Sweet, spiced, and unforgettable—these chai masala tamales from Masala y Maiz blend Indian and Mexican flavors for a unique twist on a classic dish.



Chai Masala Tamales From Masala y Maiz

“Snittar” (or cookie slices) are pretty much as classic as you can get when it comes to a Swedish cookie. They’re perfectly chewy biscuit cookies that are baked in a flattened log and sliced immediately after baking. The most common flavors are chocolate and caramel, but here I chose to add a simple pecan praline instead. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making the praline, just add toasted chopped pecans. This recipe makes about 50 cookies which means they’re the perfect addition to your holiday cookie boxes!

Make the dough ahead and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let it come to room temperature before rolling into logs and baking. 

Swedish Pecan Praline Cookies ("Pekan Snittar")

You can make the pie dough ahead of time, and keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

Can make the filling and assemble the pie the night before, just need to bake an additional 15 minutes to reach an internal temp of 190ºF 

Allow to cool fully before cutting. The baked pie can be kept in the refrigerator overnight before cutting. 

Plant-Based Bourbon Pecan Pie from Tourlami

This recipe adds a twist to the classic pecan pie by incorporating 

 and brown butter into the filling. The whiskey adds subtle vanilla flavor and the brown butter adds nuttiness. For the crust, I made a simple all-butter pie dough, which if you’re short on time, you can make ahead and store in the freezer (or use a pre-made dough). After that, all there is to do is stir together the filling and bake off the pie. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream. 

Make the pie dough through step 2 and freeze for up to six months. Make sure to wrap it generously in plastic wrap or tin foil. 

Prepare the pie in advance, as it refrigerates well for several days (up to 3 to 4). Just allow the pie to come to room temperature before serving for the best flavor and texture.

Brown Butter Northern Irish Whiskey Pecan Pie

This recipe brings a winter favorite—the nut crescents I bake during the December holiday season —back to summer, in the form of a tart crust. I bake it with a simple ricotta custard, which provides the perfect base for a partially cooked blueberry filling—a clever trick I picked up here on Food52 a few years ago. I reduce the sugar, however, while adding a touch of apricot jam, spiked with vanilla. 

N.B.: For a berry-heavy dessert like this, I often select slightly under-ripe berries for about a quarter of what I need for dessert, as they are more tart and just a little bit crunchy.

Ricotta Custard Blueberry Tart with Nut Crescent Crust

There’s a high probability that you already have a classic, go-to carrot cake recipe, a moist double-layered cake filled with nuts—maybe also coconut and raisins—decorated with a traditional cream cheese frosting. Although certainly delicious and one of my favorite cakes, I hope you give this spicy version a chance to win you over, too. 

It’s made with a blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, as well as brown butter in both the cake and frosting, for extra flavor and nuttiness. But the real star? Spicy candied pecans, flavored with cayenne, cinnamon, and ginger. Not only are they delicious as a garnish (and to snack on), but mixing the candied nuts directly into the batter adds a lovely kick and texture to the whole cake.

I want to make sure you go into this recipe knowing that it is indeed spicy, so if you or someone in your family would like a milder level of heat, reduce the cayenne to ¼ to ½ teaspoon or leave it out completely. Another option is to halve the recipe for the candied nuts and use them on top, as a decoration rather than baking them into the cake, too. 

If you don’t feel like browning butter (although I HIGHLY recommend it because it is delicious), swap the browned butter in the cake batter for an additional ½ cup of neutral oil. In the frosting, use ¼ cup softened unsalted butter rather than ½ cup. 

You can make this a day in advance. Cover it with plastic wrap and store the cake in the fridge. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Carrot Cake with a Kick

Have you ever heard of kringle? This large, sliceable Danish ring is wildly popular in Wisconsin, where it is actually even the official state pastry. It’s popularity is thanks to a high concentration of traditional Danish bakeries in the state, where this treat is a top seller. In Wisconsin, you can even find kringle at most grocery stores, no to mention gift shops and even truck stops. Sweet, icing-topped kringles are everywhere, and come in a huge assortment of flavors. Traditional flavors often include almond or fruit fillings, but this version is for the chocolate lovers out there. Rich bittersweet ganache fills the flaky pastry crust, plus plenty of sweetened toasted pecans for crunch. 

The best part about kringle is that while it’s still a project, it keeps extremely well. You can keep it at room temperature for up to four days, in the fridge it will keep for up to a week, and it can even be frozen, thawed, and refreshed easily. For me, that makes it a perfect make ahead baking project. It’s worthy of your holiday baking spread and makes a great gift (Wisconsin bakeries even ship it around the country). So join me in my Kringle Krusade! Let’s spread the word about this tasty pastry by baking as many kringles as we can!

