2,200 light recipes

Pear and cranberry tart with a buttery oat crumble topping. Tart cranberries burst in a sweet corn syrup sauce with tender sliced pears underneath the crisp.

Green bean and new potato salad with garlic-tarragon mayo. Steamed and tossed warm so the dressing sinks in, the kind of bright, crisp summer side that goes with everything off the grill.

Pineapple fudge cooked stovetop with crushed pineapple, marshmallows, and pecans, then beaten to a creamy, old-fashioned finish. Ready in 30 minutes and yields nearly 49 pieces.

Five-ingredient Southern pecan dainties with brown sugar, egg whites, and vanilla. Crispy, chewy, flourless pecan cookies baked low and slow. Makes six dozen from one batch.

Havana Banana cocktail mixes light rum, banana liqueur, and pineapple-coconut drink over ice in a brandy snifter. A tropical sipper ready in minutes.

Golden cream puffs filled with tangy vanilla custard and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce. Three components, one spectacular from-scratch dessert.

Almond cream filling made with almond paste, toasted ground almonds, and egg yolks cooked into a silky custard. A rich pastry filling for tarts, cakes, and croissants.

Chocolate mud frosting made by melting chocolate chips with milk in the microwave, then blending with corn syrup and vanilla. A glossy, fudgy four-ingredient frosting with no butter or powdered sugar.

Old-fashioned baked beans made from scratch with dried navy beans, molasses, brown sugar and salt pork, slow-baked all day until thick and deeply savory-sweet. The real Boston-style deal, no can required.

Fig Star Cookies feature a maple-scented shortening dough wrapped around a homemade dried fig filling with lemon and nuts. A vintage holiday cookie worth the effort.

Simple Banana Daiquiri blends fresh banana, rum, banana liqueur, lemon juice, and superfine sugar with ice into a smooth frozen cocktail for two. Lighter than the cream version, ready in 5 minutes.

Cherry divinity is the pink church-cookbook candy: hard-ball sugar syrup whipped into beaten egg whites with cherry Jello, then loaded with chopped nuts and coconut. Old-fashioned, fluffy, festive.

Kiwi fruit gelato made without an ice cream machine, using a simple syrup, fresh kiwi puree, and lemon. Bright green, tangy, and dairy-free.

Fresh oranges drizzled with a quick maple caramel sauce made from brown sugar, maple syrup, and lemon juice. A light, elegant fruit dessert ready in minutes.

No-cook chicken tortilla roll-ups with salsa, cheddar, and light sour cream wrapped in flour tortillas. Ready in 20 minutes for lunch boxes, snacks, or party platters.

Classic pina colada blended with light rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and crushed ice until foamy. A tropical cocktail that takes 30 seconds in the blender and tastes like a Caribbean beach.