Baking

A fast version of an old favorite. Wine-bottle gift bags make perfect packaging.

With the galette, offer radicchio tossed with black olives, toasted walnuts and a Sherry vinaigrette. Spoon some stewed rhubarb over vanilla ice cream to top off the meal.

Tarte au Sirop d' Érable "My husband and I had an absolutely fantastic dessert at Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens while on vacation in Quebec, Canada," Says Deb Kalikow of Natick, Massachusetts. "Maple syrup pie served with crème fraîche is its specialty. The pie capped off a perfect dinner of delicious French-Canadian dishes. We ate at another restaurant the next night and tried the maple syrup pie there. We were so disappointed by our first bites that we then went back to Aux Anciens Canadiens and waited an hour just to have another piece of their pie." Don't be tempted to forgo the cream with this pie; it perfectly complements the dessert's rich silkiness and balances the sweetness.

A real winner: Delicate "purses" of phyllo pastry hold a banana and hazelnut filling. They're served with white chocolate sauce and a crunchy hazelnut crumble.

"When I lived in South Africa, rum and raisin chocolate bars were a special treat," says Beth Peterson of Phoenix, Arizona. "I created this brownie recipe based on that combination of flavors, and perfected it with the help of friends and colleagues who sampled the brownies at each stage of development. These have a grown-up taste with the right balance of sweetness and rum." Try these warm with vanilla ice cream.

There are untold numbers of sugar cookie recipes circulating throughout the Midwest. As students of this sweet know, lard makes for a particularly toothsome cookie, with a texture at once crisp and sandy. For a cookie that is crisp but also chewy, vegetable shortening is best.

The recipe for these melt-in-your-mouth pecan crescent cookies has been in my family for years," says Marilynn Bonecki of Marengo, Illinois. "They can be made a couple of weeks in advance, but it's hard to keep them in the house that long." Be sure to chill the dough overnight before shaping and baking the cookies.

This fluffy Lady Baltimore cake is layered with toasted pecans, dried figs, raisins, and frosted in a thick, luscious Swiss meringue.

This recipe originally accompanied Double-Decker Rhubarb Ice Cream Sandwiches.