Recipes with vanilla bean

Chocolate caramel pecan cheesecake on a buttery graham crust, with a hidden layer of melted caramels and toasted pecans under a chocolate cream cheese filling.

Apricot squares with a buttery shortbread base and a chewy brown sugar layer studded with simmered apricots and chopped almonds. Dusted with powdered sugar for a classic finish.

Mint Surprise Cookies hide a melty chocolate mint wafer inside soft brown-sugar dough, each one crowned with a toasted walnut. Chill the dough so it seals the surprise neatly before baking.

Buttery macadamia nut biscotti with half the nuts ground into the dough and half left whole. Twice-baked for a crisp, crunchy cookie with rich tropical flavor.

Make-ahead slice and bake sugar cookies with lemon extract. Shape the dough into logs, freeze for up to 6 months, and bake fresh cookies in 10 minutes whenever the craving hits.

Lighter pumpkin cream cheese pie with fat-free cream cheese, egg whites, and maple syrup in a phyllo pastry crust. All the fall flavor with less guilt per slice.

Rigo Jancsi, the classic Hungarian chocolate cake with two layers of rich sponge filled with rum-spiked chocolate cream and topped with a glossy chocolate glaze. An elegant European pastry.

Whoopie pies sandwich two soft chocolate cake-cookies around a fluffy vanilla cream filling. Maine and Pennsylvania Dutch dessert with a cult following.

Easy cranberry cheesecake with tart cranberries and bright orange zest folded into a creamy filling and baked in a graham-dusted pie plate. A festive, holiday-ready dessert with a sweet-tart balance.

These delicious and melted in your mouth cookies don't last long.

Coffee coffeecake baked in a bundt pan with a marbled espresso swirl through sour cream batter, topped with a pourable espresso glaze.

Chocolate maple cake with unsweetened chocolate, folded egg whites, and a maple walnut buttercream frosting. Split into four layers for an impressive celebration cake.

A decadent cake that is buttery, moist, rich and delicious.

Low-fat oatmeal muffins packed with warm spices, dried cranberries, and pecans. Made with maple syrup, orange juice, and egg whites for 12 healthy muffins.

Norwegian krumkaker are crisp cardamom-scented waffle cookies pressed thin in a special iron and rolled into cones while still hot. A traditional Scandinavian Christmas treat.

Zesty fig and date pastry bars with walnuts, orange juice, and lemon zest on a buttery shortbread crust with a crisscross lattice top. A bright, old-school cookie bar.

Pineapple zucchini bread with crushed pineapple, cinnamon, raisins, and chopped nuts baked into a moist, tender quick bread. Two-loaf recipe perfect for freezing or gifting.

Krumkake are crisp Norwegian waffle cookies pressed in a decorative iron and shaped while warm into cones or cookie bowls. Six ingredients for an elegant Scandinavian dessert vessel.

Carrots and pineapple make these moist yet delicious muffins that are perfect for breakfast or snack.

Chocolate and cherries - always a great combo - are enhanced in this winning shaped-cookie recipe by a coating of cocoa and powdered sugar. It was submitted by Lois A. Hernandez of West Allis.

Greek butter cookies (kourabiedes) with ground cloves and a thick powdered sugar coating. Tender, crumbly, and lightly spiced for the holidays.

Cookies and cream cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust, crumbled chocolate wafers folded into a creamy filling, and a tangy sour cream topping. Pure cookies-and-cream indulgence.

This quick and easy frosting can go with any cake to add a chocolate taste no one can deny!

Autumn cheesecake crowned with cinnamon-sugar apple slices and toasted pecans over a creamy vanilla filling on a spiced graham cracker crust. Fall baking at its most elegant and indulgent.

Famous Brown Derby red velvet cake with buttermilk-cocoa cake layers, vinegar reaction, and the original cooked-flour ermine frosting. Hollywood diner classic from the 1940s Wilshire icon.

Steamed cranberry Christmas pudding with molasses, served warm with a rich butter, cream, and vanilla sauce. Tart berries meet sweet sauce for a festive holiday dessert.

Chocolate bread made in a bread machine with cocoa powder, butter, egg, and vanilla. A sweet, enriched yeast bread with deep chocolate flavor, makes two loaves.

Sweet, but you will enjoy this with any Sunday Roast....

Light fruitcake is the pale, buttery holiday classic: candied pineapple, cherries and citron with golden raisins, pecans and walnuts, brightened with lemon and vanilla, then brandy-soaked and aged for weeks.

Self-crusting coconut pie that mixes in one bowl, pours into the pan, and forms its own crust as it bakes. Eggs, milk, butter, and coconut create a custardy slice with a tender brown bottom. The recipe makes two pies.

Homemade pralines and cream ice cream, a Southern custard-based ice cream studded with chunks of homemade buttermilk pralines. Real cooked custard churned with heavy cream for a proper old-fashioned ice cream parlor texture.

These delicious almond cookies are the perfect treat to have when enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Peanut butter cheesecake baked inside a fudgy brownie crust with a sour cream topping. A rich, chocolate-meets-peanut-butter dessert worthy of a glass slipper.

Try this quick and simple recipe to create a tasty treat that you will enjoy!

Tropical cheesecake with a coconut-almond crust, creamy pineapple filling, and fresh fruit on top drizzled with chocolate. A showstopping dessert worth the overnight chill.

This is ungodly rich. Serve in very small wedges. Even heavy eaters can't eat much at once.

Fat-free carrot cake made with yogurt, egg substitute, and wheat germ instead of oil and eggs. Topped with a light cream cheese frosting spiked with almond extract and lemon.

Classic pound cake made from scratch with butter, shortening, and 7-Up for tender crumb: baked 90 minutes in a bundt pan with vanilla and lemon extract for subtle citrus sweetness.

Lemon cake mix topped with a sweet ricotta and cinnamon spread that tastes just like cannoli filling. All the Italian bakery flavor with a fraction of the fuss. Dot with cherries for a festive finish.

A delicious Christmas bread made with almonds, cream cheese, golden raisins and brandy.

Make sure to sit by the fireplace when enjoying this decadent cake that goes great with a cup hot chocolate.

Club cheesecake with a zwieback crumb crust and cottage cheese filling brightened with lemon zest and folded egg whites. An old-school, lighter cheesecake with a German-style base.

Low fat turtle cheesecake sets with gelatin instead of baking, blending nonfat cream cheese and low-fat cottage cheese into a silky filling crowned with caramel, hot fudge, and pecans.

Danish cream cheese coffee cake made with crescent roll dough, vanilla cream cheese filling, and a cinnamon-nut topping. Dusted with powdered sugar for a quick brunch treat.

Nantucket donuts: classic New England cake donuts with cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter, fried golden and tumbled in a bag of cinnamon sugar. Old-fashioned donut shop nostalgia.

Classic Italian pizzelle cookies flavored with anise and vanilla, pressed thin and crisp in a pizzelle iron. A simple batter that refrigerates well for baking anytime.

Blintz muffins blend cottage cheese, sour cream, honey, and orange zest into tender whole wheat bites topped with sliced almonds. All the flavor of a cheese blintz, none of the frying.

Classic ranger cookies packed with crisp rice cereal, flaked coconut, and chopped dates for triple texture in every bite. Crunchy outside, chewy middle. Bakes a batch in about 25 minutes.