31 Recipes to Make in December

"Be sure to serve the lobsters on a warmed large platter so the beurre blanc stays hot," Food & Wine's Mary-Frances Heck writes. " I love to line the platter with hot cooked linguine before topping it with the roasted lobsters and lemony sauce."

The peppermint bark in these cookies is simple to make and adds a beautiful pop of color and flavor in each cookie, though store-bought bark will work well here, too.

This nearly effortless brisket gets a festive garnet glaze from cranberries; their tart sweetness cuts through the super-savory onion soup mix and hearty brisket with ease. Double-roasting the brisket yields incredibly tender meat that soaks up the concentrated sauce.

Inspired by old-school 7-UP sherbet punch, this grown-up version is spiked with piney gin, tart lemon sorbet, and a generous splash of fizzy Champagne. This punch is only as good as the Champagne you use, so splurge for the good stuff!

Wrapped in salty speck and glazed with date molasses, these bundles of crisp, tender haricots verts are the perfect pairing for beef or duck. Date molasses is thinner than standard molasses, so it needs to be cooked down to reach a glaze consistency; if it sets up too much, gently reheat it.

Hebrew for "doughnuts," sufganiyot are the most popular Hanukkah food in Israel. These fried treats are simply made from balls of yeast dough and filled with chocolate, creams, curd or, as here, jam. Bakeries and markets start frying them weeks before the actual holiday and keep going until the week after. With Andrew Zimmern's recipe, you can prepare them year-round.

This crispy, crackly pork rib roast, from butcher Erika Nakamura, is flavored with just one ingredient: kosher salt.

A mix of young chicories, like endive, frisée, and radicchio, make for a blast of color welcome during colder months. If kumquats are unavailable, use paper-thin slices of unpeeled clementines.

Angie Mar models her roast duck on the one her father made every Christmas. After a prolonged salt cure, he'd cold-smoke it so the fat picked up the whiff of sweet smoke. Then he'd slow-roast the bird until it resembled the crisp-skinned, mahogany-hued ducks that hang in the windows in Chinatown. Mar serves hers with a rich sauce of reduced duck broth and tart cherries as a nod to the cherry trees in the Pacific Northwest where she grew up.

Inspired by her mother's fried eggplant salad, Reem Kassis tops fried cauliflower with toasted nuts, pomegranate arils, and lemon-and-garlic-laced yogurt.

For Ashkenazi Jews (those hailing from Central and Eastern Europe), latkes are the heart and soul of Hanukkah. Instead of frying batches of traditional pancakes, here the whole lot of shredded potato batter is pressed into a sizzling frying pan and finished in the oven. The oversized pancake emerges golden with a tender center and crackly shoestring curls around the perimeter. To amp this dish up for brunch, serve it topped with lox.

German for "cheeky boys," these Bavarian cookies will be the star of your holiday cookie platter. Brown butter and cardamom make this simple cookie into a fragrant treat. Take the time to freshly grind the cardamom—its robust, citrusy flavor is worth it. You can use round or fluted cutters to cut out the cookies and any shape that takes your fancy for the center.

Once the centerpiece on the tables of czars, coulibiac has a storied past. The pastry-wrapped parcel of fish and various layered fillings started its life as kulebyaka, a Russian delicacy, before being commandeered by the French and rechristened coulibiac. This modern update on the classic swaps labor-intensive brioche with store-bought phyllo, which bakes into an ethereally crisp parcel that encases lemony rice, mustard-brushed salmon, pickled beets, and garlicky kale.

This filling appetizer stars curry-and honey-roasted carrots wrapped in flaky puff pastry. For best results, look for carrots that are five to six inches in length. Pre-roasting carrots with curry and thyme balances their natural sweetness with rich, savory flavor, making them a satisfying stand-in for sausages.

A mix of five different alliums—shallots, scallions, and sweet, yellow, and red onions—upgrades this classic caramelized onion dip with layers of flavor.

Paola Briseño González roasts oyster mushrooms, concentrating their flavor, for a hearty vegetarian tamale filling. Paired with velvety, intensely aromatic, and deeply savory peanut mole, or mole encacahuatado, these tamales satisfy everyone at the table.

For this party snack, meaty bites of slow-roasted slab bacon are tossed with a homemade chile crisp that's studded with freshly toasted chunks of dried chiles, fresh ginger, and garlic. Native to Mexico, slender and spicy dried Japones chiles lend their heat to this quick and easy version of the popular Chinese condiment. For an even easier version, try this recipe with your favorite store-bought version of chile crisp.

Bright orange kumquats give these gorgeous gummies their all-natural sunny glow and a puckery, sweet-and-sour flavor. To play up the tartness, a citric acid coating adds a burst of sour flavor and a craveable quality.

"The best way to cook with truffles is as simply as possible," says chef Karen Akunowicz, of the Northern Italian restaurant Fox & the Knife in Boston. Bold in scent and flavor, black winter truffles require very little coaxing to lend their heady punch to a dish, though Akunowicz does recommend using a bit of gentle heat, which helps develop and release their deepest flavor, as in this elegant-yet-hearty dish, which pairs creamy butter, nutty farro pasta, and a fortifying mix of wild mushrooms with just enough truffle to elevate each forkful.

At her restaurant Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ji Hye Kim, a 2021 F&W Best New Chef, tosses deep-fried crispy tofu in a flavorful salty-sweet brown sugar glaze amped up with a handful of powerhouse ingredients, including Korean soy sauce (made exclusively from fermented soy beans), gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes) and ginger. For a shorter day-of cook time, make the sauce and the cornstarch-dusted tofu up to a day ahead, and store in the refrigerator; warm up the sauce and fry the tofu just before serving. Garnished with sesame seeds and scallions, the glazed fried tofu is a festive appetizer or can be paired with kimchi and rice for a vegetarian meal.

