Classic Homemade Caramel Apples
Tart apples dipped in a soft, chewy caramel cooked from scratch, with an optional roll in toasted peanuts.
The festival calendar
Autumn 2026, in the order it arrives. Each celebration comes with recipes that are traditional, tested and realistic to make at home.
Sat, Oct 31, 2026
Halloween
Trick-or-treat night calls for sweets you can hold in one hand: sticky caramel apples, a big bowl of caramel corn and something warm for the walk home.
Sat, Oct 31
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Oven-Baked Salted Caramel Popcorn
Crunchy, shatter-crisp caramel corn baked low and slow, finished with flaky salt. Perfect for movie night on October 31.
Sun, Nov 1 to Mon, Nov 2, 2026
Día de Muertos
Families build ofrendas to welcome loved ones home. Sweet orange-scented pan de muerto and spiced café de olla are two of the most common things placed on the altar and shared afterward.
Sun, Nov 1 to Mon, Nov 2
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Pan de Muerto (Orange Blossom Bread of the Dead)
Soft, buttery egg bread scented with orange zest and orange blossom water, topped with dough 'bones' and rolled in sugar.
Café de Olla (Mexican Spiced Coffee)
Coffee simmered with canela, piloncillo, cloves and orange peel. Warm, gently sweet and the classic partner for pan de muerto.
Sun, Nov 8, 2026
Diwali
The festival of lights is a festival of sweets too. Boxes of mithai go to neighbors and friends, and there is always a pot of chai and a tray of something fried for guests who drop by.
Sun, Nov 8
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Soft Gulab Jamun with Rose-Cardamom Syrup
Milk-powder dumplings fried slowly until deep golden, then soaked in warm syrup with cardamom, saffron and rose water.
Besan Ladoo (Roasted Gram Flour Sweets)
Nutty chickpea flour slowly roasted in ghee, sweetened and shaped into melt-in-the-mouth rounds with cardamom and pistachio.
Crisp Punjabi Aloo Samosas
Flaky, blister-free pastry shells stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas. The savory counterpoint to a table full of Diwali sweets.
Stovetop Masala Chai
Strong black tea simmered with milk, fresh ginger and whole spices. The drink that fuels every Diwali visit and every cold autumn morning.
Thu, Nov 26, 2026
Thanksgiving
The biggest cooking day of the American year. Our plan: a dry-brined herb turkey you can prep days ahead, and a pumpkin pie with a crisp, par-baked crust.
Thu, Nov 26
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Dry-Brined Herb Butter Roast Turkey
A salt-rubbed turkey rested in the fridge for up to three days, roasted under sage, thyme and lemon butter for crisp skin and juicy meat.
Classic Pumpkin Pie with All-Butter Crust
Silky spiced custard in a flaky crust that stays crisp, thanks to a quick par-bake before the filling goes in.
All season
Fall harvest
Squash, apples and warm spices are at their best from late September through November. These are the everyday recipes we cook between the holidays.
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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Sage
Oven-roasted squash, onion and garlic blended with stock into a velvety soup, finished with sage fried in brown butter.
Cinnamon Pecan Baked Apples
Whole apples stuffed with a buttery oat, pecan and brown sugar filling and baked in cider until tender. A weeknight dessert that tastes like apple pie.