609 batter soda recipes

Lester's fruitcake is a heirloom holiday loaf: pounds of candied fruits, figs, dates, raisins, pecans, and walnuts bound in spiced molasses batter. Slow-baked, brandy-soaked, aged a month.

Old-school dark fruitcake soaked overnight in brandy and orange liqueur with figs, apricots, currants, walnuts, and pecans. Makes four loaves; ages beautifully.

For best results slice the cake chilled, but let sit 1/2 hour at room temperature before serving.

Canterbury jumbles: chewy, generously loaded drop cookies with shredded coconut, macadamia nuts, raisins, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. The everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cookie that lives up to its name.

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding with cognac-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, suet, and warm spices, steamed in a mold and served with brandy butter sauce. A Victorian holiday classic.

Chocolate cake layers filled with caramelized coconut-pecan dulce de leche, then glazed with glossy dark chocolate for an inside-out German chocolate showstopper.

Layered banana yogurt cake with toasted coconut, banana syrup, creamy pecan filling, and white snow frosting. A showpiece layer cake with three homemade components.

This layer cake brings together the sweet and tender flavors of bananas with the rich and nutty taste of toasted walnuts, all layered together in a moist and delicious cake. This heavenly creation is perfect for those who love the combination of fruit and nuts, and it's a great way to use up those overripe bananas sitting on your counter.

Towering chocolate layer cake with whipped cream filling and rich chocolate frosting beaten over ice. Deep cocoa flavor in every bite.

Easier to work with. The original recipe called for brandy or grape juice, but I found that if you substitute the orange juice concentrate, it has a nicer flavour.

Cocoa thumbprint cookies rolled in sugar and filled with creamy peanut butter frosting. Loaded with chocolate chips and a sweet PB center. Makes 4 dozen irresistible little buttons.

Old-fashioned Christmas Rocks cookies bursting with candied fruit, dates, figs, pecans, raisins, and currants in a cocoa-spiced batter with a hint of coffee. Dense, chewy, and built to last.

Spiced apple walnut bundt cake with grated fresh apples, whole wheat flour, and a warm apple cider sauce. Dense, moist, and loaded with fall flavor.

Old fashioned fruit cake with blackberry jam, fig preserves, watermelon rind preserves, candied cherries, pecans, and cocoa. Baked low and slow in a cast iron skillet.

Pennsylvania Dutch cake-and-custard pie: a soft cake batter and a spiced applesauce-molasses custard poured into one crust bake into two distinct layers, finished with a coffee glaze. A clever heritage dessert.

Whole-wheat sourdough applesauce cake bakes up moist and tender in a tube pan, with cinnamon, allspice, and clove warming a tangy starter-and-applesauce batter. A bundt-shaped keeper for fall.