Recipes with margarine

Salmon steaks baked en papillote with fresh ginger, served on a pool of white wine and lime cream sauce. An elegant foil-packet dinner with restaurant presentation.

Pumpkin cheese tart with a gingersnap-oat crust and a marbled cream cheese-pumpkin filling, finished with warm caramel sauce. A lighter take on pumpkin pie that actually holds its own on the holiday table.

Vegetarian Mexican loaf made with crumbled veggie burgers, cornmeal, green chiles, corn, and chili powder baked in a water bath. Sliceable, savory, and served with homemade tomato sauce.

State fair zucchini cake: a spiced sheet cake with shredded zucchini, walnuts, and golden raisins, topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting. Blue-ribbon classic.

Raisin and bran cookies bake up chewy with unprocessed bran, brown sugar, and warm cinnamon-nutmeg spice. Egg whites keep them lighter than the typical butter-yolk cookie.

Lady Webster's gingerbread made with treacle, brown sugar, ground ginger, and mixed spice in the traditional British style. A dark, sticky, deeply spiced loaf cake that improves with age.

No-bake orange chiffon cheesecake with cream cheese, ricotta, and fresh orange segments set with gelatin. A light, citrusy dessert sweetened without added sugar on a graham crust.

Cocoa meringue cake: two crisp cocoa-free meringue disks sandwiched with a mocha-chocolate filling and served in a pool of bright raspberry sauce. An elegant, low-fat dessert showpiece.

Honey macaroonies with oats, coconut, walnuts, brown sugar, and honey pressed into mini muffin cups and topped with candied cherries. No-egg, no-fuss bite-sized cookies.

Sweet potato pie with bourbon cream sauce: a spiced, custardy sweet potato filling in a flaky shell, scattered with pecans and crowned with a boozy bourbon cream. The microwave does the baking, so it's table-ready in under 30 minutes.

British-style date flapjacks with jumbo oats, chopped dates, molasses, brown sugar, and mixed spice. Chewy, sticky oat bars baked in one pan and cut into squares.

Spaceship cake shapes a chocolate loaf cake into a rocket, studs it with slivered almonds for porthole windows, and pours warm hot fudge sauce over the top. Fun retro kids' birthday cake.

Microwave pecan pie bars: shortbread base, chewy pecan filling, and a semi-sweet chocolate topping. 28 bars cooked entirely in the microwave, ready in 30 minutes.

Pumpkin pound cake with warm spices, finished with orange glaze and homemade candied orange peel. Makes two 9x5 loaves, perfect for fall gifting or freezing.

Creme de menthe truffle cups: bite-size chocolate candy shells piped full of minty chocolate ganache with ground almonds. A boozy, bakery-style Christmas confection made in a double boiler.

No-bake peanut butter bars with a graham cracker crust, powdered sugar, and a thin chocolate topping. Tastes like a giant homemade Reese's cup in bar form.

Brown paper sack apple pie, the old-fashioned trick of baking a Granny Smith pie with buttery crumb topping inside a grocery bag. The enclosed heat steams the apples tender and keeps the crust from burning.

Five-ingredient frosted toffee bars with a chewy oat-brown sugar base topped with melted semi-sweet chocolate and chopped peanuts. Simple, crunchy, and no-fuss baking.

Tropical pound cake made with fruit yogurt for a moist, tender crumb and subtle fruity flavor. A simple one-bowl bundt cake with only eight ingredients.

Buttery banana muffins with sour cream create an incredibly moist crumb that stays fresh for days. A family favorite that's simple enough for weekend baking with kids.

Pink peppermint stick pie set into a chocolate wafer crust, with a no-bake marshmallow-and-cream filling stained candy-cane red. Topped with crushed peppermint sticks for crunch.

Broiled pita crisps with oregano and Parmesan, ready in 10 minutes. Split, spread with butter, season, and broil until golden and crunchy.

Broiled sweet potato slices with Parmesan and a brown sugar glaze served over spinach fettuccine. A sweet-savory pasta dish that's surprisingly light and comes together in under an hour.

Skillet hamburgers topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions in a Worcestershire, lemon, and garlic pan sauce. Steak Diane flavors on a burger, one pan.

