45 chocolate test recipes

Grand Marnier pound cake studded with mini chocolate chips and brushed with a warm orange-liqueur syrup. A buttery bundt with a tender crumb and a citrus-soaked crust that keeps the cake moist for days.

Van's Faves are crisp lace-thin oat cookies scented with orange zest and finished with a chocolate drizzle. Eight ingredients, big crunch, and an old-fashioned tin-cookie feel.

Three-layer orange cream brownies with a fudgy walnut brownie base, fluffy orange buttercream middle, and a glossy chocolate icing top. The Terry's Chocolate Orange in bar form, cut into 36 perfect bites.

Potato fudge cake is an heirloom chocolate-spice cake made moist and tender with grated raw potato, warm spices and almonds, crowned with gooey marshmallow icing and a bittersweet chocolate drizzle.

Viennese chocolate torte for Passover uses ground walnuts, cake meal, and potato starch in place of flour. A flourless-style torte split and filled with apricot-orange preserves and finished with a chocolate-orange glaze.

Showstopper cheesecake with a pecan shortbread crust, cranberry glaze layer, white chocolate orange filling, and candied orange slice topping. A stunning holiday dessert that requires overnight chilling.

Lemon cinnamon cookies are crisp rolled shortbread-style cutouts scented with fresh lemon zest and warm cinnamon, glazed with egg wash and sparkling sugar. Old-world cookies leavened with baking ammonia for a shatter-crisp snap.

Chocolate mousse cake with semisweet chocolate, orange liqueur, and whipped egg whites folded into a rich batter. Part one covers the cake layers with a thin, flaky crust.

Quick chocolate zucchini picnic cake: devil's food cake mix supercharged with shredded zucchini, chocolate pudding mix, walnuts, and coconut. One bowl, no frosting, travels like a champ. Garden abundance meets chocolate cake in the best way.

Lemon cats' paw cookies piped from almond dough with lemon zest and vanilla, sandwiched and dipped in dark chocolate. An elegant bakery-style cookie worth the effort.

Almond orange chocolate biscotti: toasted slivered almonds, orange zest, and chocolate chips folded into a buttery twice-baked Italian cookie dough with a splash of amaretto. Perfect with coffee.

Molten chocolate cake with a frozen Grand Marnier ganache center, served with orange whipped cream and warm chocolate sauce. A showstopping restaurant-style dessert.

Chunky drop cookies packed with milk chocolate chips, maraschino cherries, granola, flaked coconut, and chopped nuts. Brown sugar keeps them chewy, and a hint of orange zest ties it all together. Makes 3 dozen.

Hazelnut melting moments with ground filberts, lemon zest, and a pool of melted chocolate in the center. A delicate thumbprint cookie dusted with powdered sugar.

Oatmeal pumpkin cookies fold pumpkin puree, rolled oats, chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts into a cinnamon-spiced dough. Drizzle with lemon glaze or top with chocolate candies. Makes 96.

Ischler hearts: Austrian sandwich cookies with almond shortbread, apricot jam filling, and a glossy chocolate-rum glaze. Named after the spa town Bad Ischl, favorite of Emperor Franz Joseph.