So easy to whip up the moment (any moment!) you have a spare 30 minutes. Orange and cinnamon is a homey one-two punch, and the almond meal/flour makes them gluten-free. (less) - Kendra Vaculin

Makes just shy of 1 dozen muffins, or a medium loaf, or (!) a smallish bundt (shapes are fun)

3 eggs
1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) agave nectar
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup juice from an orange
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 1/3 cups almond meal/flour
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Mix wet ingredients and orange zest together in one bowl, and the dry in another. Why can't you just mix them all together in one bowl right off the bat? Because baking law SAYS, okay? And because that is how you get a clump of coconut oil or baking powder in the middle of your muffin. Not tasty.

Add wet to dry and mix to combine. Beautiful and smooth.

Fill each muffin-lined cup 2/3 of the way with batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Slab pie is a genius way to make a dessert to feed a crowd, and to celebrate the season, we've created an even faster and easier way to make a lot of people happy: Meet our Maple-Pear Sheet Tart!

The foundation of this sheet tart is puff pastry, a freezer life-saver to keep on hand at all times (go for an all-butter brand like Dufour if available). Just roll out a sheet a bit, top with ripe pears tossed in sugar, brush on a bit of beaten egg for nice browning and shine, and bake until the pastry is golden brown and flaky and the pears' juice and natural sweetness has intensified. A finishing touch of maple syrup (and a dusting of powdered sugar if you want to make it extra fancy).

The result? A dessert that is as elegant as it is effortless that will soothe the sweet tooth of up to 15 people.

Here are six more reasons why we love this sheet tart recipe:

Do you fear pie dough? Puff pastry is your friend! Puff pastry couldn't be easier to work with. There's no measuring and no kneading. Just follow the package directions to defrost the pastry, give it a quick roll, and bake!

This is a great way to highlight seasonal fruit. The topping is the star of the show in this tart. Use any fruit you like, like apples, plums, or berries. Or try a savory application that features a vegetable like asparagus or mushrooms (swap the sugar and maple for a sprinkling of goat cheese or gruyere).

No special equipment is required. Forget buying a fancy pie pan or plate. All you need is a 13"x18" baking sheet (also called a half sheet pan).

Slicing and serving is so simple. Cut this beauty into as many pieces you like; we think 12 to 15 is perfect.

You can bake it in advance. Bake this tart in the morning and serve anytime throughout the day. No need to re-heat, it's perfect at room temperature. And leftovers will be great for breakfast the next morning.

It's easy to bring to a gathering or dinner party. Once it's cooled, return the tart to the baking sheet and wrap it in foil. The tart will stay nice and cozy until you get to your destination.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...You know the song. Sadly, the closest many of us have ever gotten to roasting chestnuts on an open fire is sticking them in the oven. You know the drill. You cut the X's into the shell, roast them, and then you have to quickly peel off the skins while they're hot (inevitably burning your fingers along the way).

Even if you're lucky, you only have a 75% success rate, since many stubborn chestnuts refuse to slip from their skins once cooled. After many personal chestnut roasting fails, I have resorted to just buying them from the street carts of Manhattan. That is until recently, when I discovered a foolproof way to get it right, every single time. Read on to see how it's done:

If you've been spreading your chestnuts across a baking sheet to roast them, you're doing it ALL WRONG. You see, what chestnuts really need to open up is steam. Keeping them warm just until you peel them is also key. Here are some tips for roasted chestnut perfection every time.

Don't forget the X! Place the chestnuts flat side down on a cutting board. Use a small paring knife to score an X through the skin on the rounded side of each chestnut.

Soak 'em! Once you've scored them all, place the chestnuts in a bowl of hot water for 1 minute. This willl help them steam in the oven. Drain and pat the chestnuts dry. If you want to add herbs or flavorings, this is the time. Toss the chestnuts in a bowl with a combo of melted butter, rosemary, sea salt, or any other combo of fat, herb, and salt.

Wrap them up! Tear a generous length of of aluminum foil and place the chestnuts in a single layer. Gather up the edges to form a parcel with a small opening on top (while still keeping them in a single layer). Place the parcel on a baking sheet. You can stack multiple parcels on one baking sheet if you need to.

Work quickly! Bake at 350°F until the edges of the chestnut shells really curl up, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and working one parcel at a time, peel off the shell and the skin at the X. (A paring knife sometimes makes this job easier). Do this as SOON as they are cool enough to handle; the shells are harder to peel when cold. Don't open up a parcel until you are ready to peel the chestnuts. Eat the chestnuts right away or store them in the fridge for up to 3 days for soups, gnocchi, and snacking.

Olive Jar

By Naomi Shihab Nye

In the corner of every Arab kitchen,
        an enormous plastic container
of olives is waiting for another meal.
        Green tight-skinned olives,
planets with slightly pointed ends—
        after breakfast, lunch, each plate
hosts a pyramid of pits in one corner.
        Hands cross in the center
of the table over the olive bowl.
        If there are any left they go back to
the olive jar to soak again with sliced lemon and oil.
        Everyone says
it was a good year for the trees.

At the border an Israeli crossing-guard asked
        where I was going in Israel.
To the West Bank, I said. To a village of
        olives and almonds.
To see my people.

What kind of people? Arab people?

