1,451 light recipes

Drop molasses cookies with buttermilk, brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon rest overnight for deep flavor. Soft, cakey cookies with that old-fashioned dark molasses chew.

Gingerbread pancakes turn weekend breakfast into the holidays: molasses, cinnamon, and ginger fold into a fluffy buttermilk-style batter with raisins. Ready in under twenty minutes from bowl to griddle.

Crunchy twice-baked biscotti loaded with chopped Heath bars, pecans, and butterscotch extract. Makes 36 to 48 cookies that are built for dunking in coffee, tea, or hot cocoa.

Bake Quick Corn Sticks to go with homemade soups and traditional Southern dinners.

Fudgy cocoa brownie cookies packed with chocolate chips, baked just until set for a soft, chewy center. Brown sugar and cocoa powder deliver intense chocolate flavor in every bite.

Sad Face Cake made with Bisquick, brown sugar, coconut, chopped nuts, and eggs. A dense, chewy dump cake with a brownie-like texture and no frosting needed.

Homemade naan bread with yogurt, milk, and poppy seeds, cooked on a hot griddle then finished under the broiler. Soft, pillowy, and perfect with curry.

Gingerbread dough made the old-fashioned way with boiled molasses, shortening, allspice, and cinnamon. Perfect for rolled cookies, houses, or cut-out shapes.

Rhubarb raspberry platz, a Mennonite fruit dessert with a shortcake base, tart fruit filling, and buttery streusel topping. Three layers baked golden in one pan.

Ricotta cheese pound cake made with a blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, brown sugar, lemon zest, and nutmeg. The pureed ricotta creates an incredibly moist, dense crumb.

Bewitching cookies with orange zest, orange juice, buttermilk, and chocolate chips in a soft brown sugar drop cookie. A citrus-chocolate combination that's hard to resist.

"A tall, impressive cake that showcases the flavors and smells of the holidays. A three-layer extravaganza with a touch of molasses and shredded apple to keep it moist. It fills the house with a fragrance that beats the most expensive holiday-scented candle. It will be talked about long after the party is over." Source: The Pastry Queen Christmas, by Rebecca Rather

Flaky, buttery pastry triangles filled with jam and kissed with orange zest. A classic Austrian cookie that uses hard-cooked egg yolks for an impossibly tender dough.

Pepper biscotti with black pepper, toasted walnuts, orange zest, and almond extract. An Italian twice-baked cookie with grown-up complexity and a subtle peppery kick. Perfect with coffee or red wine.

Christmas crackers are sweet honey-wheat holiday cookies stamped with cookie cutters and sprinkled with sugar. Makes 45 crispy-edged rectangles for gifting or dipping.

Oats cranberry muffins use prune puree instead of oil or butter, keeping them low in fat but moist and tender. Hearty oats, tart cranberries, and just egg whites make a wholesome muffin that doesn't taste like a compromise.