Recipes with powdered sugar

Banana layer cake stacks two tender 8-inch rounds and slathers them in a real banana frosting brightened with lemon juice. Twice the banana, twice the reason to skip the boxed mix.

Chocolate lover's cake with four thin layers of sour cream chocolate cake sandwiched with fudge frosting and topped with chopped pecans. Bare sides show off the dramatic layered interior.

Chocolate cupcakes filled with creamy peanut butter cream cheese frosting piped right into the center. Rich cocoa buttermilk cake with a surprise peanut butter filling in every bite.

Cherry cookie pizza with a golden sugar cookie crust, sweetened cream cheese layer, and cherry pie filling on top. A fun no-fuss dessert pizza baked on a 12-inch pan.

Chocolate almond crisps with almond meringue cookies piped on parchment and sandwiched with a dark chocolate ganache. A French patisserie-style confection with crisp, nutty, chocolatey layers.

Classic buttery shortbread squares with unsalted butter, powdered sugar, and a candied cherry on each. Tender, crumbly, and they improve with age stored in a tin.

Nutty Mississippi mud pie stacks toasted pecans and walnuts under a tangy cream cheese layer, then crowns it with stovetop chocolate pudding. A no-bake-friendly Southern dessert that yields two pies.

Chocolate creams are hand-rolled no-bake candies made from melted semi-sweet chocolate, powdered sugar, and egg, shaped into balls or logs and rolled in coconut, nuts, or sprinkles.

Chocolate nutmeg cake roll with a light sponge wrapped around a silky chocolate-nutmeg mousse filling and topped with handmade chocolate leaves. An elegant holiday dessert.

Nut crescents: buttery shortbread cookies shaped into crescents, dipped in egg white and a nut-sugar coating, baked golden, then dusted with powdered sugar. A holiday cookie classic.

Sugarplum cookies made with Kool-Aid mix for bright colors and fruity flavor. Rolled sugar cookies kids love to cut out and decorate in rainbow batches.

Velvet cake is a flourless-style chocolate showpiece pooled over white chocolate and raspberry sauces. Dense, fudgy, and made with just six ingredients in the cake itself, it slices like a torte and tastes like ganache.

Election Day Loaf is a traditional spiced yeast bread loaded with raisins, walnuts, and candied citron, baked in a tube pan and glazed with orange icing. A historic New England celebration bread.

Maple walnut cookies made from boiled maple syrup, whipped egg whites, sherry, and chopped walnuts. Piped from a pastry tube and baked into crisp, meringue-style cookies.

Lemon kiss cookies with a buttery almond dough wrapped around chocolate kisses, dusted in powdered sugar, and drizzled with melted chocolate. A lemon-chocolate surprise cookie.

Whipped orange cream cheese spread with fresh orange juice, zest, and powdered sugar. A bright, citrusy topping for bagels, toast, or muffins made in 5 minutes.

Frozen chocolate mint pie with a mint cookie crust and a rich filling of butter, unsweetened chocolate, and peppermint extract. A no-bake frozen dessert that tastes like a peppermint truffle.

Lemon cream and nut cookies, buttery shortbread ovals spread with homemade lemon curd and crowned with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, prunes, rum-soaked raisins, and candied orange. A jewel-box holiday cookie.

Orange shortbread hearts dipped in bittersweet chocolate. Buttery, citrus-scented cut-out cookies with a glossy chocolate half-dip for Valentine's Day or any occasion.

Eggnog French toast made with raisin bread strips dipped in creamy eggnog and pan-fried in butter. A festive holiday breakfast dusted with powdered sugar.

Peach nutmeg frappe blended with vanilla ice cream, skim milk, and a pinch of nutmeg. A creamy frozen peach milkshake ready in 10 minutes with fresh or frozen peaches.

Koala Kookies are buttery walnut shortbread balls dusted in powdered sugar. Five ingredients, no eggs, and a melt-in-your-mouth texture that puts these in the same family as Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, and Greek kourabiedes.

Chocolate tile cake with a flourless souffle cake layered with whipped truffle cream and covered in handmade chocolate tiles. A stunning, multi-component French-style showpiece dessert.

