Recipes with sugar

Spectacular French apple dessert with caramelized apples layered in Calvados-soaked brioche, pressed overnight, topped with hot apples for elegant dinner party finale.

Hearty breakfast muffins packed with sharp cheddar, chopped apples, oats, and pecans. Each muffin gets crowned with a cinnamon-sugar dusted apple slice before baking golden brown.

Ma-la cucumber fans with Szechuan peppercorns, chili flakes, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. A numbing-spicy Chinese cold appetizer with an elegant fan cut.

Stunning dessert with homemade tropical sorbet (guava, pineapple, or mango) scooped into crispy handmade cookie tulip cups and topped with fresh fruit.

Lamb, bacon, pineapple and dried California figs threaded onto skewers and glazed with a soy-pineapple-ginger marinade. Broiled until sticky and served over hot rice for a sweet-savory feast.

Crispy chicken chunks coated in water chestnut flour, deep-fried golden, then tossed with roasted peanuts in a spicy sauce of chili paste, dark soy, sesame oil, and Chinese red vinegar. Restaurant-quality kung pao at home.

An easier bread maker bagel recipe; use your bread machine to learn how to make bagels; fresh, warm, soft, and chewy.

Taffy-apple cheesecake pie with caramelized apples, melted caramels, cream cheese filling, and a pecan-chocolate chip crumble. A fall dessert that combines caramel apples and cheesecake in every bite.

Chocolate marbled brownies with a tangy cream cheese swirl baked into a fudgy boxed brownie base, then crowned with warm chocolate frosting. A semi-homemade dessert that tastes anything but.

Whole chicken steamed then wok-smoked over tea leaves, cassia bark, star anise, and rice for deeply aromatic, mahogany-skinned Chinese smoked chicken. A showstopper Hunan technique with layers of warm spice and sesame.

Halva gateau is a Middle Eastern layer cake with semolina-almond sponge, coffee syrup soak, and halva buttercream. Pistachio-topped elegance perfumed with cinnamon.

Delicate crepes spread with strawberry jam and rolled around vanilla whipped cream folded with sliced fresh strawberries. A French-inspired dessert that's on the table in 20 minutes.

Pork tenderloin kabobs marinated in homemade chile barbecue sauce with molasses, jalapeños, and Dijon mustard. Broiled or grilled until juicy. Served with steamed cabbage.

Fudgy brownie-style cookies packed with mint chocolate chips: melted into the batter for intensity and folded in whole for gooey pockets. Soft centers, set edges, total mint chocolate bliss.

No-bake cherry candy rolls coated in gooey caramel and crunchy salted peanuts. Marshmallow and candied cherry fondant sliced into bite-sized holiday treats.

Classic French tarte Tatin with 5 pounds of Golden Delicious apples baked in caramel and topped with flaky puff pastry. A showstopping upside-down dessert worth the effort.