Recipes with spices

Christopsomo: a traditional Greek Christmas bread with semolina, citrus zest from oranges and tangerines, currants, golden raisins, and a warming blend of cinnamon, anise, coriander, and cloves.

Holderschmarren is an Austrian fruit dish with elderberries, pears, and plums sauteed in butter with rye bread, milk, and cinnamon. A rustic, comforting dessert ready in 20 minutes.

Clear tomato soup strains fresh tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, and cloves into a clean, brothy soup brightened with lemon juice. Vegan, gluten-free, fat-free, served hot or cold.

Ritz crackers transform into tender, spiced filling that mimics apple pie with lemon zest, cinnamon, and buttery crust. A Depression-era classic dessert.

Orange sweet potatoes whipped with fresh orange juice, zest, brown sugar, and a secret splash of Angostura bitters. A lighter, butterless holiday side dish.

Texas-style competition chili with cubed beef, pork, beer, mole, and masa harina. Slow-simmered for three hours with bold spice and no beans. Built for heat lovers.

Vegan Hawaiian tempeh kebobs marinated in soy sauce, lemon, and allspice, then grilled with pineapple, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Finished with a tangy orange glaze.

Cinnamon sherry biscochitos, the official state cookie of New Mexico, crisp anise-scented butter cookies with a splash of sherry and cinnamon sugar coating.

Stageline chili is a no-bean, big-batch Texas-style chili with chopped brisket, ground pork, green chiles, beer, and a shot of tequila. Simmered low for 2 to 3 hours and feeds 20.

Fresh fruit medley with apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes tossed in orange juice concentrate, topped with a spiced yogurt-ricotta sauce. A light, diabetic-friendly dessert.

Dense, buttery sweet potato pound cake with sour cream and warm spices, served with a vanilla bean-cinnamon custard sauce and praline ice cream. This is dinner party dessert that earns a standing ovation.

Instead of being hard, dry spice cookies, these are soft, moist spicy cookies with a medium hot disposition. Their heat is derived from ground Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers.

Khatte Channe, a tangy North Indian chickpea curry with tamarind, garam masala, cumin, and slow-fried onions. Vegetarian and full of sour-spicy depth. Serve with poori.

Old-fashioned spice cake with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg, sweetened with brown sugar and studded with raisins. A tender crumb built on evaporated milk and topped with caramel frosting.

Old-fashioned sweet chunk pickles brined for two weeks, then packed in a warm cinnamon-clove syrup and water bath canned. Crunchy, spiced, and worth every day of the wait. Makes 3 pints.

Prize coffee cake with a brown sugar and cinnamon streusel topping over a simple one-bowl batter. Quick, no-fuss brunch baking with pantry staples.

Traditional Portuguese sweetbread with a buttery, cinnamon-scented crumb and golden egg-washed crust. This soft yeast bread needs two rises for the lightest, most tender loaf.

Old-fashioned lime pickles (pickling lime, not citrus) with cucumbers soaked in calcium hydroxide for crunch, then sweet-pickled with celery seed and cloves. The Southern church-supper classic.

Oxtails braised in red wine with celery, leeks, carrots, and a French-style sauce made from the reduced braising liquid. Rich, fork-tender, and worth every one of the 4 hours.

Moist carrot date nut bread with a blended carrot-orange puree, slivered dates, and walnuts. Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this recipe makes two loaves that slice even better the next day.

Ginger Puffs are soft drop cookies made with cooked oatmeal, molasses, brown sugar, ginger, allspice, and cinnamon. One bowl, 30 minutes, yields 4 dozen warm-spiced cookies.

Three-layer pumpkin bars built on a yellow cake mix base with spiced pumpkin custard center and a buttery cake-mix streusel top. Makes 24 bars in a 9x13 pan.

New England apple pie with a butter pastry, crumb topping, and heritage apples like Northern Spy or Rhode Island Greening. Cinnamon and lemon zest brighten the filling, and a two-stage bake browns the crust without burning.

Chai Kurdi is traditional Kurdish tea brewed with Indian tea leaves and a whole cinnamon stick. Fragrant, warming, and served with sugar cubes for sweetening to taste.

