[Photograph: Louise "Chiffonade" Brescia]... More

It was only when I looked over the recipe for this Cradle Cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum that I realized that this cake may not look impressive, but possessed more of an inner beauty. The name comes from the layer of crisp nutty dacquoise, a mixture of ground pecans, chocolate and whipped egg whites, that encases or cradles the moist inner white cake. More

Armed with the last slices of my Bacon of the Month Club and a bottle of South Carolina mustard sauce, I set out to grill something insanely delicious using both—and that's exactly what these pork pinwheels are. The peppered bacon really flavored the entire pinwheel, which had a nice mustard tang and pleasing nutty crunch. More

There was nothing kitschy or dated about this cake, the flavors were complex and totally cohesive, delicious and surprising. For what ever reason pineapple upside-down cake has fallen out of fashion, I think that it's about time to bring it back. More

"I left these on my kitchen counter and by midafternoon the bowl was almost empty." [Flickr: elana's pantry] Memorable dinners don't have to begin with fancy canapés or the perfect amuse-bouche. More often than not, a bowl of mixed nuts... More

Mexican wedding cakes, snowballs, kourambiedes, Armenian sugar cookies, Viennese crescents, sand tarts, Russian teacakes—as varied as this international sampler of cookies may sound, they really do amount to basically the same thing: a buttery, usually nutty, melt-in-your mouth treat, liberally coated with confectioners' sugar. More

The dough uses equal parts oats and flour which makes for a cookie with the toothsome bite of an oatmeal cookie but a lightness that belies their hefty shape. The tart cranberries balance out the white chocolate's sweetness, and the pecans complement the oats with an earthy, nutty crunch. More

This confection may have French roots but it most definitely has a special place in the South too. That's why I get a little twangy and call them pecan prah-leens whereas my boyfriend, who studied French for seven-odd years, is all about the pray-leen pronunciation. More

The cake clocked in at a little less than half an hour from start to finish, icing and all. There's no messing with a sifter, or even bringing butter to room temperature. This recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks seems like the antithesis of every established rule of baking. It's just so easy. More