Pastries

Pastéis de Nata These tarts are best when baked in 1/3-cup muffin cups. However, since many manufacturers have increased the size of their standard tins, we also tested the tarts in 1/2-cup muffin cups. In those cups, the pastry dough doesn't reach the tops, resulting in rather squat tarts.

Poppy seeds have a tendency to go rancid quickly, so be sure to use a fresh jar (and refrigerate or freeze it afterwards).

Great with eggs, chili, soup or stew.

Sarabeth Levine makes her scones at Sarabeth's in New York, with only one tablespoon of sugar, so they aren't oversweet. The dough is very sticky, but resist the temptation to knead in more flour — the stickiness means the scones will be tender. Partner them with jam or whipped cream for a real treat.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(FINANCIERS) The little rectangular almond cakes known as financiers are sold in many of the best pastry shops in Paris. Perfect financiers are about as addictive as chocolate, and I'd walk a mile or two for a good one. The finest have a firm, crusty exterior and a moist, almondy interior, tasting almost as if they were filled with almond paste. Next to the madeleine, the financier is probably the most popular little French cake, common street food for morning or afternoon snacking. The cake's name probably comes from the fact that a financier resembles a solid gold brick. Curiously, as popular as they are, financiers seldom appear in recipe books or in French literature. The secret to a good financier is in the baking: For a good crust, they must begin baking in a very hot oven. Then the temperature is reduced to keep the interior moist. Placing the molds on a thick baking sheet while they are in the oven is an important baking hint from the Left Bank pastry chef Jean-Luc Poujauran, who worked for months to perfect his financiers, which are among the best in Paris. The special tin financier molds, each measuring 2 x 4-inches (5 x 10-cm), can be found at restaurant supply shops. Small oval barquette molds or even muffin tins could also be used.

"I love cooking with the new recipes every month when Bon Appétit arrives," writes Gabriella Hughes of Windham, Maine. "One dish I'd really like to make is the gingerbread with lemon icing from Standard Baking Co. in Portland, Maine. Could you request it?" Serve these tender gingerbread muffins with whipped cream for teatime or dessert.

Churros are a Spanish classic, usually sold in street-side shops and quickly transported home or to a local café to enjoy with thick hot chocolate. They're made with a piece of equipment called a churrera, which is a type of pastry tube.

Lightly sweetened whipped cream is a nice addition to this delicious dessert.

These pastries are best when freshly baked, so if you plan on giving them to someone who may not be able to serve them within a day or two, you should deliver them frozen, along with the baking instructions.

Called Upper Peninsula Pasties, the original crusts, made with barley flour and little fat, were tough enough to survive a day in the copper mines. Boston-based pastry chef Greg Case has devised this more tender version. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

Frozen blueberries make these muffins a year-round treat. You can use blue cornmeal for this recipe, but of course, the yellow works just as well.

Lemon curd, a classic London teatime treat, is layered between crispy squares of sugared phyllo. Any remaining curd is great on toast, biscuits or scones.

A light texture and a sweet honey flavor make these bran muffins irresistible.

The classic appetizer incorporates sweet and luscious ingredients for a terrific dessert from ObaChine in Beverly Hills.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.