Hanukkah

Ten hamantaschen -- jam filled, triangle-shaped pastries -- on a white background.

Hamantaschen

Our testers are singing the praises of these sweet cookies that are stuffed with poppy seed and apricot filling. We’re quite certain you will be, too.

A pile of beignets dusted with confectioners' sugar in a bowl.

New Orleans-Style Beignets

Airy and yet dough at the same time, these iconic, anytime-of-day New Orleans pastries come buried beneath mounds of sweet, sweet confectioners’ sugar. All we have to say is, don’t wear black.

Nine potato latkes with apple-date chutney and cinnamon sour cream on a wooden cutting board.

Potato Latkes with Apple-Date Chutney

All fancied up for the holidays, these boast all the perfectly-crisp-on-the-outside-tender-on-the-inside awesomeness of traditional potato latkes as well as a few surprises.

Cheese danish braided and sprinkled with sugar, on a sheet of parchment paper.

Cheese Danish

A startlingly spectacular made-from-scratch cheese Danish that is going to forever change your notion of what a cheese Danish ought to be.

Several of Dorie Greenspan's rugelach tumbling our of a jar

Dorie Greenspan’s Rugelach

These butter and cream cheese pastries are filled with cinnamon-sugared nuts, a slick of jam, currants, and a handful of chopped chocolate.

A whole smoked turkey in a metal serving dish on a bed of fresh herbs and cranberries.

Smoked Turkey

It’s not just about how lovely a turkey imbued with smoke would be. It’s also about how lovely more space in the oven on Thanksgiving would be.

A round baking dish filled with scalloped potatoes and two stacked white plates topped with a serving of the scalloped potatoes.

Scalloped Potatoes

Essentially creamy easy cheesy side dish awesomeness., these are as welcome on weeknights as they are on holidays.

Oliebollen, or Dutch doughnuts, in a wire basket, covered with powdered sugar on a white tablecloth.

Oliebollen ~ Dutch Doughnuts

Nothing’s better than warm oliebollen, or Dutch doughnuts, thanks to their crisp nooks and crannies and their pillowy centers hidden beneath a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

Two beet and carrot fritters, garnished with dill, on a white plate with a fork and a dollop of dill yogurt

Beet and Carrot Fritters

Shame we didn’t have these little lovelies on our plates when we were being admonished by our parents to “eat your veggies!”

Royal icing being piped onto a cookie by a young girl being helped by her mother, surrounded by jars of sprinkles, cookie cutters, and wooden spoons.

Royal Icing

Whether your knack for cookie-decorating leans toward fancy schmancy or basic buttons on gingerbread people, you need a foolproof royal icing. Look no more.

A pile of crescent-shaped cookies on a platter with greenery and Christmas ornaments on the side.

Viennese Crescent Cookies

A holiday cookie if we ever saw one! So buttery, so nutty, so delicate, so mind-bendingly charming, these traditional Viennese cookies rival the city’s fancier pastries as our fave.

Roasted tzimmes on a large sheet pan.

Roasted Tzimmes

This is not the sweet, gooey tzimmes of your childhood. Nope. So don’t be surprised when that old familiar flavor pales in comparison.

Easy Jewish Hanukkah doughnuts and doughnut holes covered with sugar, on a metal cookie sheet.

Easy Jewish Hanukkah Doughnuts

Don’t let the name mislead you. These doughnuts are cause for celebration in and of themselves, regardless of one’s occasion or denomination.

Reuben babka sliced in half, on a white background.

Reuben Babka

Imagine a soft, fluffy babka with all the makings of a pastrami sandwich swirled right inside. Perfect on its own, it also makes an incredible toastie.

Cheese blintzes in a cast-iron frying pan, one being lifted up by a metal spatula.

Cheese Blintz

We like to think of cheese blintzes as the original breakfast burritos, though truth be told we like them just as well for dessert.

Spiced cider doughnuts and doughnut holes on a square metal tray with one in pieces beside a cup of coffee.

Spiced Cider Doughnuts

These doughnuts are certain to conjure memories, real or imagined, of crisp autumns, roadside farmstands, and grease-stained paper bags full of similar piping hot beauties.