Chocolate Pecan Kringle

This buttermilk pecan cake is a perfect snacking cake. I’ll gladly eat it a few times per day, for at least three days straight. With a delightful contrast between the toasty exterior and the moist—yet light—interior, it tastes just as good on day three as it does when it first comes out of the oven. When eaten plain, this cake has a subtle sweetness, accented with the harmonious and comforting flavors of vanilla and toasted pecans. It’s a humble looking cake, but you can easily dress it up with a dusting of powdered sugar or any combination of frosting or toppings. In the morning, I’ll eat it slathered with softened butter and sprinkled with crunchy salt. In the afternoon, I enjoy it toasted briefly under the broiler and then finished with a dollop of Nutella. Fresh fruit and whipped cream would also be a welcome combination for this cake. The recipe is adapted from Carl Erskine’s book 

. If you’re a baseball fan, you may recognize Carl Erskine as a pitcher from the famed Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950’s. According to Erskine, this cake became a good luck charm for the team during their 1955 championship season. Teammate Frank Kellert had his family in Oklahoma mail buttermilk cakes to the Dodger clubhouse all throughout that year, including during the World Series against the rival Yankees. According to Erskine, “We didn’t want to go into the World Series without a supply of buttermilk cake.” The secret to this cake is the amount of vanilla extract used—the recipe calls for ¼ cup. At first glance, this might seem like an obscene amount of vanilla to add to a cake. But the vanilla doesn’t overpower it; instead, it adds an intoxicating aroma and perfectly complementary flavor.

Buttermilk-Pecan Bundt Cake

If there is a more perfect (and gorgeous) dessert for fall—and everyone’s favorite holiday (aka Thanksgiving)—than an apple-cranberry crisp, well, I have yet to be introduced. And if said crisp is baked in individual ramekins, then all the better, as everyone knows mini desserts are the best (and cutest) desserts. Plus, they don’t require sharing. Fruit-topped crisps and crumbles will always fall into the simple dessert category, but sometimes they get a little back-burner’ed—this apple-cranberry number, however, is going to change all that. 

Fruit crisps have a myriad of attributes, but first and foremost, they are easy to assemble, call for ingredients that are already in your pantry, and don't require a stitch of special equipment. Second, crisps are texturally exciting—maybe I don’t get out enough, but buttery bits combined with deeply toasted pecans sprinkled atop sweet apples and tangy cranberries? Sign me up. 

Additionally, crisps take almost no time to prepare and these individual ones only take about 30 minutes to bake. In short, this all translates into a dessert that you can put on the table in less than an hour. You’re welcome. Finally, the cranberries contribute to making this one of the prettiest desserts in the land, as the juices that bubble up around the edges, and those that pool a bit in the dish once served, are quite literally the most beautiful garnet in color. 

But wait—what is the difference is between a crisp and a crumble? If you asked me offline, I’d say zilch, but the internet will tell you differently. In short, both desserts are comprised of baked fruit and are topped with something buttery and sweet. But crisp toppings call for oats and crumble toppings— you guessed it—do not. 

But sometimes rules are made to be broken, so these particular crisps do not call for an oat topping. Moreover, if oats add crispiness, then the pecans here more than make up for their absence, providing the topping with all the cozy crisp crunchy (aka crispy) vibes one could ask for. Plus the pecans add a nutty flavor to these cuties— one that oats just can’t replicate. My topping also calls for cold, cubed butter that you work into the dry ingredients with your fingers. I like a lot of topping here, not only because life is better with more topping, but also because as the crisps bake, the fruit collapses, and the topping sinks. But because of how much topping is sprinkled on top pre-bake, the crisps do not dip below the edges of the ramekins, despite some sinkage. 

The apple and cranberry duo is a no-brainer. Whisk the dry ingredients first before adding the fruit, so that the mixture evenly coats it all. I like my apples in half-moon wedges that are sliced in half or even thirds again. However, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it before: if you are an apple-wedge peep from way back, then wedge it is. 

Individual Apple Cranberry Crisps

A typical Thanksgiving meal is full of the classic savory dishes: a juicy turkey straight out of the oven, creamy mashed potatoes, a herbaceous stuffing, fluffy rolls; the list goes on. I find it difficult at times to curate the best appetizer for Thanksgiving that doesn’t overwhelm taste buds or appetites before the big meal. Though I love charcuterie boards as appetizers for Thanksgiving, the salty and fatty meats and briny accompaniments have very similar flavor profiles to the main meal itself. So, I wanted to create something that offered a vivid contrast for the guests, which may involve leaving the typical cheese pairing comfort zone. 

