Snack

Good-for-you ingredients abound in this sweet and salty snack, but the real star is the almonds: Their healthy fat can help lower cholesterol, and their fiber may speed up weight loss.

Ah, the pumpkin scone. The most discussed and praised scone on the planet. In all honesty, this scone was a happy accident of sorts. for Thanksgiving 2003, our baker, Sue McClinton, had the idea of making a pumpkin scone instead of a pumpkin cheesecake, and because of its popularity (and the fact that Haley has to have one every day), we kept it on through Christmas that year. Once the holidays were over and the mistletoe un-hung, Sue moved on to another type of scone, and all- but-rioting broke out that week when patrons discovered that there were no pumpkin scones. We heard the message loud and clear and have had pumpkin scones on the menu every day since then. In fact, pumpkin became our staple scone well before the standard and expected buttermilk scone entered our daily repertoire! Moist, slightly spicy, definitely gooey, and sweet on top (think of pumpkin pie inside a scone and you get the idea), the pumpkin scone remains a major favorite, and Haley—and now her kids— continues to have one almost each day! (In fact, Haley's son, Maddan, constantly begs to take one to school for a snack.)
These scones are best when served warm, but if you aren't serving them right away, we recommend that you don't glaze them until shortly before you serve them.

The war was on, and sugar was rationed. Aiming to do its patriotic bit, Gourmet printed an article showing readers how to use honey in place of sugar. The author of the article considered the shortage of sugar a good thing, harrumphing that until the discovery of sugar refining in the middle of the eighteenth century, cooks were very happy to rely on honey. He expressed the hope that "with the present curtailment in our sugar supply, honey will regain much of its former glory." That desire is probably why these cookies are so good; delicate and barely sweet, they are almost biscuit-like and go well with cheese. They also improve immeasurably with age. In a sign of the times, the recipe ran next to a cartoon of a woman emerging from a car in front of a fancy restaurant, peering at the 30-minute parking sign and saying to her husband, "Sometimes I think you park in these restricted areas so we won't have time to order the deluxe dinner."

You get a very big bang for remarkably little work in this fabulous pairing of chocolate and orange. These candy-like cookies are mostly fruit, nuts, and chocolate, with just a bit of flour to hold them together. Easy, elegant, and irresistible, they keep very well before they are iced. Once you add the chocolate glaze, be sure to refrigerate them.

If Santa's elves grew citrus trees, these sparkling lemony bites would surely be among the branches. Our favorite in a year rich with cookies, these adorable little balls look like nothing found in any store. They melt in your mouth, leaving behind a lovely citric freshness. Roll them in brightly colored sanding sugar to make them twinkle like vintage ornaments.

Crushed peppermint candies make a festive, crunchy topping for these pretty cookies.

A hit of coffee and a blend of spices (cinnamon, cardamom, and two kinds of ginger) perk up this shortbread.

These pretty cookies are a cross between an almond horse shoe cookie and a Linzer cookie. Blackberry or apricot jam would also be delicious.

Various Central European countries have their own variations on these popular filled cookies, sometimes spelled kolache or kolace. Some are made with a yeast dough, others with cream cheese or even ice cream. The cream cheese dough is the most popular for the Polish version of these rich cookies.

If making the candy ahead, let it stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

In Britain, these are teatime favorites, but in the States, we like them for breakfast, too. You'll get tall, flaky, buttery scones that are excellent partners with your finest jams.

These pumpkin muffins are light and fluffy.

This yeast sweet bread, traditionally prepared for the Mexican Day of the Dead, is usually designed to look like crossbones and skulls. It's given as an offering to a family's ancestors, but it's labor-intensive to make, and it's delicious, so I would recommend that you make two batches: one for your ancestors to enjoy, and one for your family to eat.