Make Ahead

No yolk: Egg whites and meringue cookies are virtually fat-free, making way for heavy cream in this chocolaty dish. And yet each portion comes in at only 234 calories.

Berries and orange juice are top sources for vitamin C, which may help you blast up to 30 percent more fat during exercise. Suh-weet!

Roasted garlic adds a rich dimension to so many different dishes—and it's super easy to prepare. I usually roast about 2 heads of garlic at a time, but this recipe is easily halved.

Chocolaty almonds are better than a gift certificate for a facial. Vitamin E in the nuts gives skin a healthy glow, and chocolate— well, do we really need to sell you on that?

Savoring dark chocolate daily is linked to lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that can lead to excess belly fat. Chocolate and flat abs? Fab.

Even the girl who has it all could use an energy boost. Walnuts' protein will keep her going strong.

Offer your pals an excuse to snack and relax. Pistachios' potassium can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Get ready to hear "Mmm…ahhh."

SOY-FREE
Can be made NUT-FREE by omitting almonds Honey cake is a traditional dessert at Jewish celebrations, whether formal holidays or not, and is a fixture in the Ashkenazic Rosh Hashanah repertoire. In this recipe, dark agave nectar and maple syrup are combined to create a truly authentic flavor.

These cinnamon buns are well worth the extra effort to make. They're so moist, sticky, cinnamon-y, and delicious you'll never miss those sugar-laden ones sold at malls. P.S. These smell even better than "those" when they're baking...and they don't have a million calories. Make them vegan by using butter and milk substitutes.

Without exception, this was the most sought-after recipe at my restaurant and bakery. You would never believe these incredibly fudgy brownies are made with beans but no flour. The beans provide great body and fiber without a "beany" taste. Keep the brownies in the refrigerator. They will slice much better if refrigerated for several hours or overnight. Find natural coffee substitute at natural food stores.

Many of the items served to celebrate New Year's in Japan have symbolic meaning, expressed as wordplay. Sweet black beans are a good example: the word kuro means "black," but the meaning shifts to "hard work" when the calligraphy changes and the final vowel is extended. Similarly, the word mamé means "bean," but written with different caligraphy, mamé becomes "sincere" or "earnest." Eating black beans in syrup on New Year's ensure that those who work in earnest will have a sweet new year.
The traditional method of preparing kuro mamé is a long (3 days from start to finish) and rather tedious procedure, though one that results in utterly delicious plump, glossy, tender beans in a light sugar syrup that can be kept for months. Over the years, observing many Japanese home and professional cooks and experimenting in my own kitchen, I have developed a modified version of the classic technique that I am sharing here.
The key to preparing luscious, wrinkle-free sweet black soybeans is patience: the beans must be completely tender before sweetening them (adding the sugar too early will cause the beans to sieze and toughen), and the pot must be frequently watched, adding more water as needed to keep the beans barely submerged through the lengthy cooking process so they don't wrinkle.

Here's a nondairy vegan alternative. Delish.

Customize your favorite store-bought jam with orange zest and Earl Grey tea. Use any leftover dough to make delicious hazelnut cookies: Just roll, cut out, and bake.

Drizzle this fragrant honey over your favorite cheese, or use it as a condiment on prosciutto panini.

This buttery crust can be used for sweet or savory dishes, baked in either a pie pan or a fluted French tart pan with a removable bottom. This recipe will make a crust for a 9-inch pie or tart.

You'll be cackling with delight as you roll bread dough into these shockingly realistic gnarled fingers. Turn them into the centerpiece of a Halloween party.

The acidity of the tomatillos beautifully balances the fat of the pork shoulder, so when serving the tacos there is no need for lime wedges. The onion and additional cilantro provide crunch and fragrance.

This rustic tart, filled with toasted pistachios, hazelnuts, and pine nuts, is a wonderful take on pecan pie.

There's a special place in the lexicon of American layer cakes for the classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It's practically the standard for birthdays and anniversaries, so it was my top choice when creating a cake to celebrate the first year of publication of Gourmet Live. And if ever there was a version that will elicit either a string of excited OMG's or the low-humming purr of rapturous mmmm's, this is it. Tender, buttery cake layers sandwich a creamy frosting so light and airy it's as if you're nibbling a chocolate cloud. (No offense to dense, fudgy ganache-style icings—of which I'm also very fond—but they don't lend themselves to the kind of exuberant flourishes and swirls of frosting that convey the excitement of a first birthday.) Even a strong-willed soul won't be able to resist a second slice.