Mochi has been eaten in Japan since 794 AD - pounded from glutinous rice using a wooden mallet and mortar into a soft, stretchy cake. Daifuku is mochi's sweetest form: pillowy rice dough stuffed with sweetened red bean paste made from adzuki beans. A New Year's tradition and a timeless Japanese treat.

Şekerpare ('shek-EYR par-EH') literally means 'a piece of sweetness' - and it delivers on that promise. These golden semolina cookies are baked until tender, then steeped in a sweet, lemony syrup until every bite melts in your mouth. Turkey's most beloved sweet after baklava.

Natilla is the dessert that says 'Christmas' in Colombia - a rich, custard-like sweet with a deep caramel color from panela, South America's beloved unrefined cane sugar. We use brown sugar in its place for equally warm, molasses-rich results. A holiday tradition worth starting at home.