Snack

In these tender, elegant cakes, the Italian dessert wine Vin Santo contributes intoxicating flavor that's played up by the addition of plump grapes.

The zesty lemon-cream filling for the cookies can be made one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate the filling; bring it to room temperature before using.

In this sophisticated appetizer, the blinis are topped with American caviar, a delicious alternative to the pricey imported stuff.

These palm-size pockets can be frozen for up to a month and fit perfectly in a lunch box.

These tasty (no-allergy!) nut alternatives are great to have out around the holidays. Give them to the kids in rolled-up parchment-paper cones (as shown).

For chewy texture, undercook the biscotti slightly in the second baking.

Let's just say that finding yourself alone in a room with a plate of these cookies and a tall glass of milk would be very, very dangerous. The trifecta of chocolate, hazelnuts, and rum is irresistible. Decorating the cutouts with royal icing adds a festive touch.

After tasting this American classic during a visit to Walt Disney World Resort, Payard gave it a twist by adding bitter cocoa to balance the sweetness.

There’s nothing quite like making your own granola. You can toss in as many nuts and fruits as you want and sweeten it to your taste. While the possibilities are endless, we love this honey-sweetened variation with sesame seeds. The cardamom clings to the almonds, dried apricots and pears, and oats, adding an exotic touch.

Known as pepitorias, these tasty caramel-filled wafer "tacos" embellished with toasted pumpkin seeds are a regular offering at Mexican markets and sweets shops, especially in the city of Puebla, which is famous for so many confections. The wafers are traditionally brightly colored, but we chose to stick with a more seasonal white-and-gold motif. Since tinted edible wafer paper is hard to come by in the United States, we used precut white Back-Oblaten, imported from Germany, and we explain how to color them. Painting them with food coloring or water softens them enough to fold around the caramel.

This signature Payard treat delivers a delicious dose of heart-healthy fat and antioxidants, courtesy of the nuts and cocoa.

This recipe works with most fruit. For extra yum, add mini chocolate chips.

With their simple, homespun charm, these icebox cookies are just the nibble you'll want to have on hand as you do your Christmas gift wrapping. The thinner you can slice the dough, the crisper the cookies will be, so we freeze the dough for a bit (after chilling it in the fridge) before slicing. Plus, it will be much easier to cut through the almonds and get nice, neat rounds.

It's a holiday party—you must have cookies. We double your pleasure by offering not one but two buttery, nutty shortbread rounds in each cookie. They sandwich tart berry jam under a drift of confectioners sugar.

Vanilla is arguably one of the best scents in the world, and it permeates this tender cake in the form of a simple vanilla sugar. A zesty cranberry filling lies beneath the crumble top.

An upscale hybrid of antipodean ANZAC biscuits and chocolate digestives from Britain, these crisp cookies are positively elegant. They were an unexpected favorite in our test kitchen, with cooks and editors descending in droves when the cookies’ warm, nutty aroma filled the air.

We dressed up this chewy classic for the holidays with a festive, to-die-for drizzle of chocolate. Oats replace part of the coconut to make this a lowfat yet still satisfying goody.

Spice up winter nights with this variation on a popular bar snack. In our version, the cream cheese is frozen and grated and the jalapeños are diced and folded into the batter to create a chunky, spicy fritter.