everything you l-o-v-e about chocolate.

Say hello to your new besties.

Black-Walnut Sandies

Punch Up the Flavor of a Classic Cookie with this Native American Walnut

Say “sandies,” and we usually think pecans.  But you can use almost any type of nut to make these wonderful shortbread-like cookies.

Walnuts make scrumptious sandies.  They’re less sweet than pecans, but they have a more robust taste.  And when you’re making cookies, there’s always enough added sugar, so sweetness isn’t a big concern anyway.

Most supermarkets carry two varieties of walnuts:  the so-called English walnut (which actually originated in Persia) and the black walnut, which is native to eastern North America.  English walnuts tend to be more abundant (and much less expensive), in large part because they’re easier to cultivate — they are grown commercially, while black walnuts often are harvested wild (by hand).  And the shells of English walnuts are much easier to crack, making them less costly to process.  But black walnuts deliver especially good flavor — bold, rich, and earthy. 

If you don’t want to splurge on black walnuts (or have trouble finding them), you can substitute English walnuts — or use a mix of the two.  Any way you make them, these cookies are so good, you’ll want to eat more — OK, quite a few more — than you really should.  Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Walnut Roll Cake

This Gluten-Free Dessert Will Put Your Name in Lights

Need to make dessert for an important dinner?  (Hint:  Mother’s Day is just around the corner!)  One that looks great and tastes even better?

Enter this Walnut Roll Cake.  It’s a time-tested recipe (dating back at least to the 1950s) and it’s not hard to make (though it does take time).  Your guests will rave about the flavor.  And it’s gluten free! 

This drop-dead delicious recipe is so good it helped Paula Wolfert shine at one of her first big catering jobs — more about that later — and it will make you a star among your friends.  It will also become the dessert that everyone asks you to make. 

Indulge their requests if you can.  After all, we were all little people at one time, weren’t we?

Christmas Stollen

A Traditional Holiday Cake — or Is It Bread? 

‘Tis the season for Christmas cakes. You know, like fruitcake, panettone, and Stollen. All three are sweet, and all three typically contain candied or dried fruits. Stollen (like fruitcake) also contains nuts, but Stollen has a more breadlike consistency.

Dresden is synonymous with Stollen, and Dresden Stollen is often quite hefty. Loaves can weigh upwards of 4 pounds, and typically are covered with white icing. But Stollen is baked throughout Germany in all sizes and shapes. And almost every family has its own recipe.

This recipe has been in my family for generations. It probably arrived from Germany with my great-great-grandmother. It’s a bit less rich than the typical Dresden Stollen, and can be baked either in a loaf pan or free form on a baking sheet. It’s delicious plain or dusted with powdered sugar (or iced, if that’s your preference). And although the dough takes several hours to rise, actual hands-on time is only about half an hour if you knead the Stollen in a stand mixer.