Genevieve Ko

Starring crispy fried thigh meat dressed in a savory, citrus glaze, orange chicken is a Chinese American take-out staple well worth making at home.

Barley flour, cornmeal, and a hint of grapefruit juice make this easy pie crust extra flavorful. Try it with this Blueberry-Nectarine Lattice Pie.

Locally grown fruit is often more flavorful than supermarket fruit because it’s frequently grown from heirloom seeds and because it’s been allowed to fully ripen before being picked. So if you can, get extra-ripe fruit from your nearest farmer for this pie. If you’re able to do so and the fruit is very sweet, cut down on the sugar, adding only 1/2 to ⅔ cup. But even supermarket fruit tastes great here, particularly if you let it ripen on the counter first. Grapefruit juice keeps the long-baked filling fresh tasting, and coriander adds complexity to the flavor and aroma.

Buttery pat-in-pan shortbread takes the place of mass-produced cookies and gets smothered in from-scratch caramel and silken chocolate in this jumbo version of a classic Halloween candy.

The iconic chocolate bar filled with peanut-studded caramel and nougat is all about chewiness. Here, we put all of those flavors into a bar that's big enough to eat with a fork.

Turn your favorite halloween candy into a giant version to feed a crowd.

These tender, flaky scones are all about the butter.

Two Halloween favorites—candy corn and pumpkins—meet in these irresistible blondies.

Juicy tomatoes mingle with softly scrambled eggs in a saucy dish that's delicious over rice.

Sesame balls are classic dim sum. In the yum chat (dim-sum dining) culture, these sticky-sweet treats are eaten between savory bites throughout the meal. Traditionally, the dough is made only with glutinous rice flour, which is quite sticky and will leave you searching for a toothpick. I add taro to make the dough more tender, more tasty, and a lovely shade of lavender. I substitute flavorful figs for the traditional lotus seed and red bean fillings.

CHEF'S TIPS: In Chinese cooking, sesame seeds are never deeply browned— their white color symbolizes purity. Be sure to start with untoasted white sesame seeds for a light golden color when the balls are done.

Most fried desserts are best eaten right away, but these stay delicious and crisp even at room temperature.

Just to clarify—there are no tangerines in this recipe and it doesn't look like a pie. But it's still delicious. In Singapore, these turnovers, also known as kuey taht, are a highly prized gift for Chinese New Year. Traditionally, people give away fresh tangerines (tangerine is a homonym for "gold" in Chinese). When Western-style baked goods were introduced, this round turnover was created to resemble the real thing: thus its crackly orange egg yolk wash and clever little clove on top.

CHEF'S TIP: Don't eat the cloves. They are only a decorative touch, and biting into one will definitely be a shock to your palate.

Spring rolls are the quintessential Asian appetizer, but I have adapted the concept to dessert. When cooked, these rolls are like cylindrical molten cakes with warm chocolate oozing out of an impossibly thin and crisp "pastry" shell. The kumquats not only cut through the richness with their distinct citrus tartness, but also are a symbol of good fortune, as kum is a homonym for "gold" in Chinese.

CHEF'S TIP: Make sure you use thin spring roll wrappers, which can be found in Asian markets, not egg roll wrappers.