Flaky Croissants

Trust us. When there’s an obscenely buttery, flakey, made-from-scratch croissant before you, you’ll be glad you didn’t run out to the corner bakery.

• Quick Glance
• 45 M
• 3 H
• 22

Blood Orange Marmalade

Find yourself a little melancholy at the impending end of citrus season? Extend the ephemeral with these puckery–and perfect–preserves.

• Quick Glance
• 45 M
• 1 H, 30 M
• 16

Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These diaphanous lovelies are a theatrical departure from the norm, shattering dramatically and delivering untold caramelized, bittersweet chocolate goodness.

• Quick Glance
• 20 M
• 45 M
• 22

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

The true beauty of this Bundt depends on your perspective. Does it lie in its stunning silhouette? Its intensely chocolatey chocolatiness? Or its lazy day ease? You tell us.

• Quick Glance
• 25 M
• 1 H, 30 M
• 27

Chocolate Babka

Best babka ever! Holy Cow! Holy Babka! Those are just some of the responses we’re hearing ’bout this indulgent loaf of butter-y, chocolate-y, Jewish-y goodness.

• Quick Glance
• 1 H
• 4 H
• 12

Christmas Tree of Cookies

Holiday diet tactic #142: This stunning cookie tree. (Sort of makes it harder to scarf down a half batch of cookies when doing so would demolish the Christmas tree, eh?)

Bûche de Noël

We’ve no clue why the French felt compelled to roll chocolate cake with ganache in the likeness of a log. But with a taste like this, who the heck cares?

Hanukkah Cookies

These spectacular–and, we swear, simple–cookie creations can be yours with your favorite roll-out cookie recipe, our royal icing, and these handy how-tos.

Sugar Christmas Snow Cookies

What exactly is a snow cookie? It’s a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth moment of loveliness, and it’s as easy to roll and bake and decorate as it is to admire–and devour.

Gingerbread Men Cookies

The cutest, sweetest, happiest gingerbread people ever, right? They also happen to be the fastest, cheapest, unfussiest gingerbread cookies we’ve encountered.

Quentin’s Grandma’s Rugelach

“Transcendent” is how the author describes these rugelach. We’d like to add “flaky,” “tender,” and “perfect” to the list of apt adjectives.

Chocolate and Cinnamon Swirl Meringues

Whoever first thought to beat sugar and egg whites into pillowy peaks has our gratitude. So does author Annie Rigg for thinking to swirl in cocoa and cinnamon.

• Quick Glance
• 30 M
• 4 H, 15 M
• 4

Chocolate-Dipped Molasses Cookies

Though the name doesn’t give it away, these subtly spiced cookies are vegan-friendly, though we sure as heck couldn’t tell it from their I’ll-have-just-one-more appeal. Shhhh.

Black Pepper Cookies

It’s no surprise that a traditional Scandinavian cookie would be warming. Chalk it up to an inspired melding of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, and cocoa.

Stilton and Walnut Crackers

Perhaps the simplest precursor to a dinner party ever. Just make the savory shortbread dough, freeze it, slice it, and bake it at the very last second. You’re welcome.

Pumpkin Quick Bread

Home cook and storybook savant T. Susan Chang explains how she eventually came around to baking this quick, fragrant, subtly sweet loaf from a gourd of fairy tale proportions.

• Quick Glance
• 20 M
• 2 H
• 14

Spiced Maple Pecan Pie with Star Anise

Here’s a nifty little trick. Reduce maple syrup until sticky, infuse it with spice, and rely on it to impart its ridiculously intense essence to pecan pie.

• Quick Glance
• 30 M
• 4 H, 20 M
• 5

Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Tart

Drunken pumpkin? Punken drumkin? Drumpin punkdrunk? This innocuous seeming slice boasts just a tad more, uh, character than your typical pumpkin pie.

Sweet Pastry Dough

This all-butter, no-fuss pastry crust comes together with ease and flakiness thanks to a little well-worded hand-holding that caters to pastry-making virgins.

Cinnamon Rolls

It never ceases to confound us when something as common as cinnamon rolls turn out divinely inspired. Want to know what we mean? Just make these.

• Quick Glance
• 45 M
• 3 H, 15 M
• 15