Nut

For best results, use Bosc pears: They hold their shape well when baked. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Make a cake the easy way: Spruce up a mix with sour cream, chocolate, brown sugar frosting and a crunchy pecan brittle.

Vibrant berry flavor and a buttery crust accented with grated orange peel are the hallmarks of this outstanding pie.

"Since I moved from the West Coast to Santa Fe, I've been baking more quick breads because my recipes for yeast doughs just aren't the same without the sea air." Joan Nugent of Sante Fe, New Mexico. "A leftover can of coconut milk inspired this recipe for muffins. To guarantee that I always have something interesting for breakfast, I prepare extras and freeze them."

These are especially rich and chewy.

These crunchy cookies are a new version of classic Mandelbrot, which means almond bread in German. Here, recipe tester Selma Brown Morrow uses hazelnuts instead of the usual almonds. To add an elegant look, she dips the cookies into melted chocolate and seals them in holiday bags.

A fitting finale to a Mexican-style meal. Leftover cake is great for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Partner these with ripe pears and a blue cheese, like Roquefort or Gorgonzola.

Holidays in our home were strategic missions. We had a plan, everyone had a job, and in a perfect world, we would somehow deploy the food from a cleaned kitchen to a set table, complete with ice in glasses, by 5:30 p.m. Time was scarce. To compensate, my mom had a collection of simple coffee cakes that were quick, had enough chocolate to qualify as desserts in my family, and didn't contain walnuts (as they bother her mouth). This was the first from-scratch cake she taught me. It's good, easy, and practical, with chunks of chocolate and a sprinkling of spice.

"I came upon this recipe several years ago in Mother's kitchen," writes Barbara Wilkerson of Talladega, Alabama. "It is now my own family's favorite holiday treat." Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 hr

A Dijon mustard vinaigrette brings all the flavors together. If you can't find basmati rice, white long-grain rice is fine.

From the Williamsburg Inn's Regency Room.

This recipe was created to prepare Dried-Fruit Tart with Brandied Crème Anglaise .

"I've been telling everyone about the absolutely incredible birthday meal I had at Park Avenue Café here in New York City," writes Sherri Steinfeld Maxman of New York City. "The knee-weakening menu included Burke's famous "pastrami" salmon; a morel flan served with eggshells nestled in eggcups; basil-rubbed rack of lamb with oven-dried tomato ravioli; Camembert fondue with truffle essence; and a dazzling array of desserts." Executive chef David Burke uses the term fondue freely, in this case applying it to a truffle-flavored cream sauce served with a slice of Camembert. He likes to use Hudson Valley Camembert, a blend of sheep's and cow's milk. It is available by mail order from the cheesemaker, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company in Old Chatham, New York , tel. (888)743-3760.

These crackers are wonderful with figs and a big hunk of Stilton

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.