Dried Currant

With glacéed fruit, spices, and no small amount of rum, this elegant fruitcake recipe is no joke.

These fruit-laden muffins smell exactly like hot cross buns as they bake and taste just as satisfying, but with a fraction of the effort.

Crystallized ginger adds spice to this brunch staple.

Mince pies, basically rich tarts filled with dried fruits and spices soaked in alcohol, were once a status symbol because only the rich could afford these delicacies. The combination of fruits and spices is often diverse, but raisins, currants, and candied lemon, citron, and/or orange peel are standard. Some old recipes also contain prunes, dates, figs, or candied ginger. Spices are usually cinnamon, cloves, mace, and nutmeg. There is always grated apple or pear and sometimes also lemon or orang.…

This super-flavorful dish spins the flavors of shish barak—lamb and pine nut dumplings from the Levant—in a pasta direction.

Bound together with honey and nut butter, these just-sweet-enough bars are sturdy enough to throw in a beach bag and substantial enough to power you through til sunset.

While brandy is the traditional partner for fruit cake, you could also try using a dessert sherry such as Pedro Ximénez. It’s an intensely sweet, dark sherry made from the Spanish grape variety of the same name. Perfect in festive cakes, puddings and custards, you can find it in liquor stores.