Simple elegance: pine nuts, sugar, rosemary, butter, salt.

For your eyes only: it's caramel, people. Into a copper saucepan goes the sugar, a bit like an avalanche. Or waterfall? We couldn't decide.

Snow it is -- see the tracks?

Bring the sugar to a rolling boil ... you're a veritable Willy Wonka!

En route to caramel. Now that's science for you. Where's Harold Magee when you need him?

Finally, stage three, is clear and auburn caramel. Should you choose to abandon this project, stop here and dunk an apple.

It took a forest of pine trees to produce the nuts we needed. Makes pesto look like the peewees, no?

Why, hello lover. Is there anything about that pot that doesn't make you want to jump for joy?

And, as a reminder of the pine nuts' woodsy roots, here come the herbs: chopped rosemary. Trust us -- it's key.

Ms. T uses gray sea salt -- and so did we -- but just add the best version you have on hand.

This brave brittle's a thing of beauty even before it sets!

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not forget the parchment paper.

Using a wooden spatula, we spread the nutty caramel around a parchment lined sheet pan. Doesn't have to be perfect, but it's nice to have an even layer.

All the little pine nuts are waiting to be showered with salt. Go, Amanda, go!

And, how about a bit more rosemary, just for kicks?

Too pretty to break.

Shards of sweet and savory glory.

But not for long ...

Are we making fruitcake? No! We're making brownies: pecans, walnuts, dates, nutmeg, baking powder, dried cherries, bittersweet chocolate, hazelnuts, candied orange bits, butter, flour, vanilla, cinnamon!

A happy holiday sight.

First step: mix a bunch of chocolate into a bunch of melted butter.

And stir.

Until it's smooth as pudding.

Dry ingredients ahoy! We like grating nutmeg on this little rasp but a fine Microplane-style grater works too.

If you don't have a proper sifter (or don't want to dig it out of the cabinet) just use a fine strainer to sift the dry ingredients and tap, tap, tap the side.

We went rogue and mixed the dried fruit bits with the flour mixture -- they were sticky, and this helped keep them from clinging together.

Nuts, are you ready? Are you toasted?

Yes!

Onward to wet ingredients -- starting with 5 eggs!

And a pile of lightly packed brown sugar.

James Ransom, the wonder photographer, captures the secret dance moves of vanilla.

Once the eggs and sugar are thick and pale (a good 4-5 minutes on high speed in the mixer), the cooled chocolate-butter elixir gets folded in.

A deft fold keeps the mix light and airy.

Keep on folding for the dry ingredients and nuts (except the pecans, which get to star on top of the brownies).

A paper towel, wax paper, the butter wrapper itself, or your fingers (if you want to get messy) -- all make good dish butterers.

Bring the batter!

And pecans to dot the top.

Doesn't look much like fruitcake, does it? Sneaky.

All the good surprises of fruitcake lurk inside, with none of the bad ones. Brilliant.