Recipes with powdered sugar

Hazelnut shortbread with toasted ground hazelnuts pressed into a buttery dough and drizzled with melted semi-sweet chocolate. A simple, elegant cookie with a Nutella-like flavor combination.

Streusel plum cake with a light, fluffy batter topped with halved plums, cinnamon-brown sugar crumble, and a vanilla glaze drizzle. Works with peaches, apples, or pears too.

Cinnamon apple bundt cake made with whole wheat flour, fresh apple slices, walnuts, and apple juice. A lighter oil-based cake dusted with powdered sugar, best served warm.

Rich chocolate sheet cake made with hot coffee and cocoa powder, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. The coffee deepens the chocolate without adding coffee flavor.

Chocolate walnut meringue cookies rolled and cut into rounds from a fondant-like dough of powdered sugar, cocoa, egg whites, and ground nuts. Crisp, chewy, and gluten-free.

Quick zucchini sheet cake using boxed mix with grated zucchini, cinnamon, and crunchy walnuts on top. Dust with powdered sugar for casual weeknight dessert.

Mahogany icing with cocoa, strong coffee, butter, and powdered sugar. A rich mocha frosting with a deep, dark color that comes together in 10 minutes with no cooking.

Puffy apple pancake baked in a skillet over caramelized brown sugar apples with cinnamon, dusted with powdered sugar and served with a yogurt-applesauce sauce. A lighter Dutch baby.

Crisp baked sue gow wonton wrapper sandwich cookies layered with toasted hazelnuts, chocolate, and a creamy white-chocolate ricotta filling brightened with orange zest. An elegant fusion dessert.

Peanut butter chocolate cream pie with a stovetop chocolate custard layered between two peanut butter crumb stratas. Real unsweetened chocolate, not pudding mix. The diner-counter classic.

French chocolate caramels made with real vanilla bean, melted chocolate, and butter cooked to the ball stage. Old-world confection technique with rich, chewy results.

Raspberry coil coffeecake made from rolled dough ropes swirled into a spiral, spread with raspberry preserves, and finished with a sweet powdered sugar glaze.

No-bake sour cream pumpkin pie layered with spiced pumpkin chiffon and sweet whipped cream, finished with toasted pecans. Gelatin-set filling means a stunning autumn pie with no oven time for the filling.

Lighter chocolate oat squares with low-fat yogurt and just 3 tablespoons of butter, topped with a cocoa cream cheese icing. A fudgy, moist bar that satisfies chocolate cravings without the guilt.

Barbara's Lemon Bread uses triple lemon in the batter, then soaks the hot loaf with a lemon-sugar glaze poured through pierced holes. Rest it wrapped for 24 hours and the flavor deepens dramatically.

Banana Spice Lemon Drops are soft drop cookies with cinnamon and cloves, topped with a bright lemon butter frosting. A 3-dozen batch in 30 minutes with an unexpected banana-citrus flavor contrast.

Sweet spinach tart with wine-steamed spinach cooked in rosewater, sugar, and cinnamon, filled into a pie shell and topped with fresh sliced strawberries. A medieval-inspired dessert that's surprisingly beautiful.

No-bake holiday almond treats with vanilla wafer crumbs, pumpkin puree, amaretto, cinnamon, and ground almonds. Rolled into balls and coated in toasted almonds.

No-bake chocolate date and ginger fans made with crushed graham crackers, semi-sweet chocolate, crystallized ginger, and chopped dates. Set in a flan pan, chilled, and sliced into elegant wedges.

Mocha layer cake built with cake flour, cocoa, and strong brewed coffee, sandwiched with sweetened whipped cream folded with dates and nuts. A vintage two-layer dessert dusted with powdered sugar.

Classic Midwestern longjohns: rectangular yeast-raised doughnuts fried golden and topped with a cooked brown-sugar maple frosting. Old-school bakery comfort.

Polka-dot brownies made with melted semi-sweet chocolate, whipped eggs tripled in volume, and reduced-calorie margarine. Fudgy, lighter than classic brownies, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Classic cut-out Christmas cookies with almond and vanilla extract, rolled thin and topped with colored powdered sugar frosting. A holiday cookie-decorating tradition.

