Snack

Ah, Babybel cheese, the fancy French chef’s secret weapon for fondue—it keeps the molten mixture from separating, and its unassuming flavor lets the Gruyère shine.

When great dips get together, it’s magic. This recipe boasts all the beauty of a creamy onion dip with the irresistible appeal of queso.

Roasting grapes is fun and unexpected, although very popular in the wine regions of Italy. I remember being surprised to find juicy grapes cooked into a dense olive oil cake in Tuscany years ago. Here the sweetness of the grapes balances the earthy truffle oil and rosemary, and the feta adds a salty kick. The flavors are just perfect, and this flatbread takes me right back to Tuscany every time.

Dulce de leche literally translates to “candy of milk.” In layman’s terms, it’s a caramel-like concoction made from boiling sweetened condensed milk until it becomes . . . well, pretty much an eighth deadly sin. What I love most about dulce de leche is that it has the beautiful color and deep flavor of caramel, but not the chewiness . . . so you don’t have to expend needless energy flexing your jaw muscles.

Two warnings about these cookies: Don’t give them to young children before bedtime and don’t leave them lying around, if you want any left for yourself. These cookies are crisp on the edges and have a chewy middle strewn with pockets of soft chocolate. The espresso powder, as Kelsey (The Naptime Chef) noted, amplifies the chocolate, but not the sweetness, making it a grown-up cookie. When making any cookies, make sure to cream the butter really well—this aerates the cookies and integrates the sugar—but be conservative with your mixing once the dry ingredients are added.

This recipe starts with our favorite sugar cookie dough. Using a simple watercolor painting technique, it’s easy to brush and splatter them with festive patterns.

This recipe for raw vegetables is the only conscionable thing you can serve right before sitting down to a heavier meal.

This zesty spin on the old party classic matches hot-smoked salmon with beet horseradish, two kinds of soft cheese, and crunchy veg and herbs. Serve it with bagels or pumpernickel bread.

This crackers recipe features a variety of seeds, and the combination of colors and textures is impressive, but you can use fewer types—just make sure total volume stays the same.

Smoked almonds and black olives are our suggestions for this appetizer, but use any nut or olive that you like.

This figs recipe is sweet, salty, sticky, and acidic—everything you want in a one-bite appetizer.

Cacio e pepe works on so many things, this potato chip recipe is just our latest obsession with using the whole flavor combination.

Traditional Greek skordalia is mostly garlic and olive oil with some potato or nuts added to thicken it. We flipped the ratio in this recipe: more potato, less garlic. Serve as a dip, or thin out with lemon juice and olive oil and use as a sauce for fish.

A quick spin in the food processor is all it takes to mix up these rustic whole-wheat crackers.