Recipes with sugar

Mediterranean semolina olive oil cake with lemon zest, almond extract, and cinnamon sugar topping. Moist Italian-inspired torte drizzled with honey and toasted almonds, perfect for brunch or elegant dessert.

Indonesian salad with pan-fried tofu, boiled potatoes, steamed spinach and cabbage, and fresh bean sprouts, topped with a blended spicy peanut dressing. Vegetarian, ready in 30 minutes.

Chinese cold jellyfish salad tossed with shredded rainbow vegetables, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. A banquet-style appetizer famous for its crunchy texture and minimalist dressing.

Amaretto chocolate chip cheesecake with a fudgy wafer crust, amaretto cream cheese filling studded with chocolate chips, and an almond-topped sour cream finish. The grown-up dessert centerpiece.

Low-fat barley kugel studded with cinnamon apples and plump raisins. This lighter twist on a Jewish comfort classic swaps butter for yogurt yet still delivers that creamy, custardy bite.

Hamantaschen, the triangular Purim cookies, here filled with a rich honey-nut mixture brightened with lemon. A rum-scented dough folded into the traditional three-cornered shape and baked to a golden glaze.

No-bake oatmeal cookies with cocoa, peanut butter, and chopped nuts dropped onto wax paper. Ready in 20 minutes with zero oven time. Makes two dozen chewy chocolate cookies.

A lighter blueberry pear cobbler with a fluffy drop-biscuit topping. Made with pears packed in juice and skim milk, this fruit-forward dessert keeps things simple and satisfying.

Moist spice cake made with apricot baby food and puréed canned apricots, topped with boiled brown sugar icing.

Hyde Park fudge cake is a rich chocolate Bundt made with unsweetened chocolate, sour milk, and a glossy double-boiler chocolate icing. An old-fashioned classic.

Homemade bear claw pastries made from a buttery yeasted dough wrapped around a cherry, date, raisin, and walnut filling. This classic bakery recipe yields 16 to 20 golden, flaky pastries with a sweet almond glaze.

French chocolate cake with a fudgy molten center and barely-set top, built from melted sweet chocolate, butter, and whipped egg whites. A bare-bones flourless-style classic served with unsweetened whipped cream.

Crisp, flourless oatmeal pecan lace cookies with a delicate see-through pattern and buttery caramel snap. Five minutes of mixing, eight minutes to bake, perfect rolled into cornucopias.

Traditional Greek baklava with layers of buttery phyllo, cinnamon-spiced walnuts, and sweet lemon syrup. This classic nut strudel is crispy, sweet, and utterly addictive.

A German-style blueberry kuchen with a buttery press-in crust, cinnamon-spiced baked berries, and a crown of fresh blueberries on top. Five cups of berries in every pie.

Ruth's Whiskey Ice Box Cake is a no-bake vintage dessert: whiskey-spiked gelatin mousse layered between split ladyfingers and chilled overnight in a springform pan. A make-ahead showstopper.

Crustless sweet potato pie with almond extract for a Southern-style dessert that bakes in 25 minutes. Mashed sweet potatoes, butter, and sugar create a custardy slice without rolling a single piece of dough.

Bourekakia - Greek honey nut rolls in phyllo dough with cinnamon, orange zest, and a hot honey-lemon syrup. Crispy, buttery pastry spirals soaked in sweet syrup like baklava.

Yeasted anise biscotti from Genoa, made with a sponge starter for a lighter, bread-like crumb. Twice-baked with butter and aniseed, these are nothing like ordinary biscotti.

A moist chocolate date cake baked in an 8-inch square pan with chocolate chips in the batter and a crunchy chip-nut-sugar topping. Dates softened in boiling water keep it impossibly tender. The kind of no-fuss cake you carry straight to the picnic in the pan.

Hearty double bran bread machine recipe combining bran flakes cereal and toasted bran with bread flour, butter, and brown sugar. A nutty, fiber-rich homemade loaf with a tender crumb and wholesome flavor.

Creamy homemade cornstarch pudding from scratch with butter and vanilla. Includes variations for chocolate, banana, and butterscotch pudding. One base recipe, four desserts.

Greek briam-style vegetable casserole with eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes baked in olive oil. A rustic Mediterranean bake served with feta and bread.

