Baking

Candied-Fruit Honey Wafers Dipped in Chocolate You might be tempted to bake 2 sheets of cookies at a time in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Don't give in to this urge — the cookies must go in the middle of the oven to cook through and brown evenly.

This easy-to-make dessert tastes like pumpkin spice cake and apple crisp baked together.

Dark brown sugar gives these buttery treats an extra-rich taste.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Offer these as a starter or as a light lunch with a salad of greens tossed in vinaigrette.

These sweet treats can be made two days in advance. Just store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ruby Port in the juicy filling deepens the fruit flavors in this crisp. Top with vanilla ice cream or the ice cream from the Malted Milk Ice Cream Cake .

If you can't find matzo cake meal, grind batches of regular matzo meal in a clean electric coffee/spice grinder until it has the consistency of flour.

This makes a rich but surprisingly light, torte. An absolute, worth-the-price-of-the-book winner. Mashed sweet potatoes make a great substitute for the traditional pureed chestnut paste. Chestnut puree is available kosher, but I have never been able to find it "kosher for Passover." It may seem unusual, but I can assure you of two things — it tastes divine and it is easier than buying fresh-in-the-shell chestnuts, roasting, poaching, and grating them to get them ready for this cake. You can also serve this in squares, as French-style "petit fours." The glaze slicks this up but is not necessary—a dusting of cocoa is just fine.

Sabrina Henderson of Gardena, California, writes: "After 17 years of making dinner for my family, I don't cook as much as I used to. These days what I really enjoy doing is baking. Not only is it more leisurely, but people enjoy the results so much. About twice a month my husband takes some of my homemade cookies to his colleagues who always ask when I'm going to send something their way. The staff in the doctor's office where I work will often ask me the same thing. My zucchini bread is a special favorite. I joke with people and tell them I'll bring it in, but only if they behave."

Ginger and cinnamon give the classic peach pie a makeover.

To help this crisp live up to its name, we devised a little trick: Squeeze the topping by handfuls to compact it, then crumble chunks of it over the filling. The chunks rest on top of the fruit instead of sinking into it.