Raisin

Add a heap of tortilla chips and this vegetarian dinner is done.

The perfect condiment to serve with roast chicken, kebabs, pappadam, and more.

Buttery cookie dough and brandy-soaked dried fruit make these Italian fig cookies a holiday must-have.

Popular in Iowa, the sour cream and raisin pie was a longtime favorite of Mennonite cooks because its ingredients were always in the pantry and it kept well.

With glacéed fruit, spices, and no small amount of rum, this elegant fruitcake recipe is no joke.

These raisin-studded apple strudels have a hint of cinnamon and a zingy whipped cream topping fortified with sour cream.

This spaghetti with fennel and sardines turns a few simple pantry ingredients into a rustic seafood feast.

Just a few simple ingredients like basmati rice, milk, ghee, and a handful of aromatics merge in a pot to make this Bangladeshi pulao.

This easy Irish soda bread recipe gets a little tang from buttermilk and pops of concentrated sweetness from dried fruit.

Our favorite carrot cake is moist, full of shredded carrot and fragrant spices, and topped with an extra-tangy cream cheese frosting.

Make somlói galuska in advance: the chocolate-cream “dumplings" require at least eight hours to soak up the golden rum syrup.

Our best panettone recipe, adapted from baker Jim Lahey, employs a long rise for a festive and flavorful holiday bread without much work.

This classic Jewish American rugelach recipe uses a very cold cream cheese–based dough to make tender, flavorful rolled cookies full of sweet jam and cinnamon.

This fruitcake-like dessert is finished with generous dose of dark rum.

A classic Southern cake, after winning first prize at the county fair in Columbus, Georgia, Lane Cake also earned the name “Prize Cake.” 

Sheer korma is a traditional dessert of milk, nuts, and vermicelli that’s served on the morning of Eid in many Indian households.

This easy Egyptian bread pudding (called Om Ali or Umm Ali) is made with puff pastry, perfumed with rose water, and topped with an assortment of toasted nuts.

Capirotada is a classic Mexican bread pudding, usually served during Lent. This version combines raisins, nuts, coconut, and bananas in a sweet custard with torn bolillo rolls.

Mince pies, basically rich tarts filled with dried fruits and spices soaked in alcohol, were once a status symbol because only the rich could afford these delicacies. The combination of fruits and spices is often diverse, but raisins, currants, and candied lemon, citron, and/or orange peel are standard. Some old recipes also contain prunes, dates, figs, or candied ginger. Spices are usually cinnamon, cloves, mace, and nutmeg. There is always grated apple or pear and sometimes also lemon or orang.…

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.