Sorrel and haricot bean soup with a lemony, herbaceous flavor from fresh sorrel leaves, blended beans for body, and soy milk for creaminess. Vegan-friendly and deeply savory.

Reduced-sugar oatmeal cake with rolled oats, raisins, molasses, and warming cinnamon and nutmeg. Egg whites and a sugar substitute keep things lean. The lighter take on a Southern church-supper classic.

No bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies set up on the stovetop in 20 minutes. Crunchy peanut butter, cocoa, and quick oats give them fudgy centers and chewy edges.

Wellesley Fudge Cake is the classic two-layer chocolate cake from the Wellesley College era, topped with a deep fudge frosting and chopped walnuts around the edge. Old-school, properly rich.

Savory baking powder biscuits with sauteed onion and shallot mixed into the dough. A food processor method for flaky, tender biscuits with a sweet onion flavor.

Peanut butter cookies studded with chocolate toffee bits and crowned with peanut halves. Makes 7 dozen tender, chewy cookies with crispy edges in just 30 minutes.

Cathedral windows candy with melted chocolate chips, colored marshmallows, and powdered sugar rolled into a log and sliced to reveal stained glass-like cross sections. No-bake and freezer friendly.

Dutch apple pancake: a puffy, custardy oven-baked pancake that bakes right over cinnamon-sauteed apples in a skillet, then gets a cinnamon glaze. A dramatic brunch showpiece that puffs sky-high in the oven.

Lobster chunks poached in herbed chicken broth with fresh mushrooms and garden vegetables, finished with lime juice. A light, elegant seafood dish ready in 30 minutes.

Baked winter squash casserole with cranberries and nutmeg. A simple, low-fat, diabetic-friendly side dish with tart cranberry pops in every spoonful.

Poppy seed ravioli cookies filled with a blended almond-poppy seed-honey filling, folded like tiny ravioli, and brushed with honey after baking. A unique holiday cookie project.

College Park fire alarm chili with two pounds of ground beef, chili beans, canned tomatoes, and a generous hit of chili powder. Hearty, no-fuss, and simmered for an hour.

Sweet potatoes with a hint of orange: cooked sweet potatoes baked with cinnamon, dried apricots, and fresh orange slices. A lighter, fruit-sweetened holiday side with no marshmallows or piles of sugar.

Pork piccata with Parmesan-crusted tenderloin medallions pan-fried in garlic butter, served with a creamy caper and lemon sauce. A quick Italian-style weeknight dinner.

Sour cream potato casserole with frozen hash browns, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, and a crunchy buttered cornflake topping. The classic funeral potatoes everyone fights over.

Strawberry brownie torte with fudgy brownie layers, strawberry-studded vanilla ice cream filling, and a homemade chocolate sauce. A frozen layered dessert that's easier to make than it looks.

Mexican omelet filled with chopped chicken in a blended chili-tomato sauce. A protein-packed breakfast or dinner with smoky spice and a from-scratch filling.

Spanish omelettes: vegetable-loaded egg substitute omelettes with zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, and tomato sauce. A lighter breakfast built for watching cholesterol without skipping flavor.

Whole wheat apple bread with peanut butter, oats, wheat germ, honey, and walnuts. Packed with wholesome ingredients and warm allspice for a hearty, nutritious quick bread.

Santa cookie wreath, a festive gingerbread ring shaped from boxed mix, ringed with holly-leaf cookies and finished in melted candy coating. A fun edible centerpiece for the holiday table.

Lighter fettuccine Alfredo made with skim milk, reduced-fat cream cheese, and a roux instead of heavy cream and butter. All the creamy Parmesan flavor with less fat.

Oyster-artichoke soup is a New Orleans classic with briny oysters, tender artichoke hearts, and a butter-flour roux base. Make it a day ahead so the flavors deepen overnight before reheating.

Gingerbread baked in jars makes individual spiced molasses loaves perfect for gifting. The jars seal as they cool, keeping the gingerbread fresh for weeks. A clever holiday project.

Wild rice amandine with toasted slivered almonds, green pepper, onion, and chives cooked in beef bouillon. A quick, savory rice side dish ready in 25 minutes.