Liz Gutman and Jen King

Remember those little mints by the door at that restaurant you like? No, not that restaurant -- the nice-but-not-NICE-nice one. This recipe is most closely related to those little post-dinner courtesy mints -- but don't think they actually taste alike. These "mints" have a smooth, buttery flavor that's somewhat reminiscent of very thick frosting. And they're not necessarily minty at all: The texture of these little crisp-then-creamy confections lends itself very well to warmer flavors like coffee, chocolate, and cinnamon, too.

This lovely, magical candy bar is named for our lovely, magical friend and mentor, Dorie Greenspan. We could think of no better tribute to Dorie, a renowned cookbook author herself, than to include the bar that she inspired. It's a combination of all our favorite flavors and textures: the crispness and deep, dark flavor of the chocolate cookie (adapted from one of Thomas Keller's recipes, no less; the lush, melt-in-your-mouth salted caramel ganache; the chewy dried apricots and tart lemon; and the surprising zip of black pepper. "More than the sum of its parts" doesn't even begin to describe it.

We were asked to make these as wedding favors for a friend, and we kind of rolled our eyes. Buckeyes? Really? But they're so ... boring. Peanut butter filling, rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate to resemble horse chestnuts. Sure, they're a favorite of Ohio natives, where the buckeye is the official state tree; and sure, they're easy enough to make. But where's the challenge? The excitement? Didn't they want something fancier for a wedding?