Snack

Cooked cocktail sausages are glazed with a sweet and spicy mixture flavored with Worcestershire sauce, and served with a sauce whose predominant ingredient is mango chutney.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe originally accompanied Chocolate Napoleons with Mascarpone Cream and Cherry Compote .

Cheese fondue originated in Switzerland, but chocolate fondue was a New World recipe created in 1964 by Konrad Egli, a Swiss-born chef working at New York's Chalet Swiss restaurant. Zurich's Toblerone chocolate works well in the dish, because its honey-nougat blend echoes the honey and almond flavoring that are also in the recipe.

This is a wonderful combination of cookie and candy, with the crumbly crust serving as counterpoint to the chewy caramel topping. For a nice presentation, place the cookies in paper candy cups, and set the cups in a basket; wrap clear cellophane around the basket, tie it up with raffia and decorate it with pine cones. Save the irregularly shaped leftover cookies to enjoy as a snack.

This refreshing salad is delicious and ideal as a snack or light dessert in the heat of summer. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Whenever we're in the area, my husband and I stop at the Thompson House Eatery in Jackson, New Hampshire," says Sandra L. Michaud of Newtown, Connecticut. "I'm crazy about the freshly baked lemon bread that sometimes comes with meals there." This sweet quick bread would make a nice breakfast treat, too.

Using Stilton and sharp cheddar is intended to mimic English Huntsman cheese, in which Stilton and Double Gloucester cheeses are combined. The biscuits have a crisp crust and tender texture, despite requiring no kneading, rolling or cutting.

Though this recipe makes more than enough hors d'oeuvres, they are small and disappear in a New York minute!

Homemade taro root cake is unsurpassed if the home cook doesn't skimp on the ingredients. Thick slices of taro cake, richly flavored with scallops, mushrooms, shrimp, Chinese bacon, and creamy taro are pan-fried until golden brown and fragrant. My Auntie Ivy's mother, Che Chung Ng, makes such a recipe and is famous in the family for both her Turnip Cake and Taro Root Cake. Every New Year, she cooks several cakes and gives them away as gifts to close family members. Nothing is measured exactly, and it is impressive to see her produce cake after cake, especially because she is over eighty years old. Spry and agile, she cooks with full energy and total intuition, never missing a beat. She kindly taught me this recipe and the one for Turnip Cake. Wear rubber gloves when handling taro, as some people can have an allergic reaction to touching it. Also use rice flour, not glutinous flour! See the introduction to Turnip Cake for how to serve and store this New Year's cake.

Over the past few years, the popular Italian flatbread has made its way into bread baskets at home and in restaurants. This version is tender and redolent of rosemary and olive oil. It’s perfect as a snack, served with soup and salad, or split for sandwiches.

St. John's Jug Muffins "I was given the recipe for these muffins years ago, and I make a batch of the batter every winter," writes Judith Cadigan of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania."When the urge for a muffin strikes, you can bake just one instead of a whole batch, and put the remaining batter back in the refrigerator." Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr

For kids of all ages, this dessert is dense and chocolaty, and comes in a cute package. When was the last time you had a cupcake with chocolate sprinkles on top?

These are great after dinner with coffee or as an afternoon pick-me-up with tea. They are best served freshly made, but they can also be prepared one day ahead and stored at room temperature in plastic wrap.

Tina Thompson of Orlando, Florida, writes: "Because entertaining is a great joy for me, many of my dishes are party-friendly and easy to prepare. It's not uncommon to find me hosting impromptu gatherings for friends during the workweek so that I can try out new creations. As my recipe box grows, so do my fond memories." A nice addition to the holiday table. Serve with soup or salad, or even with drinks as an hors d'oeuvre.

Everything's ready: The pumpkin is carved, the costumes are made, and the front yard is looking absolutely frightful. All that's missing from this Halloween scene is something sweet—for the kids, of course. How about caramel apples? You could make them, and then the kids could help with the decorating. That would be a great way to introduce them to one of your childhood favorites. After all, you’re much too mature these days to take a big, sticky bite out of a succulently sweet caramel apple, but the kids will devour them. And at least they’ll be eating apples — even if they are coated with delicious caramel, and even if they are decorated with chocolate and nuts and sprinkles. Our resident candy expert and senior food editor, Sarah Tenaglia, developed an easy recipe for the caramel, and she outlined straightforward steps to follow while making it. She also came up with all sorts of decorating ideas. Perfect. Now you have everything you need for Halloween — for the kids, of course. Making the caramel requires the use of a clip-on candy thermometer, which should be tested for accuracy before starting. Attach it to the side of a medium saucepan of water, and boil the water for three minutes. The thermometer should register 212°F; if it doesn’t, take the difference into account when reading the temperature.