It’s not as traditional as pumpkin pie, or as familiar as apple pie, but I’m going to go ahead and say it: pecan pie is the ideal Thanksgiving dessert. It has deep American roots. It has warm, caramel, nutty flavor. And while it’s fancy enough for a holiday spread, it’s also homey enough to serve […]
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The story of rugelach, the most popular Jewish pastry in America, dates back several hundred years to a Viennese cookie called kipfel (incidentally, also the ancestor of Hungary’s kifli). “Kipfel” means crescent, the cookie’s shape; “rugelach” probably comes from the Yiddish word rog, or corner—so rugelach is “little corners.” Throughout history, as Jews moved they […]
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There are plenty of stories about the origins of panettone, Italy’s most famous Christmas dessert, but the most romantic is this: once upon a time in Milan a poor baker named Antonio had a beautiful daughter who caught the eye of a local nobleman. When Antonio’s bakery was in danger of going out of business, […]
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