Old-fashioned chocolate butterscotch fudge cooked to soft ball stage with sweetened condensed milk, crunchy walnuts, and a toffee-like richness you won't find in shortcut recipes.

A tender and juicy beef roast that is simmered to perfection with apple cider.

Bread machine Southern cornbread with sharp cheddar, pimentos, hot sauce, buttermilk, and real corn kernels. A spicy, cheesy cornbread loaf you dump in the machine and walk away from.

Pecan and red onion bread made in a bread machine or by hand. Savory yeast bread with chopped nuts and sweet onion baked into a soft, buttery crumb.

Pumpkin-apple pie with a spiced brown sugar apple layer on the bottom and creamy pumpkin custard on top. Two fall pies in one, baked in a single crust.

Self-saucing sticky toffee pudding, a date-studded muscovado sponge that creates its own rich toffee sauce underneath as it bakes. Spoon it warm over vanilla ice cream or pouring cream.

Orange sugar-crusted meltaway cookies with chocolate chips and chopped nuts, dipped in fresh orange juice and rolled in sugar to form a delicate citrus-sugar shell. A bright, buttery shortbread-style holiday cookie.

Vinegret is Russia's beloved cooked vegetable salad: roasted beets, potatoes, carrots, dill pickles, and peas in a mustard-vinegar dressing with fresh dill. A colorful, make-ahead side.

Layered vegetarian moussaka with sauteed eggplant, rich mushroom-tomato sauce with red wine, and creamy ricotta bechamel baked until golden. Greek comfort food, no lamb needed.

Stovetop sweet and sour meatballs glazed in tangy pineapple sauce with crisp-tender green peppers in just 40 minutes.

Simple cookie bars with a cake-like base topped with fruit pie filling and powdered sugar. A vintage sheet pan dessert that feeds a crowd with minimal effort using canned filling.

Long, slow simmering of meat and herbs produces the base for this incomparable sauce.

Soft cherry muffins with maraschino cherries, almond extract, and a crunchy sugar-almond topping. Buttermilk keeps them tender while cherry juice adds a rosy sweetness.

Brown sugar blondies loaded with butterscotch chips and chopped nuts. No cocoa, all caramel and vanilla. The butterscotch cousin to classic chocolate brownies.

Strawberry sorbet made with pureed fresh strawberries, cranberry juice, and lemon juice. No ice cream maker needed. Freeze, blend, and refreeze for a smooth, fruity frozen treat.

Grilled venison marinated in a homemade teriyaki sauce with soy, ginger, and garlic. Cut it into steaks, strips, or bite-size pieces for a wild game twist on a Japanese classic.

Tender sour cream sheet cake with black walnut flavoring, topped with a quick-cook caramel frosting loaded with chopped nuts. One pan, one hour, and a frosting that comes together on the stovetop.

This cake won me First Prize at the county fair last year. It is very chocolaty.

This is one of those "ooooof!" cakes. Between the chocolate ganache and the chocolate mousse filling you might break out in some butter sweats, but it is very worth it. The cake is fluffy and moist, the mousse cool and airy, and the ganache smooth and creamy. A great show off cake for special occasions. Best of all, really easy to make!

Sliced apples layered with cinnamon sugar get topped with a simple cake batter that bakes into a tender crust for an effortless dessert that's halfway between apple crisp and cake.

Kung Pao chicken: authentic Sichuan stir fry with velveted chicken cubes, blackened dried red chiles, scallions, and roasted peanuts in a glossy sweet-sour sauce. The real deal, not the sweet American version.

Try something new for dinner with this authentic Chinese dish that calls for prawns, chinese mushrooms and succulent pork.

Thai-style bananas simmered in sweetened coconut milk with a pinch of salt. A 4-ingredient dessert that doubles as a hot or cold treat, ready in 25 minutes.

This tasty bread is reminiscent of the 1950s open-faced sandwich favorite made by covering split hamburger buns with canned comed beef, cheese slicesand a dollop of barbecue sauce, then heating them in the oven.

Banana chocolate marble cake swirls melted semi-sweet chocolate into a moist sour cream banana batter, finished with a glossy orange-scented chocolate ganache.