10,000 desert recipes

Molasses ginger snaps with the classic crackled tops that form as the dough balls melt and spread. Warmly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, these crisp-edged cookies are a holiday baking staple.

Old-fashioned applesauce cake: applesauce and oil keep it moist and tender, warm cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg give it autumn spice, and raisins and nuts add chew. An easy one-pan cake.

Sugar-free chocolate banana cream pie with a no-bake peanut butter and crisp-rice crust, sliced bananas, sugar-free chocolate pudding and a light whipped topping. Press it, layer it, freeze it. No oven, no refined sugar.

Tangy goat cheese replaces cream cheese in this elegant cheesecake with a honey-kissed graham cracker crust and silky sour cream topping. Bright with lemon zest and vanilla, it chills overnight for a make-ahead dessert that wows.

Low-fat holiday cheesecake with nonfat cream cheese, lemon yogurt, and a graham cracker crust, topped with cherry pie filling and whipped topping.

Authentic biscotti di Prato from Tuscany. Twice-baked Italian almond cookies with toasted almonds, a pinch of saffron, and the traditional pasta-board well method. Crisp, dunkable, and built to keep.

No-egg fruit cake loaded with candied cherries, pineapple, dates, toasted coconut, and nuts, bound with sweetened condensed milk and glazed with orange juice and honey.

Classic savayar (savoiardi), Italian ladyfinger cookies piped from a sponge batter of egg yolks, whipped whites, sugar, and flour. Crisp outside, tender inside, the perfect tiramisu builder or dessert dunker.

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.

French chocolate cake from a 1953 recipe contest, made with cocoa powder, sour cream, and folded egg whites for a tender, tall crumb. Finished with a soft-ball brown sugar chocolate frosting that sets glossy and rich.

Easy sweet potato pie with nutmeg, vanilla, and lemon extract blended smooth in a food processor and baked in a deep-dish crust. A Southern classic that comes together in 15 minutes of prep with a silky, custard-like filling.

A moist bundt cake studded with chopped prunes and nuts, spiced with cinnamon and allspice, then dusted with powdered sugar for vintage elegance.

Illinois apple pie fills a flaky double-crust shortening pastry with thin-sliced Granny Smith apples spiced with cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Brushed with milk and dusted with sugar for a sparkling top.

Gingerbread bears: classic rolled and cut gingerbread cookies with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, molasses, and a lemon zest brightener. Chill the dough, roll thin, decorate as bears for the holidays.

Chocolate pudding cake bakes covered to develop a moist, dense crumb that lands between cake and pudding. A buttermilk-cocoa dessert that holds at room temp or chilled.

Lower-fat banana cake with pureed prunes replacing most of the butter, nonfat vanilla yogurt, and egg whites. A moist sheet cake that cuts the fat without losing flavor.