Hazelnut

Discovered on Long Island in 1759, Pippin apples are one of the oldest U.S. varieties. Their bright tanginess and crisp texture make them excellent for baking.

A few blocks from Seattle's Pike Place Market, Cascadia is an occasion-worthy restaurant that celebrates regional ingredients with impeccable taste. Same goes for the dessert menu: No flights of fusion fancy here or innovation for novelty's sake, just suavely executed renditions of old favorites that feel new. You can freeze any extra unfilled cream puffs for another use.

Leigh Santini of Portland, Oregon, writes: "A group of coworkers and I had a fantastic dinner at the nearby Farm Café a couple of weeks ago. While we were waiting for our table, we had drinks and an order of the roasted hazelnuts on the deck. I know I tasted rosemary in the glaze but couldn't place the rest of the flavors. Can you help?" The restaurant uses locally grown Oregon hazelnuts for this recipe. If the nuts have been stored in the freezer, bring them to room temperature before roasting so the coating maintains a smooth consistency.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 40 min

Raspberries taste wonderful with chocolate, and so do hazelnuts. All three flavors unite compatibly in this cake-like brownie.

To bake these tartlet shells all at once, you will need 50 tartlet pans, each 2 inches in diameter (across the top) and 1/2 inch deep. However, you could also make these tartlets in batches, using fewer pans.

These cookies are like bite-size Linzertortes. Instead of being cut into triangles as suggested below, the dough can be cut into whatever other shape is preferred.

"I'm a music teacher, and baking is the extracurricular activity I like most," says Sue Reddin Ellison of Edgewater, Colorado. "This cheesecake is a family favorite as well as an impressive do-ahead dessert for entertaining. I make a similar version with pecans instead of hazelnuts; either way, everyone loves the smooth filling and the nutty crust." Begin preparing this a day before serving.

These are made with an Italian sourdough starter known as a biga, which has to be prepared one day ahead. Note that before baking the breadsticks, you can give them amusing shapes by forming one end of each dough rope into a squiggle, a loop, or whatever strikes your fancy.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 20 min The tangy citrus and nutty flavors of the dressing make this asparagus a nice complement to the spiced chicken breast or to simply prepared fish.

A classic Austrian tart gets an American update with this cranberry and apricot filling.

Sue Shadley of Indianapolis, Indiana, says that the biscotti from The Bakehouse in Bloomington are addictive. These can be baked three weeks ahead and frozen, making them an ideal Christmas gift.

To make the very thin layers for this torte, the batter is spread on inverted cake pans. It is important that the batter be spread evenly and that the layers not be overbaked. (Do not use dark metal or non-stick pans.)

Spice Cookies Rice paper is traditionally used in this recipe, but is not essential. You can bake these cookies on buttered baking sheets instead.