An assortment of chocolate covered pretzels with white and dark chocolate coating and sprinkles

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

An impressive (and blissfully last-minute!) nosh with an incredibly satisfying salty sweet thing happening. And spectacularly simple to make. Decorate as much or as little as you like.

A bottle half-filled with vanilla syrup and a couple vanilla beans inside. A cork rests beside the bottle.

Vanilla Syrup

You’re going to want to drizzle, douse, and dribble this fragrant homemade vanilla syrup over and into and onto just about everything.

An apple coffee cake with one slice cut from it on a wire cooling rack with parchment underneath.

Apple Coffee Cake

Elegant enough for company, simple enough for every day, and versatile enough for breakfast and midnight snack and pretty much every moment in between.

A loaf of cranberry orange pecan bread in the background with a halved slice from it in front

Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread

This cranberry orange pecan bread is an enticing balance of tart and sweet in a fetching cake-like delivery system. Quite tempting at all times, though especially come November.

Eight triangle shaped pieces of nutella brownie.

Nutella Brownies

And, on the eighth day, there was gianduia (zhahn-doo-yah). Namely, hazelnuts harmoniously cozying up to chocolate. Aka Nutella. And the world has been a more glorious place ever since.

A loaf of chocolate babka on a sheet of parchment with one slice cut off.

Chocolate Babka

Babkalicious! Best babka ever! Holy Cow! Holy Babka! Those are just some of the responses we’re hearing ’bout this indulgent loaf of buttery, chocolatey, Jewishy goodness.

A loaf of stollen cut in half, with one slice cut off to show the fruit and marzipan filling.

Stollen

Few things would be lovelier to receive at the holidays than a loaf of this traditional sweet yeast bread studded with fruit and nuts.

A slather of chocolate topped with chopped roasted peanuts on parchment

Classic English Toffee

Almonds and dark chocolate or peanuts and milk chocolate? Can’t go wrong either way with this classic candy.

Four pieces of cashew caramel cracker bars on a round wooden board with a knife resting beside them.

Cashew Caramel Cracker Bars

This cashew caramel cracker bars recipe is made with saltines, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, and chocolate. An easy crowd-pleaser.

A wire basket on a wood cutting board containing several types of cheese, including smoked cheddar cheese

Smoked Cheddar Cheese

Remember those wee rounds of shrink-wrapped smoked Cheddar from holidays past? This rendition is unspeakably better.

Two white ramekins with a pile of sugar-coated bourbon balls

Bourbon Balls

Chocolatey, boozy goodness in a charming and irresistible and seemingly innocent presentation. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

A rimmed sheet pan filled with truffles coated in confectioners' sugar.

Champagne Truffles

Got leftover Champange? Or simply seeking an excuse to open a bottle of bubbly? Good. We’ve got the most splurge-worthy use for it ever thanks to these creamy, fudgy, boozy, ganache-gilded little orbs.

A square white platter with fruitcake brownies--filled with dried fruit, chocolate, and rum

Fruitcake Brownies

Fruitcake brownies? Yup. But not those lurid dried fruits of your childhood. Think dried figs, cranberries, cherries made tipsy with rum or brandy and baked into a brownie pan. Ridiculously inventive.

Candied pecans scattered on a dark surface.

Candied Pecans

“Irresistible.” “The perfect combination of sweet, salt, spice, and crunch.” “We. Can. NOT. Stop. Eating. Them.” “Absolutely perfect.” That’s what we’re hearing about these candied pecans.

Plate of pumpkin spice toffee--made with toffee, pumpkin spice, white chocolate, and pecans

Pumpkin Spice Toffee

All that familiar autumnal spice loveliness in perhaps the only pumpkin spice incarnation you’ve yet to try.

A molasses spice cookie on the saucer of a cup of tea, more cookies in a pile and on a wire rack.

Molasses Spice Cookies

Not your ordinary molasses spice cookies, these owe their nice hit of savory to a hit of black pepper. Once you’ve tried these, you may never go back.

A layer of assorted nuts and rosemary sprigs on a sheet of parchment paper resting in a sheet pan

Candied Spiced Nuts

These candied nuts are sweet and spicy and the sorta thing that friends demolish in minutes at cocktail parties and holiday gatherings yet talk about for months afterward.