This year, I decided to switch it up with a sweet cheese plate as an appetizer. This offers guests some creamy, chocolatey, and juicy flavors to munch on before (or after) the entrées. Before you write off the idea of cheese and chocolate, give it a try! A 75 percent dark chocolate, for example, has a complex profile of bitter and earthy-tasting notes and isn’t overwhelmingly sweet. Some of my favorite pairings on this plate include the cocoa dusted cashews with the creamy french brie, dark chocolate almond bark with a nutty comté, and gingersnap cookies with the maple cinnamon cream cheese dip. I also added in some juicy and naturally sweet fruit, like gala apples, raspberries, and blackberries. 

For a fun autumnal detail, slice your brie in half and use a leaf-shaped cookie cutter to cut the top into a funky shape! You can fill in the leaf cut-out with fig and apricot jams for a swirly, colorful foliage look. 

The Sweetest Thanksgiving Cheese Board You Ever Did See

If you’ve ever deliciously fantasized about what would happen if a German chocolate cake—with its requisite fudgy, coconut pecan filling, and a nutty, buttery pecan pie—had a baby, today is your lucky day. German Chocolate Pie is for all the chocolate, pecan, coconut lovers in the house and I am hoping there are many. It is fudgy, rich, and dense, with an otherworldly texture from the deeply toasted pecans and shredded coconut. The pie’s chocolate flavor comes from melted chips, but also from a bit of cocoa powder, as I wanted a pronounced chocolate flavor, but without adding sweetness—thankfully, the powder perfectly delivers.

Although a German chocolate cake marries coconut and pecan with evaporated milk, here everything is held together with sweetened condensed milk, as it makes for a fabulously fudgy and milky, yet smoothpie filling. And although it can be sweet, the aforementioned cocoa powder really tempers anything that one might find cloying. Moreover, the SCM manages to give off all the wonderfully chewy, slightly gooey vibes of the evaporated milk cake filling, but all in streamlined pie form.

Some parting words about your pecans: please deeply toast them as it really helps the flavor sing. And as for the coconut, I call for sweetened in the filling for its texture and moisture (the unsweetened can be a little dry) but if you’d prefer to use the unsweetened stuff, by all means go for it.

Finally, the cream cheese crust here is far more forgiving and easier to work with than its all-butter brethren and I like to think it adds a little tang to the sweet situation that is this pie. Moreover, assembling and blind baking the crust is truly the lion’s share of the work here. The pie filling itself is easy-peasy to assemble and will take you all of 5 minutes (if that). If you are a German chocolate cake lover, and I am one, you’ve just met your new favorite pie—and if you’re one of those pecan pie-or-bust, kind of Thanksgiving peeps, brace yourself this November cause there’s a new kid in pie-town. 

The Very Best German Chocolate Pie

Maybe you knew these crumbly shortbread cookies as Russian Tea Cakes, or Snowballs, or Viennese Crescents, rather than Mexican Wedding Cookies (or Polvorones, as they're called in Mexico—from the word for dust, polvo). Theories abound on why the same cookie ball appears to have descended from so many places (was it European nuns traveling to Mexico? Or Cold War rebranding?) If you have a hypothesis to add, we want to hear it! (Note, too, that this version has the unusual addition of tequila, which stands in quite nicely for vanilla.) Slightly adapted from Gregg Gillespie's 

Mexican Wedding Cakes 

This isn't a wimpy cheese ball. It has 19 ingredients. And it's a showstopper. In my cheese ball research, I learned that most of the recipes out there include cheddar cheese, cream cheese, butter, and something with a kick. So that was my starting point. But I decided that if I was going through the effort of making such a thing I wanted each bite to be bold. I suggest using very flavorful cheeses so they stand up to the shallots and garlic. You can make it as spicy as you like with Sriracha or Tabasco. I chose to roll mine in pecans and dried cranberries, but feel free to use any kind of nut or dried fruit. Roll right before eating, or the nuts and fruit will get soggy.

This recipe makes an insane amount. I recommend freezing half of it in balls or in logs. Then anytime you want a cheese ball, thaw it for a few hours, roll it in pecans and cranberries, and serve.

