Pecan

These New Orleans classics will satisfy a serious sweet tooth.

Give your loved ones a sniffle-free holiday season. Pecans deliver ample magnesium, a mineral that helps strengthen the immune system.

Serve these fragrantly spiced classics with coffee or tea.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. Making pralines always involves a bit of trial and error, as sugar is finicky. Some people swear that these treats will set up only on a cool, dry day, while others have had success no matter what the temperature. Be sure to have all your ingredients measured and at the ready as the sugar mixture's temperature fluctuates rather quickly, so you'll need to be prepared for each step. Ask a friend to help scoop the hot mixture onto wax paper as you keep stirring the pot. For a more pronounced molasses flavor, substitute brown sugar for 1 cup of the white variety.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. This is a classic old-school Christmas recipe from my grandmother, Ethel Hughes Johnston, which uses candied fruit and coconut. If you can't find green candied cherries, you can get by with just red ones. They'll still look festive.

Here we go back to New Orleans again, with Bourbon Street flair. Southern bourbon-soaked brioche bread makes a hearty Creole-style dessert.

The big flavors of Mark Overbay's artisanal Big Spoon Roasters nut butters inspired his partner, Megan Lynam, to create this instant favorite. The complex nuttiness comes from the addition of ground pecans to the mix.

Cooking times for wild rice vary from brand to brand by as much as 30 minutes. We recommend using Grey Owl Canadian Lake (greyowlwildrice.com).

The Reid family crumbles blue cheese on top to add a salty bite.

Based on a dessert that Lo serves at Annisa, this custardy bread pudding is shot through with poppy seeds for a stunning visual and textural effect. The bread soaks overnight; begin 1 day ahead.

Fresh figs are a wealth of life force, containing thousands of tiny seeds that make them a very virile and hormone-rich food. These delicate fruits are very popular in the cuisines of Europe and the Middle East, where they originated. Feel free to use any sprouted nut in the preparation of the nut kreme; pecans are my favorite.

This rich, sweet dessert is almost candylike, though still nourishing with a decent dose of high-protein pecans and almond flour.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. These bite-sized cookie balls are made of all the best things: ground vanilla wafers, ground pecans, confectioner's sugar, white Karo syrup, and good bourbon whiskey.

This old-fashioned classic has many renditions but we love this one best; feel free to substitute milk, white, butterscotch, or bittersweet chocolate chips for the semi-sweet and almonds, walnuts, or peanuts for the pecans.

This is a very simple traditional recipe, just the thing when you want to whip up something quick, easy, and comforting. It's an odd dessert that seems to be made up of parts from other desserts. The filling is gooey, like pecan pie with bits of apple. The outer edge is bubbly and chewy, like pralines. The top forms a thin, crisp crust that is like a sticky meringue or macaroon. In other words, this is not pudding-cup pudding but pudding in the English sense of the word, meaning dessert in general. There is a strong similarity between Ozark pudding and the Huguenot tortes made around Charleston. I've read all sorts of stories about the provenance of this dessert. One account says that Bess Truman invented it to cheer up homesick Harry in the White House. Another tale reports that French Huguenots fleeing persecution brought this recipe over. Another story is that a Charleston cook tasted Ozark pudding on a trip to the Midwest, brought the recipe home, and prepared it to serve in the Huguenot tavern where she worked. No matter which version you believe, it's obvious that good recipes get around.

SHERYL: The first time Wyatt had one of Chuck's zucchini muffins it was as if he'd died and gone to muffin heaven. I was thrilled, of course, because I knew he was actually eating zucchini without the fuss factor. Now, the first thing out of his mouth every morning is, "I want a keenie muffin!" Being the creature of habit that he is, I believe he would start every day with one of Chuck's muffins, and the nice thing about it is that Mommy can make them, too!