10,000 desert recipes

City school red devil's food cake made with cocoa, hot coffee, buttermilk, cake flour, and a touch of red food coloring. The nostalgic cafeteria chocolate cake from scratch.

Grandma's picnic chocolate cake baked in one 8x8 pan with buttermilk, cocoa powder, and cake flour. An old-fashioned single-layer snacking cake that travels well and stays moist for days.

Painted sugar cookies decorated with vibrant egg-yolk paint before baking, set on a no-leavening rolled cookie that holds its shape and color. A craft-and-bake project for kids and holidays.

Classic ice cream soda recipes in five variations: Black and White, White and Black, Black Cow, Strawberry Soda, and Hoboken. Seltzer, syrup, ice cream, and whipped cream.

Pecan pudding baked in a custard cup in the microwave: dark corn syrup, egg, and chopped pecans in a buttered cup, dusted with powdered sugar. Pecan pie filling in individual pudding form.

Low-fat chocolate mousse skips the cream and yolks, using skim milk, cocoa, gelatin, and whipped egg whites for an airy diet-friendly dessert. Sugar or sweetener, your choice.

Butterscotch dandy cake folds homemade hard-ball butterscotch syrup into a tender two-layer cake, then crowns it with a cooked brown sugar buttercream. A real-deal Southern butterscotch cake from scratch.

Buttery German almond crescents dusted with powdered sugar, made with ground almonds and double extracts for a melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie.

Chocolate chip meringue kisses that dry in the oven for 5 hours after a brief blast of heat. Light, crisp, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with just six ingredients.

Old-fashioned date and nut drop cookies spiced with cinnamon and cloves, made with egg yolks and buttermilk. A chewy, fruit-studded holiday cookie with a nostalgic name.

One-bowl brownies made with melted unsweetened chocolate, butter, and chopped nuts. Fudgy, rich, and minimal cleanup with the chocolate melted right in the mixing bowl.

Cream cheese snowflake cookies with lemon zest, topped with powdered sugar icing and edible glitter. Delicate, buttery Christmas cutout cookies that sparkle.

Maryanne's cheesecake: a low-and-slow New York-style cheesecake with cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and lemon zest on a buttery graham cracker crust. Baked gently for an ultra-silky texture.

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.

Buttery nut ball cookies rolled in powdered sugar, also called Russian tea cakes or Mexican wedding cookies. Six ingredients, no eggs, and they melt in your mouth.

Sweet noodle kugel layered with cottage cheese, sour cream, raisins, and vanilla, then rested overnight and baked into a golden cinnamon-sugar-topped Jewish holiday classic.