Make Ahead

To serve cleanly cut cheesecake bars, dip a sharp knife into a tall glass of hot water. Wipe the knife dry with a thick kitchen towel, then cut the bars in the pan. Repeat dipping the knife and wiping it every few cuts. (This works for slicing cheesecake, too.)

When you're an American in Paris, there's nothing more flattering than to have French people ask you to share your recipe for one of their national treasures. Of all the things I make for my French friends, this is the one that gets the most requests. The easiest way to describe gougères is to call them cheese puffs. Their dough, pâte àchoux, is the same one you'd use for sweet cream puffs or profiteroles, but when the pâte àchoux is destined to become gougères, you fold in a fair amount of grated cheese. In France, I use Gruyère, Comté, Emmenthal, or, just for fun and a spot of color, Mimolette, Gouda's French cousin; in America, I reach for extra-sharp cheddar, and sometimes I add a little smoked cheese to the mix. Gougères are made everywhere in France (and can be bought frozen in many stores), but their home is Burgundy, where they are the first thing you get when you sit down in almost any restaurant. In Burgundy, gougères are often served with the local aperitif, kir; chez Greenspan, where I serve them no matter what I'm pouring as a welcoming glass, my favorite sip-along is Champagne. I love the way Champagne's toastiness and gougères' egginess play together. Although you must spoon out the puffs as soon as the dough is made, the little puffs can be frozen and then baked straight from the freezer, putting them in the realm of the doable even on the spur of the moment.

This is the easiest cookie you will ever bake. It is made as one large cookie that you cut after baking. Sablé means sandblasted, which describes the grainy texture of these cookies perfectly. I saw cookies like these during my travels around Brittany in the northwest region of France, where they use enormous amounts of butter in everything they bake. For a Sephardic twist, I like to add orange blossom water to this parve version of the famous French cookie.

The matzoh layers are soaked in coffee and though softened, they dry out when chilled and hold the dessert together. The first version of the recipe was made in a loaf pan and served ten but I quickly realized that on Passover, the crowds are bigger. To serve ten, just halve the recipe and prepare in a 12-inch loaf pan.

The tortillas and filling are layered (instead of rolled) to reduce prep time.

Learn how our executive food editor rediscovered the joys of fresh pesto and made it her own.

The signature puckery snap of Granny Smiths goes well with candy like accompaniments such as caramel and chocolate.

Slices of Braeburn apples hold their shape well when baked until crunchy—perfect for a batch of munchable homemade chips.

This recipe is inspired by a cranberry pie from Sarah Chase's book Cold Weather Cooking. My friend Barbara Liberman calls it "easy cake"—I call it delicious. When cranberries are in season, serve it with vanilla ice cream and your friends will love you.

"My fiancé and I just love the coconut cake at the Shubox Cafe in nearby Cedar Grove," Tammy L. Drukker of North Caldwell, New Jersey. "The cake is tender and moist, and the cream cheese frosting is tangy and rich. I have yet to find a comparable recipe, so I hope the restaurant will share theirs." At Shubox Cafe, this dessert is known as Awesome Coconut Cake, aptly named by one of the cafe's best customers. To make this recipe, you'll need to buy one 15-ounce can of sweetened cream of coconut. Some of it is used in the cake; be sure to save the rest for the Cream Cheese Frosting.

Every Passover, my maternal grandfather, Irving, made beet horseradish from scratch. He was a gardener with a true green thumb when it came to tomatoes, but I can't remember if he grew his own horseradish. What I do remember is how teary-eyed everyone got when he served my grandmother's homemade gefilte fish with his beet horseradish on the side. Through the sniffles, we all expressed delight and assured him that this batch was the hottest and best yet. Horseradish is one of those flavors I have always loved. For all you other horseradish lovers out there, here's a fabulous dip. Use extra-hot prepared horseradish to guarantee those sniffles and teary eyes.

Fresh crab meat is so rich, fabulous, and sweet that, for this dip, I wanted to highlight the texture and flavor of the crab without masking it. Served bubbly hot with a crisply browned, lemon zest–panko topping, this dip will be a party favorite—easy to put together, quick to bake, and quick to disappear, too.

Many a copy of JOY has been sold on the strength of this recipe. One fan says her family is sure these are the cakes St. Peter gives little children at the Gates of Heaven, to get them over the first pangs of homesickness. The lemon glaze should be spread on warm cakes or Christmas cookies. It has a fine consistency for embedding decorative nuts and fruits.

This is a basic not-too-sweet dough that can be used for variously shaped dinner rolls.

This Italian spot in the city's Germantown neighborhood is known for its house-made salami and mozzarella. And because this is the South, these folks know their pork. The rich, Italian-inspired pork terrine with the southern-style sweet-tart green tomato sauce is a delicious blending of what this restaurant does best. Timing note: The conserva needs to chill overnight.

The "cream" flavor in this blueberry-muffin-inspired cookie comes from one of Tosi's favorite inventions—Milk Crumbs (a streusel made from dry milk powder). The key to the soft center and crunchy edges? Scooping the dough onto the baking sheets and letting the cookies rest in the fridge overnight. Timing note: You'll need to make the Milk Crumbs before you start preparing the cookie dough.

Brownie-like cakes are layered with malt-fudge sauce, chocolate-malt crumbs, and charred marshmallows in this Dr. Seuss-like dessert. To help support the sweet structure, the dessert is assembled in a springform pan. Timing note: The assembled cake needs to chill overnight and has to stand at room temperature for a few hours before serving.