Food & Wine editor Melanie Hansche's mother taught her how to make this Bavarian potato salad when she was a tween. The dressing is made with a base of hot chicken stock and vinegar, and it's punched up with tangy cornichons, onion, grainy mustard, dill, and crispy bacon bits. It's important to peel the potatoes and slice them while still hot, then pour the hot dressing over the warm potatoes. This enables the waxy fingerlings to really soak up the liquid while also holding their shape. The salad is best served at room temperature.

Blanched and toasted almond pieces bring a lovely crunch to these crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Greek Christmas cookies. Some versions of kourampiedes add orange zest, but League of Kitchens Greek cooking instructor Despina Economou, who shared this recipe, prefers the simple flavors of butter, sugar, almonds, and vanilla. This recipe can easily be doubled.

This 24-layered pasta masterpiece from Danielle Glantz, chef and owner of Pastaio Via Corta, a pasta shop in Gloucester, Massachusetts, consists of a hearty mushroom ragù made with both dried and fresh mushrooms; a creamy, onion-infused béchamel; and salty slices of prosciutto cotto, layered between handmade sheets of pasta. "The pasta sheets are like silk—it's something special to share with the people you care about most," says Glantz, who likes to spread this project recipe out rather than making everything at once. "I suggest spacing out the recipe over a couple days. Make the ragù, then make the béchamel, and the morning of, make the pasta."

This crunchy party appetizer from 2021 F&W Best New Chef Lucas Sin, of Junzi Kitchen and Nice Day in New York City, is inspired by classic Chinese shrimp toast. Here, Sin combines calamari and shrimp for the toast topper; a quick blitz in the food processor yields a tasty mixture that fries up perfectly crisp. Haw flakes, Chinese sweets made from the fruit of Chinese hawthorn, are a sweet and tangy snack usually served to guests with tea or as a treat for children; in this recipe, Sin uses them to flavor a dipping sauce for the toasts.

Melanie Hansche really disliked sauerkraut growing up, but sweeter, milder "rotkohl" she could get on board with. This sweet-and-sour, traditional Bavarian braised red cabbage is always served with goose, duck, or pork. To make it, the cabbage is gently braised with tart apple, smoky bacon, orange zest, and spices. You can make the braised cabbage one day ahead and refrigerate it overnight; reheat on low to serve. Remove any thick, white ribs when shredding the cabbage so the dish cooks evenly.

Jeanette Chawki, a Lebanese cooking instructor with the League of Kitchens, over the years has developed several of her own original recipes. Her Ka'ak Bi Tamer (Cinnamon-Date Paste–Filled Cookies), flaky sweets filled with rich, nutmeg- and cinnamon-spiced date paste and topped with nigella seeds (normally found in savory goods), were inspired by a trip to her local Middle Eastern market. Be sure to let the dough rest to give the flour a chance to hydrate to prevent it from crumbling when rolling it out. These are best on the day they're made, and they're the perfect treat to have with a strong cup of Lebanese coffee.

Coquito, or "little coconut," is a traditional creamy rum punch served in Puerto Rico for Christmas and throughout the winter holidays. While some cookbook recipes refer to the drink as coconut eggnog, each family puts their own twist on the drink: Some include eggs or egg yolks, others do not. Shamil Velázquez, the executive chef of Delaney Oyster House in Charleston, stands firmly in the no-egg camp. Velázquez's coquito recipe takes its richness and viscosity instead from coconut cream and three types of milk, while warming spices and white rum add aroma and flavor. In Puerto Rico, some families use pistachios, almonds, and even Nutella to flavor their proprietary blends. "People get crazy with this stuff around the island," Velázquez says. "My family's signature is the ginger, which gives a little spiciness. That's what makes ours different."

This tender, flaky oven-roasted Chilean sea bass is the headliner on musician Patrice Rushen's holiday table. To make it, Rushen bakes butter-rubbed fillets in a citrus-forward mixture of freshly juiced oranges, ponzu, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, which infuses the fish with a lovely flavor without overwhelming it. Seek out Chilean sea bass with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification label to ensure it was caught sustainably, or substitute salmon or halibut, which are also good choices for this preparation. Timing will vary depending on thickness of your fish; for thinner fillets, begin checking fish after about 12 minutes into the cooking time.

This chestnut pavlova recipe is fabulously festive: an exuberant, rich, and luxurious treat for the holidays. The meringue base is crisp on the outside with a soft marshmallowy interior, topped with sweetened chestnut puree (sometimes labeled "chestnut spread;" seek out Clement Faugier brand) followed by swaths of softly whipped cream and splinters of bitter chocolate.

At the Brooklyn brasserie Francie, John Winterman and Christopher Cipollone offer this cozy side dish of pureed parsnips. To make it, naturally sweet parsnips are simmered in bay leaf–infused cream until very tender, then pureed in a blender until they take on a silky, mashed potato–like texture. A garnish of diced green apples adds tart, mouthwatering acidity and refreshing crunch, while a generous drizzle of brown butter lends a pleasant richness. At Francie, the parsnip puree is served alongside duck, but it would also be a terrific partner for roast turkey or chicken.

Matcha powder adds festive color to these crisp butter cookies from Aiko Cascio, a Japanese cooking instructor with the League of Kitchens in New York City. Cascio learned how to make these not-too-sweet matcha tea–flavored cookies from a friend who owns a bakery in Tokyo, where they are popular during the winter holiday season. Matcha powder is made from finely milled green tea leaves and imparts a slightly bitter and earthy flavor to these cookies, and melted white chocolate boosts the sweetness and gives them a festive look. Due to the high ratio of butter in the dough, it softens quickly at room temperature; chill it in between rolling and cutting for clean cuts.