Baking

Offer sliced peaches with these cookies. Store the crescents in a shallow airtight container.

(TARTELETTES AUX NOIX)

The unique filling has a flavor and soft texture reminiscent of orange marmalade.

"This recipe is adapted from one in the great book Classic Home Desserts, by Richard Sax," says Alexa Reber of Sterling, Massachusetts. "I created it for my mother — she loves maple above all other flavors. It is almost as wonderful as she is." Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 55 min

This dessert can be transformed to fit occasions other than Valentine's Day. Try experimenting with round, square, or triangular meringue shapes. And even though you'll only need 4 meringue layers, the recipe calls for 6—thus allowing for the possibility of breakage…or snacks! We loved the look of passion-fruit seeds and sparkling, ruby-red pomegranate seeds (along with a bit of juice) as a garnish, but you could substitute fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries.

For this recipe you will need two mini-muffin pans, each containing twelve 1 3/4 x 1-inch cups.

Malta This thin, cookie-like tart with a lattice crust is offered on a feast day that commemorates the birth of the Virgin Mary and the exit of the Turks in 1565.

An old-fashioned cake gets a new treatment: Some of the trimmed cake crumbs are mixed with chocolate-cookie crumbs and pressed onto the frosting. Fresh raspberries are the colorful crowning touch.

Start preparing the custards one day before you plan to serve them.

Capirotada The cheese in this recipe melts into the pudding and contributes more texture than flavor.