Dried Fruit

Anadama bread, a traditional New England yeast bread made with cornmeal and molasses (said to have been created by a woman from Massachusetts named Anna), is the inspiration for the following muffins. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Every year for nearly twenty years Gourmet's production director baked this cake for our mailroom manager on his birthday. Suffice it to say that this delectable dessert has stood the test of time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Rich with chocolate and dried apricots, this dessert is a stately yeast-risen cake that requires no kneading and very little attention. When you set it aside in a warm place, it does much of the work by itself. A large bundt or angel food pan can replace the traditional ornate mold.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This dense, moist chocolate cake, made with dried pears, is stunning when decorated with gold leaf. Of course, you can always simply top it with chocolate curls.

One of our editors, who was raised in the Midwest, was eager to share her grandmother's recipe for fruit cookies. Although this cookie doesn't look particularly Christmasy, it's apparently a venerable family tradition.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Baked in individual ring molds, these little desserts feature caramelized pears, streusel topping and sweetened cream.

Lowcountry cooking is full of ideas that seem foreign to outsiders. This sweet and spicy chutney is the perfect foil for salty country ham. Ground together, the two form a paste for memorable appetizers.

Barm brack is a dark and fruity yeast-raised cake (barm means "yeast"; brack means "speckled"). Tea brack is the much more common baking powder version.