Dessert, Baked Good Recipes

Yeasted anise biscotti from Genoa, made with a sponge starter for a lighter, bread-like crumb. Twice-baked with butter and aniseed, these are nothing like ordinary biscotti.

Sicilian sesame seed cookies with a tender, crumbly interior coated in nutty toasted sesame. These Italian bakery favorites make 6 dozen and disappear twice as fast as you'd expect.

This delicious Italian snack is perfect with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Rich chocolate cake meets tangy cream cheese in marbled cupcakes studded with mini chocolate chips for a bakery-style treat that delivers two flavors in every bite.

Walnut-stuffed dates wrapped in buttery sour cream cookie dough and brushed with a vanilla glaze. These retro blind date cookies are chewy, nutty, and irresistible.

A lighter blueberry pie with a graham cracker crust, baked nonfat cream cheese filling, blueberry pie filling, and fluffy whipped topping. Uses reduced-fat ingredients throughout without sacrificing the layered indulgence everyone loves.

Jewel-toned cubes of orange, cherry, and lime Jell-O nestled in a creamy lemon-pineapple filling on a buttery graham cracker crust. No baking required, just chill overnight and slice.

A big-batch brownie sheet cake made with cocoa, buttermilk, and a hint of cinnamon. The boiled cocoa mixture gives the crumb an intensely fudgy texture. Ice it while warm for a glossy, melt-in finish.

Buttermilk pound cake with brown sugar, plumped currants, anise extract, and orange marmalade glaze. A dense, deeply flavored tube-pan cake with caramel undertones and old-fashioned charm.

Rich chocolate Cajun pound cake with devil's food mix, chocolate pudding, rum extract, and chocolate chips. Topped with a glossy cocoa glaze. Easy one-bowl recipe, bakes in under an hour.

Snickers-loaded caramel crunch cheesecake pie on a peanut graham crust, topped with milk chocolate ganache and a caramel drizzle. A candy bar lover's wildest dream.

Lighter carrot cake loaf with crushed pineapple, whipped egg whites, and a smooth nonfat cream cheese topping. Warm cinnamon spice in every slice without the heavy guilt.

A spiced carrot cake made ultra-moist with applesauce, packed with shredded carrots, golden raisins, and walnuts. Bake it in a tube pan or 9x13 for a crowd-pleasing cake that keeps for days.

A chocolate cherry upside-down cake made without eggs or butter. Cherry pie filling bakes under a rich cocoa batter, then gets flipped for a stunning glossy cherry top.

Chocolate coconut cake roll spirals a light cocoa sponge around a fluffy cherry-coconut whipped cream filling. Rolled warm so it won't crack, then chilled and dusted with powdered sugar. A retro showstopper.

Tender fried doughnuts packed with melted unsweetened chocolate and buttermilk tang, drizzled with vanilla icing. Deep-fry to golden perfection in just 3 minutes per doughnut.