Dried Fruit

Why go to the grocery store for plain Jane caramel corn when Clinton's tastier easy-to-make recipe can be ready in almost no time at all.

Thin, crisp toast has never let me down. Making a batch while I mull over what’s for dinner always saves me, later, when kids are circling or a guest arrives early. It must be made from stale bread—a fresh loaf is difficult to slice very thin, which is what you must do for crunchy, tender, non mouth-injuring toast. A 350°F oven will help make toast for a crowd without much risk of burning (as long as you use a timer and stand by vigilantly!).

Here at Epicurious, we're big fans of the nutty, fruity buckwheat-biscuit shortcakes in Alice Medrich's cookbook, Pure Desserts. So we created a version we can enjoy all year long. Cooking dried apricots in Earl Grey tea with a vanilla bean infuses them with sweet spices that pair nicely with the earthy bitterness of buckwheat flour. Don't forget to freeze the butter for 1 hour before grating.

Yes, the dough is buttery, but replacing the brown sugar with pureed dates is a nutritional game-changer.

Live in a magical place where cloudberries abound? Use them instead of the cherries, as they do in Norway.

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.

Herbaceous and packed with fiber and protein, this grain salad is a keeper.

Baking a batch of these classic Austrian sandwich cookies is a project—but totally worth it.

Warm spices and sweet dried fruit are a perfect pair for rich turkey meat.

Store-bought cornbreads can be very sweet; taste before using, or omit the sugar from your favorite recipe.