Cheese Ball with Pecans and Dried Cranberries

Cafe enjoyment is often about strategy—where you sit, how to coax the barista into making your coffee just so, making sure you get there before your beloved cinnamon roll is snapped up by someone else. Recently, my husband Tad and I figured out that if we wanted to be able to get a table for four on the weekends at our favorite local spot—Iris Cafe—we needed to arrive just before 9 am. We've managed to do it but it's not pretty. One of our kids usually leaves the house half pajama'd, and we end up sprint-walking -- no stopping to indulge one's curiosity in a sidewalk crack! -- there. But it's worth it so we can sit, each in our own seat, and stare at each other, half awake, as we gulp coffee and eat soft-boiled eggs with mashed avocado on toast.

Iris Cafe, in many respects, is the consummate cafe. It's on an obscure street in Brooklyn Heights, so there's no street traffic. And this means all of its customers are devotees, who make it their destination. The room is relaxed like worn-in jeans, the coffee is delicious (Stumptown), they sell local eggs and dairy (Brooklyn badge of honor), and the food is exceptionally good.

On Tuesdays, when we do our weekly photo shoot at my apartment, we occasionally get take-out from Iris Cafe (dinner roll and chocolate cake weeks need lunch supplements!). One of the food52 team favorites is the Curried Smoked Turkey Salad. So, for my second installment of the Counterfeit Cook Office Lunch Series, Iris Cafe's owner, Rachel Graville, shared the recipe.

Curried Smoked Turkey Salad

I created this salad with local vegetables and other locally sourced products for a party earlier this fall. The balance of flavors worked so well, it was a mix of things that was meant to be. - lisaiscooking

Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash and Spiced Pecans

This is a modified version of a chicken salad sandwich recipe I grew up eating in the summer in the Cape Cod area where I'm from. There are a lot of steps to it, especially for a salad, but the end result is worth it.  The apples are cooked which adds a nice tang and the addition of maple syrup to the salad dressing adds just the right amount of sweetness.  If you can find Cains brand mayonnaise, another New England favorite, I would highly recommend it. - Abduffy

New Englandish Chicken Apple Bacon Salad

If you’re fond of banana bread, and also have some affection for its pumpkin brethren, have I got a treat for you. Pumpkin banana bread is the loaf cake you did not know you were missing. It brings so much to the table, and yet is as understated as they come. This loaf-cake hybrid has all the cozy banana flavor, coupled with an incredibly soft, moist crumb, that you’ve come to expect from a loaf of classic banana bread, but with some subtle, can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it autumnal vibes in the background. That’s the pumpkin, of course, plus a little cinnamon and ginger in the mix as well. And did I mention that it’s studded throughout with deeply toasted pecans? It is and you’re welcome.

I like brown sugar in this bread, as its signature caramel/molasses flavor is just perfect with both bananas and pumpkin. The oil keeps the bread moist for days and is the easiest fat to grab when baking a cake, but you can substitute melted butter, if you’d prefer. The spices help the pumpkin really sing, but leave them out or amp them up, if you so desire. Same goes for the pecans: I think they’re genius here, due to their flavor and texture, but if you are not pro-nut, or would prefer a different one (walnuts perhaps?), go for it. Interestingly enough, mashed bananas and pumpkin weigh the same and behave very similarly when baked, so feel free to add more of one or the other; just be sure not to change the total amount you use (1½ cups/340 grams per loaf).

Finally, in order to streamline the assembly of the recipe, add your leavening, salt, and spices to the wet ingredients and the flour, on its own, as the last step. This allows you to avoid dirtying an extra bowl and helps ensure the flour doesn’t get overworked, which could otherwise result in a tough cake. Bottom line loaf cake lovers, this bread is the best of so many worlds (be they banana, pumpkin, spiced, or nutty) and if any of those worlds light you and your taste buds up, there’s a very good chance it is soon to become your everything. 


Pumpkin Banana Bread With Toasty Pecans

I love a good carrot cake, and so do my parents, who had one for their wedding. Family legend has it that during the ceremony, my two older brothers snuck off to the cake table and stole a few too many slices. They may not be able to look at carrot cake anymore, but it’s still a family favorite. I made this as one of two sheet cakes inspired by my parents—and this one is about as classic as they come. A lightly spiced carrot cake (I opt for coconut and toasted pecans as the other textural notes—but feel free to sub in your favorites) slathered in cream cheese frosting. Perfect for a party of any size—and don’t forget to try your hand at 

