Just Dessert

We're big on desserts by pastry chef Pichet Ong (and we won't turn down his style advice, either). His recipe for snickerdoodles is perfect when the urge to bake holiday cookies strikes. No fussy chopping of nuts or fine grating of chocolate, no salted goat milk caramel. Just crisp, chewy, cinnamon-sugar cookies you might want to bake by the double-batch.

Some people say it’s hard for fruit-based desserts to hit that pleasure spot in the same way a cake or pudding can, but honestly these poached pears with this syrupy brambley sauces are really heavenly, and actually very convenient for something like a dinner party. Plus, the brambles look like little jewels on the platter so you’ll earn points for presentation, which is never a bad thing.

My parents' house in El Paso had four fruit trees in the backyard—apple, apricot, peach and membrillo (quince). Mi mama  sat for hours peeling piles of apples and then she would make warm apple pies and empanadas. I have simplified the recipe to avoid cooking the apples first, and they come out just as tasty as mama’s.