Apple Cider

These sugared doughnuts are craggy and crunchy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside. Apple butter (not sauce!) is key to their texture and flavor; look for it alongside jams and jellies in the supermarket, or at farmers’ markets, or make your own.

This is the quintessential fall cupcake. Prepare the apple cider just as if you were going to drink it, boiled with plenty of whole cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.

Mustard-rubbed chicken legs get super-tender when braised in apple cider and white wine for this cozy fall dinner.

This pared-down mulled wine recipe is great for impromptu entertaining this weekend.

A thin layer of caramelized sugar on the surface of these apples mimics the crackle of crème brûlée. Finally, a good reason to poach fruit.

Spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, this cozy drink is a festive jumpstart to the quickly-approaching holiday season.

Arguably, some of the best ‘cue in the country can be found in North Carolina, where two distinct types of slow-cooked pig prevail. The first is Eastern barbecue, which is distinguished by slow-cooking a whole hog and including both the white and dark meat in chopped sandwiches and platters. Eastern ‘cue boasts just a hint of vinegar and red pepper, which is added to the meat mix rather than used as a sauce. Western North Carolina ‘cue (aka Lexington-style) is made from pork shoulder only. In addition to incorporating plenty of vinegar, sugar, and spices, it also mixes in a good amount of ketchup to create an actual sauce for the pork. This slow-cooker recipe falls somewhere in between.

With an apple cider brine and maple-mustard glaze, this pork loin has all the flavors of a classic ham, wrapped in a more tender and juicy package.

Want a show-stopping centerpiece roast to feed a holiday dinner crowd? Crown roast is the answer.

With apple cider, Aleppo pepper, and thyme, this pretty dish offers a lighter take on your usual Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole.

Dark sweet cherries and apple cider lend sweetness and depth to this bourbon-and-black-pepper-spiked cranberry sauce.

Meet our new favorite stuffing: two kinds of bread give it a deep earthy flavor, vinegar-spiked raisins lend sweet-tart high notes, and bacon makes it irresistible.

The classic treat gets a double dose of cider goodness from a syrupy reduction that is both mixed into the dough and used for the shiny glaze.

High-quality hard apple cider—not the overly sweet stuff you might have had—is one of fall's greatest beverages. Cognac only makes it better.

Appalachian apple stack cake is communal cooking at its finest. Originally, each layer was baked at home by individual cooks, likely in cast-iron skillets, then brought together and assembled for church suppers and gatherings. Instead of the spongy cakes we're used to today, these layers are more like cookies—firmer, so they slowly soften beneath liberal applications of apple butter and cooked apples. This recipe stays mostly true to those principles. Instead of individually baking the layers one skillet at a time, though, use a cake pan to trace a pattern on parchment paper and trim circles of rolled dough to fit it. Bake two layers simultaneously (more if you have a convection oven). The edges of the cake layers won't be as perfectly neat as if you'd baked them in skillets or cake pans, but that's all right. This is a rustic cake.

Brine a turkey breast to add flavor and moistness. Pick up some local apple cider to make a flavorful gravy to serve with the turkey.

Cooking your stuffing in an ovenproof skillet means it can go from stove to oven without missing a beat. Prepping your aromatic vegetables in the food processor cuts down on chopping time, too.

Way to warm up the room—especially if it's spiked.

Roasting offers an easy, no-fuss way to quickly prepare asparagus. Reducing the balsamic vinegar before drizzling it over the vegetables concentrates its flavor to mimic aged varieties. Serve the dish for lunch or along with a green salad for a light dinner.

This recipe can be made a day ahead and refrigerated; reheat before serving.