Chocolate

Nougat is an egg white, honey and nut confection traditional in the city of Montélimar, in the Rhône Valley. It is one of the 13 sweets offered to churchgoers on Christmas Eve. Start making this impressive dessert at least one day before you plan to serve it, although it can be prepared up to one week ahead.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 3/4 hr (includes cooling)

Ruthie, Sara's chocolate-loving daughter, is a great fan of this recipe. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

Be sure to make this dessert at least one day ahead to allow the flavors to blend.

Susanna Foo, who was born in Mongolia, learned to cook classic Chinese cuisine from relatives. After arriving in the United States, she took a course in French cooking at the Culinary Institute of America. So when she and her husband, E-Hsin Foo, opened Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine in 1987, her menu naturally featured Chinese dishes interpreted with French techniques. Foo emphasizes fresh, locally available ingredients and delicious sauces, and the results of her approach have brought a slew of local and national awards.

The sweet, nutty filling might remind you of a pecan pie — with melted chocolate chips.

Pecan pie dresses up for the holiday. Chocoholics, take note: In addition to the bits of chocolate in the filling, there's cocoa powder in the delicious crust.

If you love peanut butter, these cookies will be It. I created what I believe to be quintessential peanut butter cookies to honor the one hundredth anniversary of peanut butter. They are very peanut buttery yet exceptionally light, with a lovely "sandy" bite. At my husband's urging, I doubled up on the peanut butter and decreased the flour, making the chocolate cookie centers seem like biting into a Reese's peanut butter cup. Chocolate centers blend wonderfully with the peanut flavor, but the bright, tart, sticky cherry centers, are my first choice.

Chill the pie for at least six hours before serving — or make it up to two days ahead.

Debra says this very American made-from-scratch cake, which is truly fast and easy, always gets rave reviews from kids and their parents in Paris.

This dessert is a dense and rich chocolate mousse-like cake chilled in a mold.

Carole McCallum, Sammamish, Wash.
"Instead of Kahlúa, try Grand Marnier, crème de cacao, or another liqueur. For a festive touch, add green or red sprinkles."

These classic cookies, known in Italy as baci di dama ("lady's kisses") taste great with espresso. This recipe, by chef Carla Tomasi of the "Tasting Places" cooking course in Tuscany and other regions of Italy, uses hazelnuts instead of the more traditional almonds. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Jennifer Larson of Beirut, Lebanon, writes: "I had a fabulous lunch at Rosa Mexicano in New York. The warm chocolate cake with sweet tomatillo sauce really stood out. Can you get the recipe?" Chocolate labels can be confusing because there's no official distinction between semisweet and bittersweet. We tested this recipe using Valrhona (56%), which is labeled semisweet, Ghirardelli Bittersweet, and Lindt Bittersweet. We got the best result using Valrhona (56%), but if Valrhona is not available, we recommend Ghirardelli Bittersweet over Lindt Bittersweet for this recipe.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

These truffles must be kept in the refrigerator and, in fact, are best eaten chilled.

This cake and custard sauce can also be made ahead. Both should come out of the refrigerator, to take the chill off, when the first course is served. The accompanying caramelized pears, which require not more than a few minutes to sauté, make a welcome addition to the cool custard sauce and moist cake.

In my New York shop, this recipe calls for a trio of chocolate mousses, white, milk, and dark. But in order to simplify — and to give milk chocolate a chance to shine — I have eliminated the white chocolate mousse. It is a simple layer cake consisting of chocolate génoise and the mousses.