Gourmet

Chrusti
One of our test-kitchen assistants, Herta Guhl, sold us on these Polish fried dough cookies. A little powdered sugar makes them irresistible.

Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, these little prune tartlets (made with just five ingredients) are so delicious, they'll have everyone at the breakfast table begging for more.

The key to delicious Linzer cookies is striking just the right balance of the tart raspberry jam filling with the thin, tender, and slightly sweet cookies. We think we've hit it with these — and they only get better after a few days.

This is a miniature version of a New York favorite: A cakey cookie with sweet half-moons of vanilla and chocolate icing.

The intricate swirls are attained with a specific kitchen skill: slice and bake. You'll get a little sweet pastry and a little fig filling in every bite.

"You really have to wait," says Barbour. "After a couple of days, the cookies' texture becomes lovely and melting. Earlier, they are good, but later, they're transcendent. Honest." Barbour likes these best with half strawberry and half cherry preserves.

The surging popularity of sandwich wraps and quick Mexican snacks like quesadillas has turned the flour tortilla, a staple once largely confined to northern Mexico, into something found in supermarkets across the United States. Of the store-bought varieties, we are big fans of those from Maria & Ricardo's Tortilla Factory (800-881-7040), available at high-end supermarkets such as Whole Foods and by mail order from the company. (Dry-toast them slightly to freshen before using.) That said, we are even bigger fans of homemade flour tortillas. Fragrant and slightly puffy, they fall squarely into the "staff of life" category.

Every holiday deserves a really special dessert. And this classic French creation — a large ring of airy choux pastry filled with the richest praline pastry cream — does the season proud. If you think it resembles a bicycle wheel, you're right: It's named after an 1891 bicycle race that ran from Paris to Brest and back again, and was the precursor of the Tour de France.

Peppers from the valley of La Vera, in Extremadura, are used to produce a deliciously smoky paprika. There are three kinds of pimentón: sweet, bittersweet (called agridulce), and hot. We prefer agridulce in this recipe.

Even if you're not an eggnog lover, you're going to love this custardy ice cream. Freshly grated nutmeg and the rounded complexity of dark rum lend it a rich flavor — plus a lovely aroma that will put you in the holiday spirit while you make dessert.

Loaded with dried fruit, toasted almonds, and bittersweet chocolate, these blondies combine the best of a brownie with what you wish fruitcake could taste like. A terrific addition to any holiday cookie platter, they are also a satisfying stand-alone dessert.

These golden-brown cookies sprinkled with flaky sea salt contrast nicely with the sweetness of the glaze on the blancmange .

Que delicioso! A Spanish makeover for this simple pudding creates an elegant dessert for any fiesta.

If you normally take your coffee with milk, you'll find this particular recipe for black coffee a welcome change—the molasses and cinnamon give it a warm and slightly exotic depth that's simply irresistible. Be sure to use coffee that is not finely ground.

We used what the turkey has to offer to create a base for the perfect gravy .

Using turkey meat rather than just bones adds a deep richness to this stock. Although you have to buy the extra parts, you'll be happy you did; great stock is the key to outstanding gravy, and everyone knows you can never have too much of that at Thanksgiving.

Four fresh fruits bring a sunny taste of the tropics to your table. If you want to make this a virgin drink, simply omit the rum and add an extra cup of tangerine juice.

There's a reason that we use this recipe time and time again—it results in a flaky pastry that we think is simply the best.

Although this orange butter takes only 5 minutes to prepare, it makes the Orange Cinnamon Sweet Rolls even more spectacular than they already are.