Pecan

The warm caramel flavors in cola complement the molasses and brown sugar in this cake. The remaining candied kumquats are delicious served over vanilla ice cream. For best results, use Philadelphia-brand cream cheese in the frosting.

Start this a day ahead and freeze overnight. For the crust, blend crumbled vanilla wafer cookies in a processor until crumbs form.

Coconut, lemon rind, and raisins are a bright surprise. "A lot of people buy my cookbook just to get this recipe," says Mrs. Wilkes.

These "cakes" are really festive cookies.

Allowing the batter to chill overnight gives the yeast time for a long, slow rise, which makes the waffles light and crisp and develops their malty flavor. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 9 hr

This rich southern-style pie is great topped with vanilla ice cream.

Tender, moist and quick to put together.

"The last time I was in Texas, where I'm from originally, I had dinner at Zuni Grill on the San Antonio Riverwalk. I felt right at home when I took a bite of the pecans in the clever, southern-style crème brûlée," says Linda M. Dunn of Sparks, Nevada."I'd like to try making it at home." Toasted pecans are sprinkled over the crème brûlée after the sugar is caramelized so that the nuts don't burn. Note that the custards can be prepared two days ahead of time. Caramelize the sugar on top of the custards up to two hours before serving, if you like.

Some people claim that you must be Louisiana-born to master the art of making pralines—those special brown sugar and pecan patties. This cake takes an easier route: The pecans are simply coated in egg white and brown sugar, then roasted.

By doctoring up a purchased brownie mix, Larry came up with a recipe that's always a hit. He claims that people are usually "stunned" at how great-tasting and easy-to-make the brownies are.

At Thanksgiving, rice stuffings are standard on many southern tables. This one, a combination of white rice and wild rice, gets more regional notes from collard greens, pecans and ham.

Sopaipillas are crisp fried breads traditionally topped with honey; cinnamon and sugar are sometimes added to make a great dessert. In this recipe, fried tortillas approximate the texture of true sopaipillas.

The most delectable cinnamon rolls Karen Cabral of San Antonio ever tasted are those at the Pecan St. Bakery & Cafe in Blanco, Texas.

Crepas de Cajeta con Nuez Cajeta (or dulce de leche, as it is known in other Latin American countries) is a thick caramel sauce traditionally made with goat's milk, though cow's milk is also commonly used. If you can't find cajeta, you can substitute dulce de leche, now available in many supermarkets (look for it next to the ice cream sauces). Cajeta is sold at Mexican and Latin American markets.

This cake is actually better when prepared ahead and chilled overnight— it allows the flavors to fully develop and the cake layer to absorb more of the cream. Top the roulade with more cream, pecans, and crystallized ginger just before serving.

Inspired by a spicy-hot snack mixture sold by East Indian markets in the United States, we played around with the "back of the box" recipe for Chex Mix and came up with the following. The sesame sticks called for are often included in cans of mixed nuts, but they are also found, without the nuts, in boxes or the bulk bins at natural foods stores and supermarkets. If you can't find them, substitute additional cereal.