Cuban-style red bean soup built on a classic sofrito base, simmered low with potatoes and butternut squash for body. Hearty, plant-based, and finished with a slick of olive oil for that finca-kitchen depth.

Shell-on shrimp steamed with crab boil spices, mustard seeds, and apple cider vinegar for tender, perfectly seasoned seafood that peels easily and tastes like a Chesapeake Bay crab feast.

Kenyan samosa-style bread machine loaf with spiced ground beef, peas, and East African aromatics. A fusion bread that bakes the flavors of Kenya into a yeast loaf.

Multigrain breakfast mush with brown rice, oats, cornmeal, buckwheat, and bran simmered with ginger, cinnamon, and honey, then topped with fresh blueberries. A fiber-rich, vegan hot cereal powerhouse.

Traditional calf's feet jelly made from boiled calf's feet with cinnamon, lemon, white wine, and egg whites for clarification. A classic Victorian-era gelatin set in molds and served cold.

Moroccan chicken stew with acorn squash, chickpeas, raisins, and warm spices served over fluffy couscous. A microwave-friendly one-pot North African dinner with toasted almonds and fresh mint.

Traditional Greek dolmas stuffed with rice, pine nuts, fresh herbs, cinnamon, and allspice, simmered in olive oil and lemon juice. This recipe makes about 50 stuffed grape leaves served at room temperature.

Homemade Italian cream rolls with cinnamon-spiced fried shells, sweet ricotta filling with candied citron and chocolate, finished with blanched pistachios and powdered sugar. Makes 16 to 18 cannoli.

Creamy cinnamon cheesecake on a buttery graham cracker crust, finished with a vanilla sour cream topping and toasted almonds. Best made a day ahead for the richest flavor.

Quick, easy and delicious. An Ideal busy week-day dinner.

Traditional Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce recipe

A simple and scrumptious dish made with tender fish fillets, jalapeno peppers and green olives.

Gringo chili: retro American chili built on canned tomato soup, French onion soup, kidney beans, and ground beef. Loaded with ground chile, cumin, and oregano. Weeknight chili with zero apologies.

Ful medames is a traditional Egyptian stewed fava bean dish simmered with red lentils, cumin, lemon juice, and olive oil. Hearty, vegan, and high in protein.

Creamy cottage cheese and cream cheese filling flavored with dates and orange zest in an oat crust, topped with glazed apricot halves.

Sugarless applesauce cake sweetens with raisins, dried fruit, and unsweetened applesauce instead of granulated sugar. A diabetic-friendly bundt cake spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Whole apples wrapped in pastry and baked in cinnamon sugar syrup. Fill cored apples with spiced sugar and butter, wrap in pastry, bake in hot syrup.

Whole rye berry porridge simmered with cinnamon, caraway, and vanilla, finished with plump raisins. A chewy, nutty Scandinavian breakfast topped with ricotta. Slow-cooked comfort in a bowl.

Traditional Scottish potted hough made from slow-simmered beef shin and marrow bones with allspice and bay leaves, set in its own natural jelly.

Swordfish Bolognese swaps ground meat for tender chunks of swordfish simmered in white wine with capers, garlic, and fresh vegetables. Served over buttered noodles, this 30-minute seafood spin on the Italian classic is weeknight gold.

This no-beans chili packs a wallop with 5 pounds of beef and pork, 8 jalapeños, beer, bourbon, and a hit of molasses for smoky depth. Thick, meaty, and built to bring the heat.

Creamy low-fat spread blending apples, dates, cottage cheese, and toasted almonds with cinnamon. Make it in the microwave and food processor for easy entertaining on raisin toast or apple slices.

Traditional Polish cwikla: pickled beets layered with fresh horseradish, whole cloves, and caraway seeds in a tangy vinegar brine. Ready after 24 hours.

San Antonio chicken with a spicy black bean, corn, and picante sauce spooned over cumin-rubbed chicken breasts. A one-skillet Tex-Mex dinner ready in under 30 minutes.