Recipes with vanilla bean

Light sponge cake baked in a casserole dish, then soaked with a hot rum sugar syrup and topped with toasted almonds or coconut. This boozy, syrup-drenched dessert is even better the next day.

Dessert pizza on bread dough crust with cream cheese layer, cinnamon apples, and almond streusel topping. Fun twist on apple pie. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Please your desire for pastries with this scrumptious snack that has a hint of almond.

Three layers of deep chocolate cake get brushed with vanilla sugar glaze while hot, then stacked with mocha buttercream icing spiked with coffee and cocoa.

Simple butter cookies that earned honorable mention: just butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla rolled in sugar and stamped flat, no chilling or cutting required for crisp golden edges.

7-layer brownie ice cream cake with thin homemade brownie rounds stacked with vanilla ice cream and frozen in a springform pan. A make-ahead frozen dessert that slices like a dream.

Fluffy vanilla meringue tops a tangy lemon-spiked applesauce custard for a light, elegant dessert that's equally good hot or cold.

Blond brownies with brown sugar and butter base topped with almonds and chocolate chips: butterscotch-flavored bars baked until golden, named for the A-B-C toppings.

Award-winning almond shortbread cookies with a buttery dent filled with homemade butterscotch frosting and topped with chopped pistachios. A 1986 classic.

Six layers of indulgence: buttery shortbread crust, from-scratch vanilla pudding, cream cheese mousse, crushed pineapple, caramel drizzle, whipped cream, and a chocolate glaze zigzag on top.

Homemade cream liqueurs blended with sweetened condensed milk, whipping cream, and your choice of whiskey, amaretto, or rum. Stores in the fridge for up to a month.

Triple wheat-honey muffins with whole-wheat flour, wheat bran and cooked wheat flakes for a hearty, high-fiber breakfast. Naturally sweetened with honey.

[Note: Bobby Flay, chef of NYC's Mesa Grill, prepared this dessert for a Meals on Wheels benefit meal at the Frontera Grill in Chicago

If you're looking for an alternative for ice cream, then try this rich creamy yogurt that is good to the last spoonful.

Old-fashioned Christmas fudge packed with candied pineapple, candied cherries, almonds, and pecans. Creamy, fruity, and nutty in every square, this holiday candy makes 80 pieces for gifting.

Florida Bay Snickers cheesecake: a rich cream cheese base studded with Snickers chunks, topped with caramel glaze, chocolate ganache, and chopped peanuts. Over-the-top indulgence.

Soft, pillowy potato doughnuts made with mashed potatoes and buttermilk, fried golden, and dipped in a quick chocolate fudge frosting. This big-batch recipe yields about 48 doughnuts.

You will be singing Christmas carols after enjoying this decadent cake made with candied cherries and pecans.

Italian fried knots dipped in honey glaze and topped with colorful non-pareils. A traditional Italian-American holiday pastry with a crispy, golden shell and sweet honey coating.

Marbled caramel mocha cheesecake with swirled chocolate and coffee layers on a crushed Oreo crust. Dark brown sugar, milk chocolate chips, and a slow bake for a crack-free finish.

Boston cream pie from scratch with a sponge cake split and filled with vanilla custard, topped with a glossy chocolate ganache glaze. The classic American dessert done right with three handmade components.

Buttermilk pear pound cake built on reduced pear puree and nutty brown butter, with whipped egg whites folded in for a tender, moist crumb. A lighter spin on a classic tube cake.

One butter cookie dough, eight different cookies. Drop cookies, snowballs, butter fingers, cinnamon balls, chocolate mint creams, and more from a single batch.

Banana chocolate chip bars with whole wheat flour, mashed ripe bananas, and mini chocolate morsels, dusted with powdered sugar. A bake-and-share sheet bar that yields a crowd.

Quick microwave pecan pie ready in under 35 minutes when the oven is occupied. This method uses interval cooking at varying power levels to set the filling without overcooking the edges.

Finnish fingers (sokerikakkusormet) are short, buttery shortbread sticks brushed with egg white and rolled in pearl sugar for a crunchy, sparkling exterior. Classic Scandinavian Christmas cookie.

A rich and delicious cheesecake that's simple to make and easy to enjoy!

Pennsylvania Dutch funny cake baked in a pie shell with chocolate sauce on the bottom and vanilla cake on top. Two layers swap places in the oven like magic.

No-starter friendship Bundt cake with brandied fruit, coconut, dates, and a hit of orange and walnut extracts. The classic friendship cake without the 30-day countdown.

Boccone Dolce is a stunning Italian meringue layer cake filled with melted chocolate, clouds of whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Three crisp meringue discs stacked into a showstopping dessert.

Brown sugar cheesecake marbled with chocolate on a pecan cookie crust, crowned with toasted pecan halves and drizzled with caramel. Southern praline indulgence in every bite.

Vanilla pignoli biscotti are buttery Italian twice-baked cookies packed with toasted pine nuts and fragrant vanilla. Crisp enough to dunk in coffee, with a tender, golden crumb.

Chewy cookies packed with oats, peanut butter, and finely chopped apples. Whole wheat flour adds nuttiness while egg substitute keeps them lower in fat. Perfect for lunchboxes.

Nusskipferl are Austrian yeast-leavened crescent cookies filled with sweet ground nut meringue. A traditional Viennese coffeehouse pastry rolled jelly-roll style and curved into delicate horns.

Maple walnut poundcake with a cinnamon walnut streusel swirl and pancake syrup sweetening the batter. A dense, tender tube-pan cake that makes its own maple glaze as the streusel melts during baking.

White chocolate brownies studded with dried apricots, sliced almonds, and coconut flakes for a blonde bar with fruity-nutty appeal.

Frozen layered parfait with honey-almond cream base and raspberry mousse top, served with warm raspberry sauce. The dinner-party showstopper from the Masterchefs collection.

Died and went to heaven chocolate cake is a deeply chocolate bundt that's secretly low-fat: buttermilk and hot coffee make it rich and moist with just a quarter cup of oil. Bittersweet, tender, and crowd-worthy.

Mrs Fields' black and white cookies: chewy chocolate cookies studded with chunks of both semi-sweet and white chocolate. The famous mall-cookie chain copycat with bakery-sized presence.

Brown sugar fudge cooked to the soft-ball stage with molasses, heavy cream, and a touch of unsweetened chocolate. Old-fashioned candy-thermometer method for a creamy, never-grainy result that sets up firm and slices clean.

Crunchy caramel-coated Corn Chex mixed with toasted coconut, peanuts, milk chocolate morsels, and raisins. An addictive sweet-salty party snack mix that disappears fast.

Mocha meringue kisses with espresso, cocoa powder, and a splash of creme de cacao. Crisp on the outside, soft in the center, and naturally fat-free.

Chocolate Velvet cake made with mayonnaise instead of butter or oil for an extra-moist crumb, topped with a broiled coconut-walnut sauce. The unexpected vintage cake that converts skeptics.

Stove-top candied sweet potatoes simmered in brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and lemon. No oven needed, no marshmallows in sight, perfect for crowded Thanksgiving stoves.

A light and fluffy chiffon cake is a perfect dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Munich cheesecake with a shortcrust base, vanilla bean cream cheese filling, poppy seed-raisin layer, and brown sugar streusel topping broiled until crisp.

German chocolate brownie cookies marry fudgy cocoa cookies with the classic coconut-pecan caramel topping. Brown-sugar dough loaded with chocolate chips, crowned candy-bar style.

Double anise almond biscotti with anise extract, ground star anise, and slivered almonds in a twice-baked Italian cookie. Crisp enough to dunk in espresso or vin santo.