2,768 desert recipes

Fresh cherries preserved in grappa with sugar, sun-steeped for a week then aged 3 months. A classic Italian after-dinner treat with boozy, fruit-soaked elegance. Only 3 ingredients.

Chocolate chiffon pots made with skim milk, cocoa, and gelatin blended with ice cubes for instant mousse. Low-fat chocolate dessert ready in 30 minutes.

Cake in Ice Cream Cones: Heloise's Edible Cup recipe

Pecan angel pie folds toasty pecans and graham cracker crumbs into stiff meringue, then bakes into a chewy-crisp dessert topped with whipped cream or ice cream. No flour, no fat in the base, just nuts and crumbs holding sweet meringue together.

Mom's small-batch pecan pralines with brown sugar, Karo corn syrup, evaporated milk, and pecan halves. Cooked to soft-ball stage and dropped on wax paper for classic Southern candy.

Classic prune whip dessert with mashed prunes folded into stiff meringue with cooked oatmeal and cinnamon. A light, airy no-bake treat with no fat and minimal sugar.

Plum-almond tart on puff pastry with toasted almonds, fresh sliced plums, lemon zest, and a built-up pastry border. Uses store-bought puff pastry for an elegant dessert in 40 minutes.

Greek kadaifi pastry with shredded dough layered around a cinnamon-almond filling, baked golden and soaked in honey-lemon syrup. A baklava cousin.

Persimmon chocolate chip cookies: ripe Hachiya persimmon pulp folded into a spiced cookie dough with chocolate chips, walnuts, and dates. Soft, cake-like cookies with autumn-spice warmth in every bite.

Mom's lemon pie cooks a fresh-lemon curd with the zest of two whole lemons over the stovetop, thickened with both flour and cornstarch. A traditional water-based lemon meringue pie filling.

Mexican mocha balls: shortbread-style chocolate-coffee cookies with chopped walnuts and maraschino cherries, rolled in extra-fine sugar. Perfect for the holiday cookie tray.

Old fashioned tea cakes made with buttermilk and self-rising flour. Soft, simple, sugar-topped Southern cookies with just 7 ingredients and no fancy equipment needed.

Famous lemon meringue pie shortcuts the curd using a packet of lemon pudding pie filling boosted with extra fresh lemon juice and butter. Topped with French meringue, ready in under an hour.

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.

Ginger peach parfait layers vanilla pudding with fresh peaches and spiced whipped topping flavored with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A light, no-bake dessert.

Lebanese Baklawa Be'Aj features phyllo squares shaped into lily petals around an egg-white walnut and almond filling, soaked in rose water and orange blossom syrup. A showstopper pastry for special occasions.