Elizabeth Cecile

It’s the perpetual conundrum of the holiday kitchen: During the two months of the year when you have the least amount of time to spare, you’re expected to turn out the most elaborate feasts. And you want the food to be special, the stuff of family memories.

The following holiday recipes, designed to inspire your cooking from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, were created with today’s busy cooks in mind. Well, almost all of them were: The Coconut-Pumpkin Cream Pie does take time, but most pies do (that crust has to chill!), and it’s well worth the effort to turn out such a gorgeous and delicious take on the essential Thanksgiving dessert.

Beyond that, there isn’t a recipe here that requires more than an hour of actual hands-on time. Some, such as the Cranberry-Apple Butter and the Maple-Sage Dry-Brined Turkey, may take hours to cook or cure, but you’ll be out of the kitchen, checking other things off your to-do list, while they take care of themselves. There’s even a streamlined decorated cookie that pops with brightly colored dough instead of time-consuming icings. They may not be 30-minute everyday fare, but these meals will make your days a little merrier, your load a little lighter.

The New England Holiday Kitchen | Recipes