Baking

Using frozen puff pastry for the crust makes this quiche-like tart super-easy.

Chocolate-covered raisins turn into fudgy pockets of intense chocolate and chewy raisins in these easy brownies.

"One Saturday morning I came up with this bread recipe, and now my family asks for it all the time," writes Priscilla Unger of Alberta, Canada. "My husband insists on having his first slice while the loaf is still warm from the oven, but I prefer mine toasted and topped with marmalade." The slightly sweet bread is great with butter and preserves.

These Christmas cookies are topped with white icing and silver dragées for added elegance. Look for the dragées in the cake decorating section of your supermarket.

This recipe creates enough batter for a 3-quart bundt pan, but it can also be baked in smaller pans, though baking time will vary accordingly.

Since the crust is made with purchased puff pastry, this delightful savory tart comes together easily.

For a curved tuile-like shape, these cookies may be draped over a rolling pin after their second baking, while they are still warm. If the cookies become too brittle to form on the rolling pin, return baking sheets to oven for a few seconds to allow the cookies to soften.

"Growing up in an Italian-American household meant bread on the table with every meal," says Gina M. Sarti of Malvern, Pennsylvania. "I've continued the family tradition by making my own bread to serve at dinner, although I don't always stick to Italian. These French loaves with a touch of honey are great with just about any dish, especially soups."

The coconut in this recipe gives a chewiness to these thin cookies.

A sinfully rich dessert that's amazingly easy to prepare.

Thanks to the native Wampanoags, the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 were quickly introduced to such important New World foods as cranberries and corn. The newcomers returned the favor by planting apples, which flourished and were soon available in many American varieties. This wonderful holiday pie, with its cornmeal crust and mixed-fruit filling, celebrates that early culinary sharing. It's a delicious combination of some of our most traditional American flavors.