Tanya Wenman Steel

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live.

King Arthur's white whole-wheat flour is preferable for these yummies. Use festive sprinkles on them if baking them for the holidays.

Pie for breakfast? Not quite, but the fragrance of this dish is so good that even the groggiest grouch will be lured out of bed. Look for ripe pears with out bruises, and keep at room temperature overnight. Cut the butter in a thin slice off the stick for melting evenly.

Although the recipe calls for boneless skinless breasts, you can use chicken tenders or a cut-up chicken with skin, but the cooking time will vary (see Cook's Note). If you want to use fresh or frozen sliced peaches instead of canned, add 2 tablespoons honey to the marinade. Grilled pitted fresh peach or nectarine halves are great alongside. Serve with potatoes and a crisp green salad. Any leftover sliced chicken is great on a sandwich with a little lettuce, honey mustard, and peach jam.

Many teething biscuits crumble and break too easily. These are a little sturdier and safer for baby to eat.

Fruit makes a great puree and a thirst-quenching smoothie, and is just plain fun to pick up for toddlers. You can always serve fruit raw, but the flavor intensifies if you bake it. This recipe applies to any firm fruit, such as apples and pears, and stone fruit, such as peaches, pears, plums and apricots. The can be frozen, although nutrients will be lost.

This puree and can made heartier with ground cooked brown rice. For those under one, use formula or breast milk to make this creamy.

You can ease the kids into fall (and school) with this Cuban-inspired salad made with sweet late summer corn and protein-packed black beans. To make it even more of a main dish, toss in some shredded cooked chicken, thinly sliced and cut-up grilled steak, or barbecued pork or shrimp. Add a few bits of fresh basil or baby spinach just before packing.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this lunch. Store this tasty salad in a wide-mouthed thermal container, use several Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves to wrap around the salad instead of bread, and pack the nuts separately in a little plastic bag for sprinkling. For those who can take the heat, add a splash of Chinese hot oil or hot sesame oil to the salad.

Make this salad for lunch but serve it hot at dinner first. To give kids extra protein at lunch, add 1/2 cup finely chopped cold cooked chicken and round it out with a small whole-wheat roll and an apple.

This buttery shortbread is a treat for all ages. Kids can help stir the dough with a wooden spoon.

All the other kids at school will be jealous when they get a look at these delicious, colorful, healthful wraps.

Peanut butter goes well with more than just jam, and this interesting combination proves it. This is delicious with whatever fruit is in season.

These wee sandwich cakes, also known as Moon Pies, got their start in Pennsylvania Dutch country. They are known as whoopee pies because children exclaim, "Whoopee!" when the cakes are ready. Whole Foods sells Tiny Trapeze brand marshmallow cream, made with "no junkie stuff," as the container states.

These roll-ups are great for school and burst with tuna and veggies. If your child likes wasabi's heat, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon to the tuna mixture.

These flat, chewy, half whole-wheat cookies are for the chocolate chip purist: no nuts, no frills—pure bliss. They will fly out of the kitchen mysteriously. Use a 1-ounce (2-tablespoon-capacity) ice-cream scoop for easy measuring.

The Seaman and Steel families are addicted to this homemade granola with dried blueberries and sweet dates. Serve it with a splash of milk or a spoonful of yogurt or ice cream, sprinkled on pancakes, or in a smoothie.