Tracey Seaman

These little gems stirred up our childhood memories of coconut-filled candy bars. We baked them in extra-large muffin cups to make them more like little individual cakes. If you choose to use regular-sized muffin cups, the recipe will yield 24 cupcakes and the cooking time will be shorter.

Look for tender greens, such as mâche, Boston, and red leaf lettuces, which appear in farmers' markets at this time of year. Or, as an alternative, use premixed baby greens.

This roast, with its light, flavorful vegetable gravy, is perfect for spring.

These creamy potatoes would be a welcome addition to any meal. Leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave.

If you wish, feel free to make these hors d'oeuvres on a regular charcoal or gas grill instead of a grill pan.

A semifreddo is a frozen, molded mousse. Here, we combine it with a walnut-shortbread crust for a tart that celebrates the coming of spring fruit.

This lightly sweet, tangy bread pudding is a snap to assemble. Feel free to use any kind of white bread you like — presliced sandwich bread (cut into 1-inch pieces) will give a smoother texture, while cubes of French or Italian bread with their crusts will make the pudding chunkier.

In this simple recipe, salty, smoked ham is paired with sweet mango and onion. The fruit and vegetables are cooked alongside the ham in the covered roasting pan, leaving them meltingly tender.

To ensure even cooking, leave the ham out at room temperature for an hour before baking.

The Easter Bunny will get a kick out of these deviled eggs that are a little Mexican and a little Asian.

Kutia

This lightly sweetened pudding is the first of 12 traditional dishes served on Christmas Eve in Eastern Europe. Countries such as the Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania each have their own version, sometimes chilled, sometimes served as a warm porridge. (The dish used to be a tradition in Russia as well, but because of the communist Soviet Union's official atheism, it has become extinct there.)

Our version is based on the baked Ukrainian style, which is traditionally made with wheat berries, which require overnight soaking and long cooking. For convenience, we've substituted quick-cooking barley, which packs the same nutty-chewy punch. For the best results, prepare the pudding a day ahead: Let it cool, cover it, and chill it overnight to let the flavors meld. Serve it chilled, plain or sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.

•Look for a sharp, white Cheddar that is on the dry side, such as English Wensleydale Farmhouse Truckle or Extra Old Black Diamond Cheddar.
•It's important not to whip air into the dough — simply mix until blended.

Lefse

Enjoyed year-round, these soft flatbreads are especially common during holidays. For many Norwegians, and members of Norwegian communities such as those in the Midwestern United States, making lefse symbolizes the start of the Christmas season. They can be either sweet or savory: On the Christmas Eve buffet, they often accompany lutefisk (preserved cod) and pork ribs, but as a snack, they're popular rolled up, spread with butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar.

Lefse are traditionally made using special grooved rolling pins; large, superheated griddles; and long wooden spatulas. However, we found that a regular rolling pin, a 10-inch cast iron skillet, a pastry bench scraper, and a thin metal spatula worked just fine. Cooking the potatoes thoroughly and using a ricer or food mill will ensure that there will be no lumps in the potato dough.

Amaretti

According to legend, in the early 1700s, a Milanese bishop made a surprise visit to the town of Saronno in Lombardy. A young couple paid tribute to the bishop by welcoming him with their unique homemade cookies, made from crushed apricot kernels and almonds, egg whites, and sugar. The bishop so loved the cookies that he blessed the couple, and the recipe became a local favorite.

Today, bakeries throughout the region, and in Italian communities around the world, carry amaretti di Saronno, but it's worth the (small) effort to make them yourself. The recipe is simple, and fresh from the oven, they have a crisp-yet-tender texture that's beyond compare.

Pan de Pascua

This rich, slightly sweet yeast bread is ubiquitous in Chile during the Christmas season. Accompanied by cola de mono, an eggnoglike, spiced coffee drink spiked with aguardiente liqueur, it's the classic holiday snack. Similar to German stollen and Italian panettone, the recipe probably traveled to Chile with German immigrants in the early 1900s.

This recipe can be baked in a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides or, for a taller, narrower loaf like the one shown above, an 8-inch diameter clay flowerpot. It can be made a day ahead and rewarmed in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Leftovers make excellent French toast.

Nothing beats great hot chocolate. Use the best chocolate you can get your hands on. We love Valrhona, but Lindt and Ghirardelli are also excellent choices. If giving as a gift, transfer the mix to crocks, jars, canisters, or cellophane bags, decorate with ribbons, and attach gift tags with the serving directions.

Who can resist rich chocolate with roasted pecans and butter-rum caramel? Melting the chocolate in stages insures that it will set. If you wish, the alcohol can be omitted.

These crunchy chips are great with chili, soup, dip, or by themselves.

Unlike many store-bought granolas, this luxurious blend of oats, green pumpkin seeds, and exotic dried fruit is preservative-free and not overly sweet. Sprinkle it on yogurt, pancakes, or waffles—or simply enjoy eating it out of hand.

Look for 1-quart cordial bottles, carafes, or mason jars with necks wide enough for adding the fruit (and removing it, if desired, after the liqueur has matured). You may need slightly more or less fruit, vodka, and rock candy, depending on the size of the containers.

The perfect amounts of butter and sugar make these adorable cookies completely addictive. For the best flavor, use high-quality pure vanilla extract.