No-bake coconut candy with a secret ingredient: mashed potatoes bind coconut and powdered sugar into tiny haystacks, then get dipped in dark chocolate. Old-fashioned and surprisingly addictive.

Mexican wedding cakes are always a holiday favorite but this recipe takes it up a notch or two, writes Mary Wilhelm of Sparta.

Homemade fortune cookies with cake flour, egg whites, and vanilla, folded warm around personal messages. A crisp Chinese-American treat that turns dessert into a paper-tucked surprise.

Mexican chocolate cake with 12 ounces of melted semi-sweet chocolate, ground almonds, Kahlua, and mayonnaise for moisture. Beaten egg whites give it a light, almost flourless texture.

Star-shaped chocolate sandwich cookies cut from a chewy cocoa-and-chip sheet bake, then filled with sweet cream cheese frosting. A festive holiday cookie that looks fancy but skips the rolled-dough fuss.

Fruit pockets are tender biscuit-style pastries folded around a spiced filling of raisins, currants, citron, and nuts. A vintage British-style hand pie with warm cinnamon and clove.

No-bake chocolate cream cake layered with chocolate wafer cookies, vanilla whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Refrigerate 8 hours and the cookies soften into cake-like layers.

No-bake refrigerator confetti brownies with graham cracker crumbs, colored mini marshmallows, walnuts, and a melted chocolate-chip frosting. Chill, slice, and serve. No oven needed.

Chocolate banana creme log with sliced banana layered with sweetened ricotta, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and topped with shredded coconut. A no-bake single-serving dessert in 10 minutes.

Low-fat frosted brownies made with applesauce instead of butter and egg whites instead of whole eggs. Topped with a simple cocoa icing, no oil or butter needed.

Chocolate orange brioches with bittersweet chocolate chunks and fresh orange zest baked into a classic buttery brioche dough, topped with an orange juice glaze.

Little fruit cake squares packed with chopped dates, candied cherries, and pecans, baked in a 9-inch pan and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite-sized holiday treats.

Cocoa bars with a buttery shortbread base and a fudgy cocoa-almond topping baked on top. Two-step build in one pan, sliced into 24 squares while warm.

Grandma's apple cake loaded with 4 cups of chopped apples and nuts in a moist, cinnamon-spiced oil batter. No mixer needed, baked in a tube pan and dusted with powdered sugar.

Chocolate pecan shortbread cookies, food-processor easy. Cocoa-rich shortbread pressed thin and topped with crystal sugar and ground pecans for crunch.

Brigette's almond crescent cookies bring together buttery shortbread, rolled oats, and finely chopped almonds, finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. A classic passed-down holiday bake.

Toll House layer cake with chocolate chip cookie-style layers frosted with rich chocolate buttercream. A four-layer sheet cake made from classic Toll House cookie dough baked flat and stacked.

Mocha icing whips butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, egg yolk, and coffee into a silky chocolate-coffee frosting for cakes and cupcakes. Three-ingredient base, ready in minutes.

Homemade shortbread with just three ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, and flour. The classic Scottish biscuit pressed into a pan, pricked with a fork, and baked golden for buttery, melt-in-your-mouth squares.

Refrigerator mocha torte layers graham crackers between rich chocolate-coffee buttercream in a loaf pan, chilled until firm. No-bake icebox cake with sliceable mocha layers. Serves 10.

Graham cracker muffins made with crushed graham crackers, honey, and skim milk. A quick, no-flour muffin with a warm, toasty graham flavor ready in 25 minutes.

Mocha layer cake made with cocoa and strong coffee, filled with sweetened whipped cream, dates, and nuts. A vintage two-layer cake dusted with powdered sugar.

Buttery pretzel-shaped cookies made with powdered sugar, egg whites, and vanilla, baked golden and drizzled with an optional chocolate frosting. A fun twist on classic butter cookies.

Classic carrot cake loaf with grated carrots, cinnamon, chopped nuts, and cream cheese frosting. Baked in loaf pans for easy slicing, this moist oil-based cake is simple to make.

Chocolate pecan bars with a buttery cinnamon shortbread crust and a gooey brown sugar-chocolate topping. Dusted with powdered sugar and cut into squares.