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Three twists on the classic chocolate-filled cookie

SUPPERTIME: Elegant Made Easy

Tender braised short ribs are fancy enough for Christmas dinner or any special occasion. Bonus: They're even make-ahead

A Big Easy Christmas

Let the good times roll in New Orleans

TIMELESS DECOR: Good as Old

Natural elements and folksy finds infuse this 1886 Georgia cottage with warm-fuzzy charm

Classic Pattern, New Spirit

Four tastemakers put their fanciful spins on an old-faithful Spode collection

MEET HER IN ST. LOUIS

Trimmed with ribbon and wrapped in wallpaper, designer Amy Studebaker's 1950s Missouri home proves there's no such thing as too much of a good thing especially this time of year

A TENNESSEE TREASURE

For nearly 115 years, The Hermitage Hotel has been Nashville's holiday mainstay

The Powerg Poinsettias

A little while back, a neighbor knocked on my door, hoisting up a ruby red plant so enormous it concealed her completely from midriff to head. I was new to the area, and this was her way of welcoming me. A poinsettia, vividly colored, overflowing its pot, and endearingly ill-timed-it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. But the plant seemed to brighten up the whole world just a bit, as if daring anyone to reject the early holiday spirit. You could say it kick-started my love for the leafy shrub and what it seems to represent: a simple kind of goodwill.

WRAPPED WITH CARE

In San Antonio, Christmas isn't complete without a plate of steaming tamales on every family's table

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1984

Entertaining now is quite different than it was 40 years ago, but our recipes stand the test of time

The Joy of Letting Go

SIFTING THROUGH BOXES OF ORNAMENTS AND PILES OF TRIM, AN EMPTY NESTER LEARNS THAT LESS CAN BE MORE

Share the Love

This delicious yet doable dessert can be made three different ways

Forging a Legacy - A Fredericksburg, Texas, couple is creating a new class of heirloom cast-iron cookware

When Jay Mallinckrodt pitched the idea of crafting cast-iron cookware to his wife and business partner, Heather, in 2020, she was hesitant. I immediately said no, she recalls with a laugh. But I finally agreed as long as we made something that we would actually want to use ourselves. Like many others during the initial throes of the pandemic, their multigenerational family operation, Heartland Enterprises (which specializes in machining parts for jet engines and gas and oil equipment), was seeing a lull. “No one was flying; no one was drilling, says Jay. So we had time to try something different.

A Butterfly Haven - In the Texas Hill Country, a conservationist is helping monarchs adjust to the changing world

Twenty-four years ago, Monika Maeckle bought a small property on the Llano River in Central Texas as an escape from fast-paced San Antonio. A journalist and marketing professional by trade, she didn't at first realize the value of the location on which she and her husband would later build their ranch. She also had no idea how this decision would eventually transform her life.One October evening a few years later, a friend invited Maeckle to their nearby house, which sat on a watershed with several large cypresses. All these butterflies dropped from the sky and started to gravitate toward the trees, she recalls. Stronger people who could swing a big 12-foot-long pole began trying to capture them, and we waited. By the end of the evening, we'd tagged a couple hundred butterflies, and I left there enchanted.

Oktober Feast!

While I respect your right to serve spooky food in October, you won't find any gory grub at my house this month. Instead, I'm hosting a gathering that's inspired by biergartens across the pond. The focus of the menu is a fondue made with Gruyère cheese and crisp Riesling-like beer-cheese dip but more elevated. It's served with a smorgasbord of dippers such as smoked sausage, grapes, apples, and a few amped-up store-bought snacks, like Mustard-Glazed Pretzel Bites and Smoked Paprika Potato Chips. (Just one taste, and you'll want to add this spice to every bag you open.) Pour yourself a Cider Shandy, and get ready for a good time. Prost, y'all!

The Roast With the Most

Embrace the changing seasons with a cozy pork supper

Roll With It

Company's coming? Bake a batch of these apple-stuffed delights

VIRGINIA PASTORAL

IN MIDDLEBURG, THE COMMONWEALTH'S MOST STORIED SMALL TOWN, OCTOBER WELCOMES A HOST OF TREASURED TRADITIONS

TAKING ROOT

Turn the season's freshest veggies-beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots-into colorful fall sides

THE FAMILY PLACE

When it came time for a young Georgia couple to make an 1800s farmhouse their own, they took it apart piece by piece-then rebuilt it into a home ready to welcome the next generation

Loving Life in Fayetteville

This Northwest Arkansas college town is easy to love and hard to leave

The Road That Raised Me

This lesser-known drive offers the most breathtaking views in the Smoky Mountains

Texas Ranch Revamp

Blair Burton coaxed the cool out of a 1960s Austin house that was stuck in the past

The New Pumpkin Palette

Trade the standard jack-o'-lantern hue for a wide spectrum of shades, from deep green to blush pink

The Truth About Tomatoes

Here's how to store them the right way

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Chill out with this nostalgic no-bake dessert

She's Got the Scoop

In Richmond, Virginia, Rabia Kamara creates ice cream that celebrates Black culture and her heritage

More Is More

Designer Gray Benko isn't afraid of color, pattern, or dogs on the furniture

Changing the Game

For this North Carolina pair, pickleball is the ticket to a healthy lifestyle - and a social one

Stitched Together

For South Carolinian Andrea \"Annie\" Cayetano-Jefferson, sewing sweetgrass baskets ties her to generations of Gullah people, including her mother and daughter