Liqueur

Louise Pickerel of Muskogee, Oklahoma, writes: "The hot chocolate with coffee and hazelnut liqueurs here is my version of a restaurant recipe. I call it a "chocolate bar," and it does make a nice, lighter alternative to dessert after a filling meal. It's also something good to curl up with in front of the fire." Warming and full of holiday cheer.

Freezing the watermelon and strawberries before mixing the drink eliminates the need for ice  — and allows the fruit flavors to retain their full intensity.

Set up an assembly line to make six or so of these lovely cocktails at a time: Fill each glass with the liqueurs, then top with Champagne. Flutes are elegant but not essential.

For soft and chewy cookies, bake these just a couple of minutes less than the recipe directs.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A flavorful filling in an elegant dessert.

"As a kid, I'd accompany my mother to her job at the racetrack, where she would lead the horses out to the starting gate," writes Michael Hunter of Studio City, California. "Eventually I was helping out in the stalls, and when I got older, I became a jockey. My mother was also the person who, in a roundabout way, inspired my other passion: cooking. I'd come home from school, and she would have prepared something from a box or can. I didn't always like what was on the dinner table, so one day I asked her to buy me a cookbook. Pretty soon I was making dinner for us almost every night. Now, after seventeen years of racing horses and cooking for family and friends, I'm making the jump to professional cooking."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

To make the very thin layers for this torte, the batter is spread on inverted cake pans. It is important that the batter be spread evenly and that the layers not be overbaked. (Do not use dark metal or non-stick pans.)

An easy sparkling wine cocktail, made with a touch of black currant liqueur.

A thick layer of pure white chocolate truffle separates the amaretto-brushed layers, and a bit more truffle filling is used to flavor the whipped cream icing.

Gianduia, a ground hazelnut and chocolate confection from the Piedmont, inspired this spectacular terrine.