The first place win went to a baker with the screen name Aliwaks, who created The Walnut Variation: A Cake. A sophisticated confection layered with meringue, whipped cream and flavored with maple syrup, vanilla and plenty of crunchy walnuts, this is a cake for a gourmet cake lover—or for a holiday party or other special occasion.

Says Aliwaks, “Recently, I discovered The World’s Best Cake—a lovely vanilla affair with whipped cream, meringue and almonds. Ever since I made this soft, chewy, crisp, crunchy, and billowy cake, I’ve been pondering variations on the theme. This is the Walnut Variation: coffee-flavored cake, cinnamon meringue, toasted walnuts, and maple vanilla whipped cream.”

Ingredients For 1 Cake/16 Servings

The night before:

1. SEPARATE the eggs and let the egg whites sit on the counter overnight, covered with a clean cloth.

2. POUR the cream into a saucepan. Split and scrape a vanilla bean into the cream and heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and let cool. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight.

The next day:

3. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 12-inch cake pan with buttered parchment. (Alternatively, you can prepare two 9-inch round cake pans.)

4. CREAM the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until creamy and fluffy—about 3 to 4 minutes.

Walnuts have more health benefits than other nuts. Photo courtesy BakeYourDay.net.

6. WHISK together the egg yolks and milk. Add to batter in 3 increments, incorporating fully each time. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

7. WIPE down they bowl and whisk attachment with vinegar. In a clean mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the sugar and cinnamon and whip to soft peaks.

8. SPREAD the meringue over the cake batter, cover with toasted walnuts and bake 35-40 minutes, until the meringue is crackly. Let cake cool completely. Meanwhile…

9. REMOVE the vanilla bean from the cream. Add the maple syrup and whip the cream to soft peaks.

10. CUT the cake in half and place one half on a cake plate, meringue side up. Cover with whipped cream. Top with remaining half, meringue side up. You will end up with a 2-layer square cake from your single- layer rectangular cake. (If you’re doing this in two round cake pans, just top one with the other.) Let sit 1-2 hours.

To go completely over-the-top, serve with a dark chocolate sauce punched up with a few dashes of walnut bitters.
  

They’re also organic, whole grain, non GMO and OU kosher, and there’s a gift set you can send to anyone seeking to eliminate or cut back on gluten ($36.87 includes free shipping).

The gift box includes the brand’s top selling cracker flavors plus serving accoutrements:

Here’s some food fun for the holiday season—especially when you receive a gift tin of gourmet pecan halves!

Not only does this cranberry cheese ball make an impression on the appetizer buffet, but it’s easy enough that you can let older children put it together as their contribution.

The recipe is courtesy Sonia, who writes as The Healthy Foodie.

She also does a version that looks like a pineapple.

The day before, gather some pine branches to wash and dry.

Why the day before? You don’t want the strong scent of fresh-cut pine wafting over the food.

Then, get ready to make your pine cone cheese ball!
 
 
RECIPE: CRANBERRY-PECAN “PINE CONE” CHEESE BALL

Ingredients

[2] Pecans in and out of the shell (photo © American Pecan Council).

1. WHIP the cream cheese and sour cream using an electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Use medium speed until well incorporated—smooth and creamy in texture—about 2-3 minutes. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients and continue mixing on low speed until well combined, about 30-45 seconds.

2. TURN the mixture onto a serving plate and shape into a teardrop. Cover with a plastic wrap and, ideally, refrigerate until the next day. This will allow the flavors to fully develop.

3. WAIT until the last minute to cover with the pecans to avoid them going soft. Take the cream cheese “ball” out of the fridge about an hour before you are ready to start laying on the pecans. Pecans will stick better to cheese that is closer to room temperature.

5. DECORATE the serving dish with a few pine branches and serve with the crackers or bread.
 
 
> MORE CHEESE BALL RECIPES
 
 
  

The recipe is from Pepperidge Farm, which uses its Cinnamon Swirl Bread; but if you can’t find it, you can use any cinnamon or cinnamon-raisin loaf.

Prep time is 15 minutes, chill time is 1 hour or overnight. Bake time is 45 minutes, so if you do the prep and chill in advance, all you have to do is wake up and preheat the oven.

RECIPE: BAKED FRENCH SWIRL TOAST

Ingredients for 8 Servings

Baked French toast is like bread pudding. Photo courtesy Pepperidge Farm.

We love all the Pepperidge Farm swirl breads. Photo courtesy Pepperidge Farms.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Place the bread cubes and cranberries into a lightly greased 3-quart shallow baking dish.

2. BEAT the eggs, half-and-half and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with a fork or whisk. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes. Stir and press the bread cubes into the egg mixture to coat. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

3. BAKE for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Serve with the butter and syrup.
 
IS FRENCH TOAST FRENCH?

Nope! Here’s the history of French Toast.

Beyond all the open face turkey sandwiches with gravy, triple decker sandwiches and panini are:

 
But our favorite is a turkey, cranberry and stuffing wrap. Just spread cream cheese, mayo (especially chipotle mayo) or leftover dip on a tortilla, pile on the leftovers, roll and eat.

You can do the same with lettuce wraps. Variations on a theme:

Spread out a wrap and pile on the turkey and fixings. Photo courtesy SheWearsManyHats.com.

“A flat wrap allows you to incorporate more ingredients without the mess,” he says. “Everything from side dishes to sauces can be used to create a Thanksgiving-themed wrap.”

Here are Chef Leo’s top ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers in a wrap: