Christmas

Encased in smooth dark chocolate is a light, refreshing mint candy, perfect for closing out your Christmas dinner. To give these holiday treats sheen, use tempered melted chocolate.

These delicate gelées are wonderful for company—the passion-fruit purée gives them golden color and heady tropical flavor. As an added bonus, they keep beautifully for up to a month.

The transformation of butter, sugar, and salt into toffee is culinary alchemy at its best. This version is studded with cocktail peanuts and a decadent layer of bittersweet chocolate.

You could buy peppermint candy, but nothing comes close to the tingly, verdant flavor of real mint. These sweet lollipops make wonderful treats for both children and adults. The color is a very pale green, which can be enhanced with a drop or two of food coloring.

This kid-friendly version of a classic French Christmas treat subs doughnut holes for the traditional cream puffs. They're attached to a Styrofoam base to form a tall cone, which can then be decorated with candy or artificial leaves bought at craft stores.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Delicious after dinner with coffee.

The fragrant spices in this apple crisp are pure Christmas, and the cornmeal in the topping adds a rustic touch.

Panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato salad served in the summer and made with leftover crusty country loaves. In this winter version, tomatoes are replaced by brussels sprouts and apples, and the fruit-filled bread known as panettone stands in for the country loaves.

Dried fruit, nuts, and oil-cured olives make this fruitcake something special.

If you end up with a few extra shortcakes, they're great for breakfast.

Store-bought peppermint ice cream will vary in color from pale pink to bright pink.

This is the perfect entrée for a holiday dinner for two. Complete the meal with sautéed green beans and wild mushrooms and a wild-rice pilaf with chopped fresh parsley and hazelnuts. For dessert? Chocolate mousse topped with rum-spiked whipped cream and chopped crystallized ginger.

Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend that traditionally has hazelnuts or chickpeas as a base. In this version, pistachios are used instead.

The tang of the cranberry juice is balanced by the smoothness of the amaretto and vodka.

Cider plus cider vinegar brings a sophisticated layered sweetness and a slight edge to perennial candied carrots.

Floating on the surface of this pale, silky soup, which tastes of the essence of parsley, is a trompe l'oeil surprise: What looks like shaved truffles is actually thinly sliced chestnuts, adding a nutty sweetness.

Cranberries are a rarity, even to this day, in Italy, so this crostata represents an achievement that's uniquely Italian-American. Though many crostatas employ jam, this one gets its zest from fresh cranberries cooked down and paired with an almond-scented crust—and the proportion of filling to crust is our idea of perfection.

This gently sweet ricotta tart provides a creamy base to a rich compote of dried fruit, which includes figs, sour cherries, and apricots (we much prefer the tangy California kind over Turkish). It's much lighter than a cheesecake, but it hits all the right spots. The Miraglia family likes the tart chilled, but we also loved it at room temperature.