Imho a puzzle could be learning to ride a horse - which is needed in later gameplay. For example.
And of course this wouldn't be a traditional kind of puzzle.

The kind of puzzle I think everyone knows is a treasure map torn into several pieces.

It could be a kind of receivpe, too. Torn into several pieces. Such a thing can be found in Drakensang 2 : It must be "pieced together", and the own hero cannot make much out of it, because it is so much ancient and requires highly specialized knowledge, so only a mage might be interested in in. In my case, I just sold it to one, then.