Baking

The cornmeal biscuit topping adds some crunch to the winning combination of fresh strawberries and rhubarb.

This recipe was created to accompany Mozzarella, Arugula and Marinated Tomatoes on Focaccia .

First came the grasshopper cocktail, a sweet digestif the essential ingredients of which are green (thus the grasshopper) crème de menthe, white crème de cacao, and cream; then, in the sixties, came the eponymous pie, which always has a crust of either cookie or graham cracker crumbs and is served chilled.

This free-form tart is wonderful topped with caramel sauce and Crème Fraîche.

(LES SCOURTINS AUX OLIVES DE NYONS) Jean-Pierre Autrand of Les Vieux Moulins in Nyons, Provence, shared the family recipe for these crisp, salty-sweet cookies.

A variation of this recipe is made by adding 4 to 6 anchovy fillets to the topping. In Rome, it is called pizza alla napoletana. In Naples, where all pizza is alla napoletana, it is called alla romana.

If you want crisp cookies, serve these on the same day they're made; they soften even when stored in an airtight container.

The creamy tequila-orange filling contrasts perfectly with the tart cranberry topping.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The egg makes these a little less delicate (and less likely to break) than traditional lace cookies. Arrange them in a decorative box or tin lined with festive tissue paper, then secure the package with a fancy bow.

Serina Kaker "When a good friend went out of town, I volunteered to water the plants in her apartment, and my reward was helping myself to the Christmas cookies, all nicely stored in a tin," says Jane A. Van Pelt of Alexandria, Virginia. "Well, they were delicious and had completely disappeared by the time my friend returned. She told me that the recipe had come to her through her Norwegian roots and was a favorite in her family. Now these cookies are a holiday favorite in our family, and I hope they will be shared with many others."