When you’ve got multiple dishes in the works for a party, the slow cooker is your best friend. The low-and-slow cook method will bring out the best of meatballs, sticky pudding and even hot chocolate.

Made and served in the same pot, our slow-cooker cocoa is thickened and enriched with dark chocolate. Set up an add-ons bar beside the cooker (mini marshmallows, crushed candies and peppermint schnapps take cocoa to a whole new holiday level), then stick a ladle in the pot and let guests help themselves. Get the recipe >>

Oven space is always at a premium during the holidays, and these slow-cooker spiced nuts won’t claim any of it. They’re so good and so easy, though, that you’ll want to use this method year-round. Get the recipe >>

Cranberries lend a wonderful tartness to our sweet-and-sour barbecue sauce. Pair it with its seasonal best friend, turkey, braised in a slow cooker. Get the recipe >>

Leave the chafing dish in the basement. This version of Swedish meatballs is an hors d'oeuvre you can make and serve in the same pot. Get the recipe >>

The slow cooker is a perfect fit for this pudding-like cake: The gentle, moist heat keeps the cake nice and supple until it’s doused at the end with nutmeg-laced toffee sauce. Make the cake a day ahead, and store it in the slow cooker (the fridge is quite full enough during the holidays!). Get the recipe >>