Nut

You'll have extra butternut squash left over after making the ribbons; cut into cubes, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for an easy side dish.

Satisfying nut medleys taste better when they're not dumped straight from the "deluxe assortment" can.

This showstopping dessert has a few components and requires some chilling time, but it's surprisingly easy to put together and can be done well ahead of time. Making the caramel layer is the only involved step, and if you want to skip this step, just use a good jar of dulce de leche instead.

This simple dish employs the French technique of cooking vegetables in a mixture of water and butter. The water eventually cooks out after steaming the vegetables, leaving them glazed with the butter. This is a dish that can be cooked while the turkey is resting.

A simple puréed soup, known as velouté in French, is the perfect way to whet the appetite and take the edge off hunger without overfilling your guests' bellies before the big feast. Here, chestnuts, which come already roasted in jars, make an earthy and seasonal soup that can be made well ahead of time. Serve in shallow bowls, or even teacups or shot glasses, while guests are still milling around.

I've done some crazy, unconventional things in baking, but using avocados in place of butter may just be the craziest. Believe it or not, it works! For these chewy cookies made with chunks of chocolate and walnuts in every bite, I use absolutely no butter. They taste too good to be light—and you can't detect the taste of avocados at all. I tested these out on many unsuspecting adults, children, and teens, and everyone loved them. Karina, my college-age daughter, was the ultimate test—she's a true chocoholic. She thinks they're pretty awesome!

Brining the nuts with herbs and some spice infuses them from the inside out, and the long roasting time gives them extra toasty flavor.

Shortening makes for the flakiest pie crust. But you won't miss the buttery flavor-there's plenty in the filling.

"Because it's cheese! And nuts! In ball form! Best of all, it's infinitely riffable, as these recipes demonstrate. Hurrah, freedom! Hurrah, cheese balls!"

Make a double batch of the almond-currant topping, then use it as a crunchy finish for salads and grain dishes. Though Admony calls for whole-wheat couscous, plain works just as well.

If you can't find both red and yellow beets, just use all of one or the other, and pickle everything in one bowl. The pickles keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks, making them perfect for snacking with holiday leftovers.

Our ultimate version of this breakfast classic combines a rich, buttery dough with the warming flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg and the crunch of pecans.

Toss earthy kale with a bright citrus dressing and finish with a crunch of toasted walnuts. Use baby kale, if possible, for its tender leaves.

Gently spiced pecans and a salty caramel topping give this morning treat a savory dimension.

Drummed up by our intrepid recipe tester Lauren Godfrey, this nontraditional taco, sweet with squash, earthy and nutty with kale, and crunchy with fried pumpkin seeds (pepitas), is—shhhhh—vegan. Don't tell anyone, but because it is so tasty, no one will care. The cashew crema can be replaced by store-bought crema or our Cumin-lime crema, but after polling both vegetarian and carnivorous friends, everyone preferred the nutty and rich nondairy cashew version (which must be made with raw cashews to work). To prepare the butternut squash, use a sharp peeler to remove the tough skin before slicing it in half and scooping out the seeds and fibers. Lazy cook's tip: Some markets sell butternut squash already peeled and seeded and ready to go.

"Celery is the perfect vehicle for a salty, assertive dressing like this one. Chiles and peanuts make it that much more addictive." —Alison Roman, senior associate food editor

Some great things are made with day-old bread: French toast. Croutons. Breadcrumbs. Add the nutty and sugary French pastry bostock to the list.