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Like the good Kentucky boy that he is, my partner Ryan once suggested we have a Derby party. This understandably was a big deal to him. At that point I’d never watched the Derby and had no real association with it apart from the fact I knew there were a lot of big hats and mint juleps involved. But there’s nothing I love more than an excuse to bring people together over food, so I was in. As we were planning the menu of what to make for said party, Ryan mentioned that a chocolate-pecan-Bourbon pie—also known as a Derby Pie—was crucial to our spread. This Kentucky original was created at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky in 1954 by the Kern family. The family actually trademarked the name “Derby-Pie” and still sells them through their website, 

. The family recipe has been kept a secret since its inception, but variations can be found all over Kentucky and beyond. Nuts and chocolate chips are nonnegotiables in Derby pie, but it seems everyone has their own method to get that classic gooey filling. Some recipes use corn syrup, while others stick with butter and eggs. While similar to a pecan pie, this Derby-inspired pie typically has a good splash of Bourbon—fitting for its Kentucky roots, and it adds a smoky, caramel flavor to the filling. If you’re abstaining from alcohol, feel free to leave this out. I like making my own crust in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate (Erin McDowell has a great 

), but you could also use a store-bought one to cut down on time. Topping the pie with flaky salt isn’t traditional, but I like that it cuts the sweetness of the filling. I recommend using a deep-dish store-bought crust, or preparing your homemade crust for a deep-dish pie plate. If you can’t find one, just make sure to hold some of the filling back so that it doesn’t overflow during baking.

Derby (aka Chocolate Pecan Bourbon) Pie

Thickened with red chiles and toasted pecans, this pipián rojo—a classic Mexican sauce that’s often compared to, though distinct from, mole—is a comforting, deeply satisfying dish inspired by recipes from my mother and grandmother. Spicy, nutty, and slightly sweet, this style of pipián is common in northern Mexico and in south and central Texas. It’s also a reminder of the pecan trees my dad grew as a hobby when I was younger. We had just four acres south of Austin where he planted 50 pecan trees from Texas stock; I remember walking through the fields of trees just before Thanksgiving to taste and harvest the pecans for making my mom’s signature pecan pie. While the seeds and nuts used in pipián vary by recipe (you’ll often see pumpkin seeds or even almonds), I used pecans as a tribute to my dad and his orchard.

Pollo en Pipián Rojo de Nuez

Pecan Orange Galette des Rois

The king cake is a sacred confection eaten between Epiphany and Mardi Gras. In different parts of the world, there are different traditions for the type of cake, the filling, and the trinket that’s hidden in the center. In the United States, a little plastic baby that represents Jesus is hidden inside the cake, and whoever gets the slice with the baby wins. The prize is often the honor of hosting the next king cake party (prize, burden, whatever you’d like to call it...). So the next time you’re looking to break a tooth on a small, plastic Jesus figurine, here is a recipe for you. 

King Cake

A few years ago I went on a mission to make a blondie as fudgy as a brownie—which was surprisingly hard to achieve without cocoa. My solution? Add dates for a squidgy texture. I’ve customized date blondies many ways, but this one, inspired by sticky toffee pudding, is my absolute favorite. 

In my experience, unpitted dates are far stickier than the pitted ones. Removing the pits may seem like a pain, but luckily I’ve found a handy trick. To pit and “chop” the dates, use a pair of kitchen shears—a tip I inherited as a food stylist when I worked on a television segment for Nigella Lawson, who recommends this snipping technique when making her festive holiday fruitcake. Whenever I chop dates with a knife, somehow the stickiness ends up on half of the kitchen. Nigella’s way is much quicker and cleaner.  

Since the bars are incredibly gooey, the age-old toothpick test won’t work to check doneness. When you start to notice some browning along the edges, they’re ready to come out. And if they look a little underdone in the center still, they’re just right! 


Sticky Toffee Blondies 

Sticky buns are like a gooier, more delicious version of cinnamon rolls—and they’re one of my all-time favorite treats. This version, which stars a mocha cream cheese frosting and filling made with espresso and dark chocolate, is especially perfect for brunch (but I love ‘em any time of day). The coffee adds depth and helps enhance the cinnamon, while the chocolate pairs perfectly with the nutty, toasted pecans. 

When making sticky buns, it’s important to allow the dough to rise, which can take a long time, especially during the colder weather months. To speed up the process, I used the handy PROOF setting on the Ninja® Foodi® XL Pressure Cooker Steam Fryer with SmartLid™ to create the ideal environment for the yeast to do its thing. Then, I used the STEAM & BAKE function to cook the buns (without drying them out) and get them golden-brown. The result: fluffy, light mocha sticky buns to pair with a warm cup of Joe this holiday season. 

Note: If you’d like to skip the homemade dough, you can swap in one package of a store-bought crescent dough sheet and skip to step 4 in the directions.

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