Buttery almond slice-and-bake cookies are the smartest kind of baking: mix a sandy almond dough one day, chill it into a log, then slice and bake exactly as many cookies as you need. Warm from the oven, they don't stand a chance. Prepare to meet your new favorite...

Spicy ginger cookies are the jar cookie of my childhood: crackled sugar-topped rounds heavy with ginger, backed by cinnamon and cloves, chewy in the middle and just crisp at the edges. Bake a double batch — the dough freezes and the cookies vanish. For me, the perfect...

Chewy coconut macaroons with unsweetened coconut and honey are the little confection I keep in my back pocket. Whipped egg whites fold into honeyed coconut and bake up chewy in the middle and toasty at the edges. Tired of overly sweet, one-note coconut macaroons? The...

The ultimate chewy chocolate oatmeal bars are the cookie that isn't: a buttery oat-and-walnut base and lid with a thick melted-chocolate layer sealed between. They slice cleanly, travel well, and vanish at any gathering they attend. The Ultimate Chewy Chocolate...

The ultimate chewy chocolate brownies live up to the title: real unsweetened chocolate melted with butter, a sugar-rich batter for that shiny crackled top, and chocolate chips in every bite. Underbake them by a minute and thank yourself later. Welcome, fellow...

Honey-glazed pear tart with almond crust is elegant without trying: a pre-baked almond crust lined with thin pears, brushed with honey, and finished under an apricot glaze that makes the fruit gleam. It's the tart I make when I want silence at the table — the...

Instant Pot stuffed portobello mushrooms are the fastest way I know to make mushrooms feel like a real dinner. Big caps piled with a hot spinach, cottage cheese, and mozzarella filling, they're on the table in about 25 minutes with the pot doing the pressure...

Balanced maple pecan pie, no corn syrup in sight, is the version I now make every holiday: real maple syrup and brown sugar for depth, whole pecans in every bite, and a filling that sets silky instead of saccharine. Unsweetened whipped cream on top, always. Let's be...

Stunning crimson cranberry tart is the holiday dessert I dream about between holidays: a pound of fresh cranberries cooked with orange, pear, honey, and toasted walnuts into a jammy scarlet filling, baked in a golden crust. The honey cream on top is not optional in my...

Stunning apricot orange mousse looks like a pastry chef's work and hides a homely process: dried apricots simmered with honey and orange juice, folded through whipped cream and billowing egg whites, with a nip of orange liqueur. Set in the fridge, unmolded — or...

Indian rice pudding — kheer — is patience rewarded: milk and converted rice simmered together with honey, cardamom, toasted almonds, and raisins until everything turns soft and fragrant. Fifty minutes, one pot, and the house smells like a cardamom shop. There's...