Brandy

Creamy, nutmeg-spiced eggnog is one of my favorite holiday indulgences, and has been since I was a child. Now I’ve turned my favorite holiday cheer into a compelling ice cream.

Cognac gets stirred with tangy Champagne vinegar, sweet maple syrup, and aromatic vanilla extract for a cocktail that’s silky and potent, perfect for serving after a meal.

For most drinkers of a certain age, Jägermeister is the unofficial source of many bad decisions. But here it acts as the base of a bone-warming drink that combines the herbal notes of the liqueur with apple brandy for a decidedly adult way to fortify oneself after a day out in the cold.

While brandy is the traditional partner for fruit cake, you could also try using a dessert sherry such as Pedro Ximénez. It’s an intensely sweet, dark sherry made from the Spanish grape variety of the same name. Perfect in festive cakes, puddings and custards, you can find it in liquor stores.

Fresh grapefruit, lime, and lemon juices balance the sweetness of this bubbly punch.

This is a dessert you'll make over and over in the fall when interesting apples fill the farmers’ market; but the Calvados sauce ensures it even makes out-of-season apples sing.

This is not your grandma’s beef stroganoff. We updated our favorite parts of the classic by swapping in a medium-rare strip steak and adding a squeeze of lemon and sprinkling of dill for a fresh take on dinner.

If you're the type who prefers desserts that go heavy on the fruit, this apple tart's for you.

Meet your new favorite show-stopping Christmas dessert: a spiced chocolate cake topped with a cream cheese mousse studded with dried fruit and nuts and glazed with brandy-spiked melted chocolate. Serve it with sparklers on top for a memorable entrance.

Vanilla-infused brown butter adds nuttiness to tender pears beneath a crisp almond topping.

This dish teaches a very important lesson: The texture of well-prepared eggs can be enhanced by adding complementary textural ingredients.

At Moneygun in Chicago, they make this hot toddy in a French press. It's the perfect answer to what to drink on a chilly night.

Saturated with brandy, cream, and raspberry purée, dried Italian-style savoiardi get the French treatment here.

Mint julep + bubbly? This cocktail recipe combines the two delicious classics and is the ultimate way to celebrate.

Turn this punch recipe up a notch with a decorative ice ring.

This pared-down mulled wine recipe is great for impromptu entertaining this weekend.

This has become a Staplehouse all-star. We simplified it a bit, setting it in jars rather than the buttery pastry crust it’s served in at the restaurant. Don’t worry: We didn’t mess with the shamelessly high ratio of butter and cream to liver.

Layer maraschino liqueur–soaked sweet cherries with a tangy yogurt cream and chewy meringue cookies for a dessert that tastes both heart-warmingly retro and totally modern.

Cognac, cream, curry powder, and clarified butter all combine to make an intoxicating sauce for this heritage recipe for pan-seared ham steaks.

For those times when you buy as many quarts of berries as you can carry, then don’t know what to do with them, preserve them into drinkable form.