Molasses

An inventive take on a classic.

All of the components for this sophisticated dessert can be made the day before, then assembled quickly at the last minute. Sabayon (also called zabaglione) is a custard sauce that is whisked over hot water until it is light and foamy.

Translated from medieval Scottish, farl means, "the fourth part." In this version, quartered rounds of dark bread are sweetened with treacle, which is similar to molasses, and lightly spiced with ginger. The mixture may occasionally include a handful of raisins or other dried fruit, but the bread is always served sliced and buttered, with a cup of tea.

This luscious homespun treat is great with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Molasses combines with canned chipotle chilies to give the delicious salad its smoky, robust flavor. Begin preparing this well in advance so that the dried beans get the proper amount of soaking time.

Elusively spiced, this bread is great spread with margarine or butter substitute or toasted for breakfast.

An appealing dish from Matt's in the Market in Seattle, Washington.

Having run the cake table at my daughter's school last year, I can say that there are two types of optimum bake sale fare: small, individual pieces that look cute and fetch high unit-prices and sheet cakes that can be made without effort or dexterity and sliced up easily. This recipe fits the latter category and has the added virtue of appealing to parents and grandparents who feel that something from the sale should be gratifyingly old-fashioned. The fresh ginger is a modern touch, admittedly, but I always keep some in the fridge and wanted to try it in a less contemporary, pan-Asian way one day (it worked.) The lemon icing may not be conventional either, but there is another starkly practical reason for it: brown things — if they're not gooily chocolate — don't sell so well; and the lemon spruceness of the topping is perfect with the musky sweetness beneath it.

A whiskey-spiked variation on classic pecan pie. Serve the tartlets with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Chinese five-spice gives classic crackle cookies a delightfully warming flavor and alluring aroma.

A festive, elegant gingerbread cake infused with orange and warm spices, and capped with a glossy dark chocolate ganache.

With pounds of dried fruit and glugs of dark rum, this is a recipe for serious fruitcake fans.

No booze, no chocolate, no hard-to-find ingredients in this rendition of the classic Thanksgiving pie. 

This barbecue chicken has the crackliest, stickiest skin.

Now all we need is a cup of eggnog.

To ensure these don’t break, use a couple of layers of parchment paper or foil in the baking dish and make sure they’re completely cooled before removing them.