Flour

Akashah's tasty citrus torte is both gluten-free and a source of healthy unsaturated fat.

These twice-baked cornmeal crackers—sturdy and delicate all at once—are a great accompaniment to lush avgolemono soup . They're also delicious on their own or with cocktails.

My friend Melissa McDonnell is finishing up her architectural studies in Texas, but she always finds time to bake her famous ginger cookies. These cookies are chewy, hearty, and totally addictive. The dough does need to chill for an hour, so be sure to prepare accordingly. And keep a close eye on these—my husband is a ginger-cookie addict and stole almost half the batch while they were cooling.

Similar to the socca—chickpea crepes—of Nice, in southern France.

This addictive appetizer is a delicious combination of sour cream, cheese, and corn. A little minced jalapeño adds heat.

Flax is rich in substances that have been shown to protect against heart disease and cancer. It has a very mild taste and is good mixed into muffins and breads as well as sprinkled on cereal. This flax muffin recipe is one way to add a daily tablespoon of flaxseed to your breakfast and snacks. These muffins are remarkably sweet and moist, despite having no added fat. (The 3 grams of fat per muffin are from the health-protective fats in the ground flaxseed meal.)

These cakey, low-fat cookies digest easily and are good for a preexercise snack or recovery food. The recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies—enough to feed the whole team. If you are cooking for yourself, you might want to cut the recipe in half.

An amazing mix of textures and flavors—nutty, sweet, salty, plus a touch of heat from the peppercorns.

A little rye flour and a bit of cornmeal give this pizza dough extra flavor°and texture.

This vegetarian main course is satisfying and flavorful.

Pat: When it comes to summertime in the South, fresh peaches rule. We put them in ice cream, pie, and cobbler. We pack them in mason jars and cover them with syrup. No getting around it: we have never met a peach-and-sugar dish that we didn’t like. When we were kids, Momma Daisy had several peach trees in her backyard. She’d give my brothers and me a big basket, and we would go out and pick them right off the tree. Next thing you knew, she was making cobbler—man, was that a treat. Needless to say, that was always a fun trip, and now we get to relive it by sharing her recipe with you.

This almost doesn't need a recipe because it is based on the classic proportions of a pound of each of the four main ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. I have played with the quantities a little bit so that the recipe doesn't make such a large cake. I like to flavor this type of pound cake with just a little vanilla—it keeps the flavor delicate and doesn't mask the lovely flavor of the butter. If you want more vividly flavored pound cake, try any of the variations.

Spicy, cheesy, and moist! I love this cornbread for dinner on a warm summer night, whether with barbecued meats or just a big old salad. If you don’t have Manchego, you can substitute cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Gouda.

This buttery shortbread is a treat for all ages. Kids can help stir the dough with a wooden spoon.

These wee sandwich cakes, also known as Moon Pies, got their start in Pennsylvania Dutch country. They are known as whoopee pies because children exclaim, "Whoopee!" when the cakes are ready. Whole Foods sells Tiny Trapeze brand marshmallow cream, made with "no junkie stuff," as the container states.

These flat, chewy, half whole-wheat cookies are for the chocolate chip purist: no nuts, no frills—pure bliss. They will fly out of the kitchen mysteriously. Use a 1-ounce (2-tablespoon-capacity) ice-cream scoop for easy measuring.

Flour and water—can it get any more basic? After a few minutes of kneading, the dough magically comes together into a smooth, supple ball. Fettuccine is the goal here, but Chun also likes to cut the pasta into free-form "rags" to serve with a wild-mushroom sauce.

These crumbly, not-too-sweet cookies, which echo the clean corn flavor of polenta, are delicious dipped in a pool of basil-lime granita or a demitasse of strong espresso—or all on their own.

Serve these South American cornmeal cakes with a side of pico de gallo or fresh corn salsa.