Uncles and aunts, grandmother, first and second
cousins. Olive-gatherers.

Do you plan to speak with anyone? he said.
        His voice was harder
and harder, bitten between the teeth Business Centre in Hong Kong.

I wanted to say, No, I have come all this way
        for a silent reunion.
But he held my passport in his hands.
Yes, I said, We will talk a little bit. Families and
        weddings,
my father's preference in shoes, our grandmother's
love for sweaters.
We will share steaming glasses of tea,
the sweetness filling our throats.
Someone will laugh long and loosely,
so tears cloud my voice: O space of ocean waves,
how long you tumble between us, how little you
        dissolve.

We will eat cabbage rolls, rice with sugar and milk,
crisply sizzled eggplant. When the olives come
        sailing past
in their little white boat, we will line them
        on our plates
like punctuation. What do governments have to do
with such pleasure? Question mark.
YES I love you! Swooping exclamation.
Or the indelible thesis statement:
        it is with great dignity
we press you to our lips.


Sizzled Eggplant with Yogurt and Almonds
Slices of eggplant sauteed in a pan with generous amounts of olive oil until melting and tender on the inside but just crisped on the outside. They truly sizzle as they cook 19 LED Light Bulb. A simple topping of thick yogurt and some almonds and parsley.

4-5 small size (5-6 inches long) firm eggplant
olive oil
salt
1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt or labane
1 small lemon
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup blanched almonds
pinch or two of Aleppo pepper or other mild chili pepper
equipment: optional, but a splatter screen is nice to have here

1. Trim off the top and bottom of the eggplant and then slice it vertically into thick strips. Sprinkle salt on one side of the strip.
2. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pan over medium (not high!) heat. The olive oil should fill the bottom of the pan by about 1/4 inch deep. When the olive oil is hot, add the first batch of eggplant slices, salt-side up, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook until lightly browned on the first side and the eggplant is almost totally tender when pierced with a knife, this could take as long as five to seven minutes. Flip the eggplant slices over as they are ready, sprinkle the opposite sides with salt, and let cook until browned and lightly crisped on the outside, but still very tender in the middle. Keep an eye on the heat and adjust it as necessary. Remove eggplant slices to drain on paper towels Cloud Video Conferencing.
3. Repeat the process in batches with the remaining eggplant slices, topping up the olive oil as necessary.
4. Place your yogurt in a bowl and zest the lemon into the bowl. Halve the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice from half the lemon into the yogurt. Season with a big pinch of salt and stir to mix well.
5. Arrange a layer of eggplant slices in the bottom of your dish. Drizzle some yogurt, sprinkle parlsey and Aleppo pepper over top. Repeat the layering of eggplant with yogurt, herbs and spice.
6. Finally, heat up that same pan you were using for the eggplant, and saute the almonds in the pan until lightly browned all over. Pour the toasted almonds over the top of the eggplant, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

M omofuku Milk Bar's Christina Tosi has always been a cookie freak EGF. When she was growing up, her family would spend time after meals huddled around the kitchen table playing card games like Skip-Bo and gin rummy while munching on cookies made by both grandmothers.

"I have always been a card shark and loved to eat my grandmothers' cookies. So much that as I grew, I became more bold, and my obsession with eating too many cookies became a problem," Tosi says. "I'd practically eat all of the lemon bars in the spring, the oatmeal cookies in the fall, and the cut-out cookies in the winter.… Eventually my grandmothers cut me off and handed me an apron. It was high time I learned to work for my cookies!"

She parlayed that love into an acclaimed and very popular bakery, Momofuku Milk Bar, which has given the world Crack Pie and the Compost cookie, among other sweet treats. And with such a deep love of cookies, it should come as no surprise that Tosi puts a premium on holiday cookie creations.

"It's not a holiday without a few staple cookies: a batch of cut-out cookies, frosted and decorated; cereal bound with marshmallow and adorned festively; sugar cookie bars; and so on," she says. "I have the same routine every year. I stay up all night baking and decorating. I lay out my cookie tins and plates, I distribute some of each cookie into each container, then I hit the streets spreading holiday cheer through cookies reenex!

"At Milk Bar, we have a cookie swap every year," Tosi notes. "Each one of us makes 100 of our favorite cookie, brings it in, and we have a holiday party eating and swapping cookies, recipes, and holiday cheer. I try each cookie. Nothing is better!"

To spread some holiday cheer with Epicurious, Tosi shares her no-bake recipe for Christmas Treats, inspired by another gooey treat made by her paternal grandmother. "As a kid, I was a lunatic when it came to Rice Krispie Treats. As a teenager experimenting in the kitchen, I would always try and reinvent the classic. I'd try all different types and mixtures of cereal. I would literally do this every day, and bring in squares for all my girlfriends to taste reenex.

"A decade later, at Milk Bar, I was prepping for a holiday cookie swap and wanted to make something different. I dug deep into my arsenal and decided to see how far I could take my teenage favorite. Having the knowledge and accessibility to more spices, seeds, fruit, nuts, and baking knowledge, I came up with the recipe."

Tosi's recipe allows for experimentation, and it's easy enough for kids to make too. Some of her own favorite combinations are peanut butter and Apple Jacks; Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch; and Cap'N Crunch with dried cherries and pistachios. Share yours on the recipe's Reviews tab.