23 Cozy Recipes for Winter
And just like that — I have doublechecked my calendar! — it is suddenly December, or rather the last month in a year that has been equal parts shapeless (it’s not still March?) and never-ending (where are you, 2021?!).
While December usually represents the start of the holiday season and a trip home to Rhode Island, it is — following the 2020 trend — a lot different this year. Without the usual markers and reminders (buying gifts to bring home for my family, gatherings with friends, helping out at the pop-up market at Latteria Studio) it could be any time of the year at all, and as if this wasn’t strange enough, I will also be spending Christmas in Rome instead of with my family. While I know this is a wise, responsible decision, it is one that I am still wrapping my head around (I simply can’t imagine spending December 25th anywhere other than Eagle Lane).
But just because something is different doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be bad, right? I may not be able to follow my usual traditions this year, but I’m still trying to make the best of things (another 2020 trend?) I’ve gotten my own tiny, apartment-friendly tree; I’ve made plans to bake treats to share with my neighbors to spread some holiday cheer; I’ve kept busy ordering gifts to send to my family, and have been spending lots of time with our newest addition (who is seasonal in her own way, reminiscent of a baby reindeer with fluffy Grinch feet). As can be expected, I’ve also leaned heavily in to cooking and baking, activities that have been a source of comfort for many of us in 2020, and perhaps even more so this time of year. Though I may have days where I’ll feel out of sorts about not boarding a plane home, I can still lean into the comforting, repetitious stirring of a risotto or the meditative kneading of dough to make cinnamon rolls; I might not be able to decorate the tree with my brother and sister-in-law this year, but I can still get a dose of holiday spirit by baking up a loaf of gingerbread or a whipping up a mug of homemade hot chocolate. In short, cooking and baking is an easy way to both make us feel coddled and provide a little familiarity in an uncertain, unprecedented time.
So! With no further ado, here’s a compilation of comforting recipes for this Winter season, some of them festive, some of them seasonal, and all of them downright cozy, the gastronomic equivalent of a hug or a warm sweater when you need it the most. Hang in there, everyone.
While we’re at it: you can find more comfort food recipes here, too!
Gingerbread Pancakes
Gingerbread meets the buttermilk pancake! These gingerbread pancakes are the whole holiday season stacked up and served with maple syrup, cozier than a winter jacket and scarf combined, the stuff of breakfast dreams.; they're gingery in a way that will simultaneously coddle you but also remind you to wake up with a little kick of spice. Click here for the recipe.
Overnight Cinnamon rolls
Dream cinnamon rolls, buttery and spicy and sweet all at the same time, beautified with generous dollops of glossy icing, 100% a joy to eat, down to the very last crumb. And wait, there's more! As the name hints, these can be prepped the night before, left to rise slowly in the fridge, and then baked in the morning, meaning no early wake-up time for you. Bonus: your whole house will smell downright divine as these bake. Click here for the recipe.
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Step aside, Swiss Miss! This A+ mix makes for hot chocolate that has a smooth creamy texture and a pure chocolate flavor thanks to the combined power of the cocoa powder and the semisweet chocolate. It is great with a dollop of freshly whipped cream but you can also go the American route and top this with marshmallows. Click here for the recipe.
Baked French Toasts
Charming little baked French toasts reminiscent of bread pudding that puff up like soufflés when they first come out of the oven — need I say more? Bonus: baking French toast means avoiding frying slices of bread one at a time and risking the other pieces getting cold in the meantime. Click here for the recipe.
Spatzle with chive butter
It does not get easier or faster than these spätzle, short, free form dumplings that I first ate in the North of Italy. This is an on-the-go type pasta, a matter of whisking together ingredients and melting butter, a dish that is done in just the time it takes to boil the water it cooks in (it cooks immediately, for the record). These are especially wonderful when tossed in butter and sprinkled with chives. Click here for the recipe.
Tomato, Butter, Onion Sauce
This sauce is genius, both for its simplicity and ease but also its incredible depth of flavor. The onion here infuses the tomatoes with a subtle sweetness, and the butter rounds off and softens their usual acidity, all the while giving the whole thing an incredible richness. Bonus: there are no celery or onions to chop, no bay leaves or herbs to buy, or wine to uncork. This sauce is the true definition of "less is more," and in this case, so very much more. Click here for the recipe.
Tonnarelli cacio e pepe
One of the four classic pastas of Rome and one of my very favorite ways to eat pasta! There is perhaps nothing cozier than tonnarelli cacio e pepe, or rather strands of fresh pasta dressed to the nines in a smooth, luscious, cheese-y sauce, whose richness is interrupted only by the underlying heat of the healthy dose of black pepper. Click here for the recipe.
Pici with sausage ragu’
This delicious ragù has a depth and richness of flavor that makes it seem like it has been simmering for hours, and yet comes together with minimal effort. A note on the type of pasta I used here -- pici is a cut of pasta typically found in Siena, a cross between spaghetti and bucatini, thick like bucatini, but without the hole in the middle. Click here for the recipe.
Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe
A masterpiece of a pasta dish: there's a bit of heat from the chili, and the sausage adds richness that is balanced out nicely by the bitter greens, all captured and held by the orecchiette. The whole thing is tied together beautifully with a shower of freshly grated Parmesan and a good handful of crispy, crunchy, garlicky-spicy breadcrumbs. Click here for the recipe.
Risotto with fennel & lemon
This winter-y risotto is creamy and comforting (butter + Parmesan cheese have this down pat,) the richness of the finished dish tempered by a bright sunny hit of lemon. The fennel here becomes sweet, almost caramelized, its telltale licorice flavor present but softened around the edges. Topped with a few extra fennel fronds, a dash more of cheese, and a grate or two of lemon zest, it's heavenly. Click here for the recipe.
Mini Meatball Soup
This Mini Meatball Soup -- resembling zuppa di polpettine in Trento-Alto Adige, or Zuppa di Sante' in Calabria -- offers good things like spinach and carrots and celery and broth, accompanied by delicate ditalini and the most delightfully miniature and supremely flavorful of all the meatballs that ever were (don't leave out the nutmeg -- it matters here). Click here for the recipe.
Tomato Lentil Soup
This Tomato Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard is downright nurturing, a wholesome, virtuous mix of lentils and greens balanced by a bit of pancetta to keeps things indulgent, ideal with a flurry of Parmesan grated over the top. It also comes together fairly quickly, allowing you more time for snow day activities like playing board games and watching movies. Click here for the recipe.
Chickpea Kale Sausage Soup
A soup with comfort levels akin to a cup of hot tea on a rainy day, or a Harry Potter book read in front of a fire. It's filling and warming and hearty and super flavorful, and it also makes excellent leftovers if you make a big batch, providing cozy dinners for the following days. Click here for the recipe.
Polpette di ricotta al sugo
These polpette di ricotta al sugo are packed with Parmesan and basil, fluffy and dumpling-like, simmered in a deeply flavorful tomato sauce, and just what you want when the weather starts to get chilly. Bonus: these are a suitable main for all your non-meat eating friends, and not lacking in the slightest. Click here for the recipe.
Lentils with sausages
Simple, straightforward ingredients – carrots, celery, lentils – dressed up with a flavorful vinaigrette and spicy sausages, perfect with a grating or two of Parmesan cheese over the top. If you want to make a vegetarian version or take this dish in another direction, feel free to substitute burrata for the sausages. Click here for the recipe.
Polpettone alla ricotta
This polpettone is made ultra-flavor thanks to Parmesan, onion, and parsley, juicy and tender and best of all, filled with a layer of creamy ricotta. Bonus: I especially love this recipe because it comes from the Supreme Dairy Cookbook, the little cookbook released by my grandfather’s company back in the day. Click here for the recipe.
Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Bars
These bars could be described as a cross between a piece of gingerbread and a brownie, soft and chewy and spicy and packed with chocolate. The powdered sugar on the top makes these look extra festive -- don't leave this final touch out if you can help it! Click here for the recipe.
Gingerbread Cake
A gingerbread that is dark and dense thanks to a good dose of molasses, deeply spicy and gingery, its spiciness dialed up further with a little help from cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. When paired with a dollop of cold freshly whipped cream and warm, caramelized pears, it is heavenly, a festive combination of textures, flavors, and temperatures. Click here for the recipe.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
his is probably one of my favorite desserts I've ever baked. I loved this. I was sad when it was all gone. And here's why: the resulting Sticky Toffee Pudding consists of a cake that is soft and fluffy with a caramel-y date flavor, served with its soulmate, or rather, an intensely buttery and brown sugary, served-warm-off-the-stove toffee sauce, that is so good, I could've eaten the whole pot of it with a spoon. Click here for the recipe.
brownie cookies
Brownie Cookies, aka a cross between the fudge brownie and the chocolate chip cookie. They have the same shape, crisp edges, and, when served warm, gooey pockets of chocolate as a cookie, with all the intense fudginess and chocolate wallop of a good brownie. Need I say more? Click here for the recipe.
Chocolate Orange Olive Oil Cake
A cake that is simple in appearance but packed with winter citrus and chocolate flavor (one tester commented that this tasted like a Cadbury Chocolate Orange). It's soft and fluffy thanks to the teamwork of ricotta and olive oil, and is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or alongside a mug of tea. Click here for the recipe.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are some of the best cookies I've ever made and eaten – they’re soft and chewy, packed with gooey melty pockets of chocolate, and made with toasty brown butter for an extra level of flavor. Suggestion: these would also make a great edible Christmas gift when packaged up nice with a bow. Click here for the recipe.
Red Wine chocolate cupcakes
Yes, you read the title correctly; here we have intensely chocolate-y cupcakes with hints of cinnamon and red wine (!!!) topped with swirls mascarpone frosting. Wine + cake — does it get any more festive than that?! Click here for the recipe.