550 fruit recipes

Homemade chocolate ice cream spiked with whiskey-soaked raisins. Eight egg yolks and heavy cream create an ultra-creamy custard base loaded with melted chocolate and boozy fruit.

Old-fashioned Christmas fruit cake with boiled raisins, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. No eggs or butter needed, just cold water and shortening for a dense, spiced holiday cake.

Fresh mango sauce made with just ripe mangoes and fruit juice, pureed until smooth. A no-cook, 2-ingredient dessert sauce for ice cream, pancakes, cheesecake, and more.

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.

Peach crumb pie with cinnamon-spiced fresh peaches under a buttery brown sugar and oat crumble topping. No top crust fussing, just golden, crispy streusel over juicy fruit.

Oil-free granola with oats, wheat flakes, rye flakes, bran, dried fruits, cashews, and sunflower seeds bound with honey and vanilla. A low-fat, crunchy homemade breakfast cereal.

Frozen summer fruit punch made by freezing pineapple, orange, and banana juice into a slush, then topping with strawberries and lemon-lime soda. Crowd-sized recipe serves 30.

Stars and stripes celebration cake: a fruit-topped flag cake with yellow sheet layers, strawberry whipped cream, banana and strawberry stripes, and blueberry stars. Fourth of July centerpiece.

Diabetic-friendly cookies sweetened with raisins, dates, and apples instead of sugar. Drop cookies built around boiled fruit base with sugar substitute. Makes 3 dozen lower-glycemic cookies.

Nana Moon's traditional Christmas pudding: brandy-soaked dried fruit, suet and breadcrumbs steamed for hours into a dark, rich pudding, flamed with brandy and served with brandy butter.

Double-crust blackberry pie with a flaky shortening pastry and a simple sugar-and-flour-thickened filling. The kind of late-summer fruit pie that lets the berries do the talking.

Georgia peach pie with 8 fresh peaches, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a homemade butter lattice crust. A classic Southern fruit pie that lets peak-season peaches shine.

Low-calorie cottage cheese plate with fresh vegetables or tropical fruit, a hard-boiled egg, and rye crisp crackers. A high-protein, no-cook light lunch on a bed of lettuce.

Rocks cookies with oats, brown sugar, figs, nuts, and warm spices in a bumpy, hearty drop cookie. An old-fashioned spiced oatmeal cookie loaded with dried fruit and chopped nuts.

Dense, moist apple cake packed with dates, walnuts, and golden raisins. Oil-based batter loaded with fruit and spice bakes into a pudding-like texture in a 13x9 pan.

A fruit-packed bundt cake with bananas, crushed pineapple, applesauce, and chopped nuts spiced with cinnamon. Stir-together batter, no mixer needed. Moist, dense, and dusted with powdered sugar.