Stars and stripes celebration cake: a fruit-topped flag cake with yellow sheet layers, strawberry whipped cream, banana and strawberry stripes, and blueberry stars. Fourth of July centerpiece.

Eggnog log cookies are festive holiday rolls flavored with rum and nutmeg, dipped in icing, and rolled in toasted pecans. The Christmas cookie tin classic with eggnog-inspired warmth.

Halloween frosting split into two colors: chocolate for the cake's top and sides, orange-tinted for the layers and a piped jack-o'-lantern. A retro buttercream built for spooky-season showpieces.

Baked chocolate souffle for two with cinnamon whipped cream and a warm fudge mocha sauce. A date-night dessert made with both semisweet and unsweetened chocolate.

From-scratch devil's food cake with boiling water for intense chocolate depth, topped with a fudge frosting made from melted semi-sweet chocolate and butter.

Pecan oat sandies are tender, snowball-style shortbread cookies rolled in powdered sugar with rolled oats and chopped pecans for chewy texture. Three dozen from one batch. The cookie tin classic with an oatmeal upgrade.

Orange butter cakes are petite tartlet-tin cakes perfumed with Grand Marnier and candied orange peel, then dipped in orange liqueur glaze. Elegant 36-cake batch for gifts or a holiday tray.

Lemon mousse pie folds whipped cream into a tangy gelatin-set cream cheese base for a no-bake citrus pie that lands somewhere between cheesecake and chiffon.

Rich chocolate cake made with a full cup of cocoa bloomed in boiling water, plus a strawberry shortcake variation with whipped cream and drizzled melted chocolate.

Frozen no-bake chocolate dessert with a buttery oat-and-nut crumb base, rich unsweetened chocolate filling, and a crunchy crumb topping. Slice straight from the freezer for an irresistible treat.

No-bake chocolate minirolls made with melted chocolate, corn syrup, milk powder, and powdered sugar. Kneaded like dough, rolled, and sliced into bite-sized candy pieces.

Chocolate peppermint pinwheel cookies swirl cocoa-rich chocolate dough with crushed peppermint candy dough into a spiral slice-and-bake Christmas cookie. A holiday tin classic with bracing mint and deep chocolate.

Surprise packages are butter cookies with a chocolate mint wafer hidden inside each one, iced and decorated to look like tiny Christmas presents. A fun holiday baking project.

Homemade chocolate covered peanut butter eggs with a sweet brown sugar filling dipped in melted chocolate. A no-bake Easter candy made from scratch.

Three-layer peanut butter brownies with a fudgy chocolate base, creamy peanut butter filling, and glossy semi-sweet chocolate glaze. Loaded with chopped peanuts for extra crunch.

Cinnamon raisin French toast soaked in a buttermilk-egg custard with vanilla and nutmeg, pan-fried in butter until crisp and golden. Served with date-nut butter and powdered sugar.

Gluten free almond macaroons with chewy centers, crackled tops and a deep marzipan flavor from real almond paste. Four ingredients, no flour, naturally gluten free.

Mississippi mud cake with cocoa, marshmallow cream, and a rich chocolate-butter frosting loaded with pecans. A dense, fudgy Southern sheet cake classic.

Dark chocolate pecan torte with a fudgy, barely-set center, chopped pecans running through every bite and a glossy chocolate glaze poured over top. Flourless-style richness with just enough flour to hold it together.

Carrot raisin cheesecake blends warm spices and shredded carrots into a creamy graham-crusted cheesecake topped with citrus cream cheese frosting. Carrot cake meets New York cheesecake in one springform pan.

Linzertorte fingers with a buttery ground almond pastry layered with raspberry jam and topped with sliced almonds. An Austrian-inspired bar cookie for elegant holiday baking.

Rich chocolate tube cake made with unsweetened chocolate, sour cream, and folded egg whites, topped with a warm semi-sweet chocolate frosting. Dense, moist, and intensely chocolatey.

Spicy applesauce cookies with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, rolled thin, cut out, and topped with a glossy homemade gelatin icing and colored sugar.

Rum-flamed bananas sauteed in butter with powdered and brown sugar, then ignited with a full cup of rum for a dramatic tableside dessert. Serve over vanilla ice cream.

Homemade funnel cake fried crisp and golden, then dusted with powdered sugar. The classic carnival treat made from pantry staples, swirled straight from a funnel into hot oil.