Fresh, warm cinnamon rolls are a special breakfast for the holidays (or any day), but who wants to wake up at 5 am to start the process of making them from scratch? Instead of reaching for canned rolls, try this technique from King Arthur Flour: parbake and freeze cinnamon rolls, then fully bake them just before serving. You'll have hot, homemade cinnamon rolls on the table in just 20 minutes. More

Last year, I shared an old favorite recipe for Peppermint Cream-Filled Butter Cookies, which are infamous in my family for being both ridiculously tasty and also ridiculously tedious to make. This year, I thought I'd try tweaking the recipe just enough to keep all its most swoon-worthy qualities while trimming away the labor. The result might, just maybe, be better than the original. More

There are only so many homemade cookies a person can eat before they go stale. But give the gift of homemade frozen cookie dough, and you've just guaranteed several weeks or months of freshly-baked cookie goodness for the recipient. More

We all have different guilty pleasure sweets. Maybe it's a slice of cheesecake or a scoop of good ice cream. Perhaps it's a decadent hot chocolate with piles of whipped cream. Or maybe you can't quite walk by the case at Starbucks without thinking twice about those Cranberry Bliss Bars. Well now we've found a recipe so you can make them at home in no more than 30 minutes. More

Years ago when I was working as a wedding planner, our crafty in-house letterpress guru, Jennifer, would bring the entire office weekly homemade treats. I had yet to venture into the world of baking, so I was often completely mesmerized by the complicated recipes she tackled. (Profiteroles au chocolat, anyone?!) More

The last thing anyone wants to think about come Thanksgiving Day is what to do for breakfast. You've got enough on your mind. But the truth of the matter is that many of us have family staying with us, and breakfast becomes a very real consideration. So we gathered together a few quick, last-minute ideas for the big day. More

Go figure. Pumpkin pie is best when it's, well, not made with pumpkin, according to Melissa Clark. She tested a bunch of pumpkin and squash varieties to determine which one would provide the freshest, sweetest flavor. And the winner is... More

Sometimes two common ingredients or recipes are brought together in a delicious marriage and you wonder how it is you hadn't thought of it sooner. This was my exact reaction to Smitten Kitchen's crunchy, toasty, slightly sweet granola-crusted nuts. More

Pies are the component of the holiday meal that I look forward to the most. They're something we don't generally indulge in on average weeknights (or weekends, for that matter) and they seem like such a celebratory dessert, such a happy dessert. So why not make life a little easier this year by doing your pies in advance so you don't have to think about them on Thanksgiving morning? Here are three ways to get your pies done now so you can enjoy them later! More

Sometimes when I'm planning for a big meal or party, I lose my head. I start thinking about all the projects I want to tackle and recipes I've bookmarked, and the list of what I plan on cooking seems to grow and grow. I'm a cook, so I should cook for people, right? I think, while wondering if I have time to buy lemons to make from-scratch lemon curd for the layer cake I'm also making from scratch. Should I make cookies too?

At times like these, I stop, take a deep breath, and think about my friend Ian and his cheesecake platter. More