Martha's Cold-Weather Comfort Food Recipes

Freezing temperatures and biting winds aren't all bad, if you consider that they're prime weather conditions for the kinds of hearty, cozy meals that fill your home with delicious aromas and fill you with a wonderful feeling of satisfied warmth.

It'll come as no surprise that Martha's favorite comfort foods include mac and cheese (and her recipe is a winner, combining sharp white cheddar, Gruyere, and Pecorino Romano) and roast chicken. But her list of top comfort food classics has a few surprises, too. Take, for instance, her long-standing love of pierogi, the delectable Polish dumplings that her mother, Big Martha, made so well in many incarnations. Among them: potato, sweet cabbage, blueberry, peach, plum, and apricot (Martha shares four fabulous recipes in this collection). And while our founder loves classic indulgent pasta dishes such as Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Fettuccine Alfredo, she also shares her recipe for a lesser-known (but no less tasty) noodle dish known as Three-Garlic Pasta, which incorporates garlic three ways: raw, roasted, and fried.

Beyond roast chicken, there are Chicken Potpies with Puff Pastry, Braised Short Ribs, and Sauerbraten, a German meal in which bottom round is braised with onions, ketchup, vinegar, and red wine (the recipe comes from Martha's childhood neighbor Mr. Maus).

As they're in season during the coldest months of the year, apples feature in Martha's rotation of comforting, hearty desserts, from Tarte Tatin to Apple-Raisin Pandowdy to her famed Mile-High Apple Pie. And lest we forget, nothing kicks off a snow day better than a comfort-food breakfast starring a loaf of homemade brioche, French toast, or yeasty, pecan-studded Sticky Buns.

This pierogi dessert is filled with fresh blueberries. Topped with sweet vanilla-nutmeg sour cream, these dumplings make a memorable brunch course or finish to a meal.

Your search for the ultimate mac and cheese recipe has come to an end. Sharp white cheddar, grated Gruyere, and Pecorino Romano cheeses give the sauce its heavenly richness and complexity.

This traditional French apple tart is made like an upside-down single-crust pie. To achieve the wonderful caramelized surface that defines this rustic dessert, you need to use a cast-iron skillet.

This devilishly delicious all-occasion cake recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, and the frosting recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis of Baked.

Yeast makes these biscuits light and airy. Add a smear of Brooke's Mustard Dip and a slice of country ham for a delicious breakfast sandwich.

A brown Betty is a spiced fruit dessert with buttered breadcrumb or cake-crumb topping that turns golden brown as it cooks. Our individual Bettys have two layers of Bartlett pears alternating with a blend of torn sourdough bread, butter, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a splash of apple cider.

A rich, buttery loaf like this is wonderful with morning coffee, and it can also be used to make a really decadent French toast.

This sticky bun recipe is adapted from a version by baker Seth Greenberg, owner of Just Desserts.

Rustic potpie turns into an elegant meal when baked in individual ramekins. Top each one with a square of storebought puff pastry and bake until golden, crisp, and piping hot.

Dinner-party sophistication meets hearty comfort food in chef Pierre Schaedelin's signature ribs recipe from Martha's Entertaining.

Popovers can be suited to any occasion with the addition of cheese (such as Parmesan), sugar, or spices to the batter. See step-by-step how to make popovers.

This classic pasta is a three-ingredient wonder. And while the white sauce tastes creamy, there's no cream—just generous amounts of butter and Parmesan cheese.

This German comfort food recipe—bottom round braised with onions, ketchup, vinegar, and red wine—comes from Martha's childhood neighbor Mr. Maus.

Here's a perfect dinner for the garlic devotee: pasta with garlic three ways—raw, roasted, and fried.

Martha's favorite crumb cake recipe comes from her friend Sara Foster, owner of Foster's Markets in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.