When Ian Knauer's wife Malaika showed up with 80 pounds of eggplant from their farm, he wondered if, steamed and blended, it could work its way into a chocolate cake. “Applesauce cake was what got me thinking that it could work,” Ian told me. Somehow the moisture from eggplant also makes the cakes incredibly forgiving. Not feeling honey? (Or going vegan?) Use the same amount of regular sugar, maple, or golden syrup (and the classic ground flax egg substitute trick, if eggs are also a no-go). Feeding someone gluten-free? Skip the tablespoon of flour—the batter will look a little wonkier along the way, but it will work. Adapted slightly from The Farm Cooking School (Burgess Lea Press, 2017) by Ian Knauer & Shelley Wiseman.

Regular sugar cookies are already pretty easy to make, but this version is even simpler. No chilling, rolling, or cutting. Instead, spread the sticky, butter-rich dough in a big non-stick baking pan and pop it into the oven. Not only does it result in a soft, almost blondie-like texture, but it’ll save you time. You can bake two dozen bars on just one tray!

There's nothing cozier—or easier to pull off—than sheet-pan mac and cheese. It's perfectly creamy and crunchy, lacking in any superfluous bits. And when pumpkin and brown butter join the party, well, it's unstoppable. This recipe draws inspiration from Amanda Hesser's Baking Sheet Macaroni and Cheese, which I've made approximately one million times each winter since it was published in 2010. Think of this fall-flavor-forward version as a flexible blueprint: play around with cheese-type, and scale up (or down) the pumpkin to your taste. Toss in caramelized shallots, or chunks of roasted pumpkin or squash if you please. Panko can be swapped out for other breadcrumbs, or jazzed up with a pinch of cayenne. No matter what path you take, just be sure to go back for seconds.

Beef simmered in a tangy-sweet sauce with peppers and pineapple. A delicious twist on a takeout favorite.

Party-style) and we'd dress in studded pant suits to really double down on our name. Our concerts would sell out immediately—so long as we kept it under wraps that I was lip-syncing—each time tickets went on sale, because *everybody loves the crispy bits.* And for good reason. Crispy bits are textural and flavor magic. This sheet-pan rice, inspired by fried rice, places crispy bits front and center thanks to a generous spatial distribution and high oven heat. Use any leftover grain you have, and mix-and-match the add-ins to your liking.

The pairing of red lentils and quinoa is perfect for a plant-based, protein-packed risotto. The lentils cook quickly and lose their shape, adding to the creaminess of the dish, while the quinoa provides a pleasantly nutty flavor and bite. Quick and low-maintenance, this is also a cheat’s risotto with less ladling and stirring than traditional versions.

Tender beef cooked in au jus, served on rolls with melted cheese. Dip into the juices for a classic sandwich experience.

Ribs slow-cooked with a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. Fall-off-the-bone good and perfect for casual gatherings.

When I was young, my mother made lots of different kinds of cookies in the weeks leading up to Christmas. These "snowflakes" (which technically aren't really cookies, but no matter) were among my favorites because they were simple enough that my sister and I could actually help my mother make them. We often filled tins with these to take to our teachers before school let out for Christmas vacation. I've never been a huge fan of the bland sweetness of white chocolate, but when it's combined with something salty—like pretzels, or the salted peanuts in these snowflakes—I can be swayed. Really, these snowflakes are just Rice Krispies treats for grownups. Of course, if you don't like white chocolate, or Rice Krispies, you can experiment with milk or dark chocolate or use different types of cereal (I think Cheerios would be pretty good). Best of all, the snowflakes take all of 15 minutes to make, leaving you with plenty of time to write cards or wrap presents or do whatever else you don't have enough time to do.