Nut

Drizzle this fragrant honey over your favorite cheese, or use it as a condiment on prosciutto panini.

Upgrade the old-school party staple with this colorful 2011 mix. It can be made up to 1 week ahead.

Press this festive and chewy nougat between 2 sheets of edible rice paper to create a polished look.

We like the rich flavor and look of Marcona almonds in this bark, but roasted almonds work nicely, too.

Candied orange peel is the star of this granola.

Serve these fragrantly spiced classics with coffee or tea.

You'll be cackling with delight as you roll bread dough into these shockingly realistic gnarled fingers. Turn them into the centerpiece of a Halloween party.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. This recipe is loosely adapted from an old Martha Stewart recipe. If you can't find blanched hazelnuts, toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in the middle of a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or just until the skins start to blister, then wrap them in a kitchen towel, and let steam for 1 minute. Rub the nuts in the towel to loosen and remove the skins.

Chef Graham Elliot, of restaurants Graham Elliot and Grahamwich in Chicago, shared this recipe as part of a Tree-Trimming Party Menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. Here's a salad that puts a twist on classic holiday flavors. Homemade smoked marzipan mingles with crisp prosciutto and caramelized figs on arugula dotted with a ricotta cream. If your ricotta is on the wet side, see our instructions for how to drain it, an important step before making the cream. The marzipan can be made up to five days in advance.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. This is loosely adapted from an old recipe that originally appeared in The New York Times. It calls for vanilla sugar, a blend of confectioners' sugar and the seeds from a vanilla bean. The mixture keeps indefinitely and is wonderful sprinkled over French toast or berries.

Chef Graham Elliot, of restaurants Graham Elliot and Grahamwich in Chicago, shared this recipe as part of a Tree-Trimming Party Menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. Inspired by the spiced snacks served at German Christmas markets, this popcorn combines the sweetness of caramel with savory, salty nuts. The caramel sets quickly, so have all your ingredients and tools ready to go, and try to work as quickly as possible. If you're strapped for time, you can use microwave popcorn or even store-bought.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. Making pralines always involves a bit of trial and error, as sugar is finicky. Some people swear that these treats will set up only on a cool, dry day, while others have had success no matter what the temperature. Be sure to have all your ingredients measured and at the ready as the sugar mixture's temperature fluctuates rather quickly, so you'll need to be prepared for each step. Ask a friend to help scoop the hot mixture onto wax paper as you keep stirring the pot. For a more pronounced molasses flavor, substitute brown sugar for 1 cup of the white variety.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. This is a classic old-school Christmas recipe from my grandmother, Ethel Hughes Johnston, which uses candied fruit and coconut. If you can't find green candied cherries, you can get by with just red ones. They'll still look festive.

Here we go back to New Orleans again, with Bourbon Street flair. Southern bourbon-soaked brioche bread makes a hearty Creole-style dessert.

After sampling hundreds of brownies in the Gourmet magazine test kitchens, along with baking countless more at home (my first was from the cult classic Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls), I feel qualified to declare my pride in this brownie. It's old-fashioned in its use of unsweetened chocolate, yet the addition of cocoa takes it to the deeper, darker chocolate place we crave these days. Not everyone loves nuts in their brownie, but without them, brownies seem more like dense squares of chocolate cake. When you do the done test, the toothpick comes out clean—no dilemmas over the moistness of the crumbs clinging to the pick—yet when you cut the brownies into pieces, you'll slice through the requisite thin crust to reveal super-moist and fudgy goodness. Editors' Note: Kemp Minifie reimagined the foil tray frozen dinner for Gourmet Live. Her updated menu includes: meatloaf made from grass-fed beef, scalloped potatoes, lemony green veggies, and your new favorite brownies for dessert.

Lo uses saikyo white miso, a very mild and slightly sweet soybean paste, but any white miso works well in this sweet-and-spicy dish. The brightly flavored sauce makes a great dressing on simply prepared seasonal vegetables. Scallops would also be a good choice.

The big flavors of Mark Overbay's artisanal Big Spoon Roasters nut butters inspired his partner, Megan Lynam, to create this instant favorite. The complex nuttiness comes from the addition of ground pecans to the mix.

Cooking times for wild rice vary from brand to brand by as much as 30 minutes. We recommend using Grey Owl Canadian Lake (greyowlwildrice.com).

Slice the red beets last and keep them separate until serving so their color won't bleed onto the other vegetables.

This rustic tart, filled with toasted pistachios, hazelnuts, and pine nuts, is a wonderful take on pecan pie.