Dessert, Baked Good Recipes

Meringue-based granola cookies made with whipped egg whites, brown sugar, and folded-in granola. Light, crispy, and low-fat with no butter or flour needed.

Cumulonimbus chocolate cake hides a secret ingredient: sauerkraut. Drained, snipped, and folded into a cocoa-and-coffee batter, it disappears completely and leaves behind a moist, fluffy chocolate cake. Frosted with a two-ingredient chocolate sour cream icing.

Adorable hand-shaped chocolate X and O cookies made with cocoa and decorated with icing. A fun Valentine's Day baking project for kids that yields 5 dozen hugs and kisses.

Lite cheesecake with raspberry sauce uses nonfat cream cheese and 2% cottage cheese for a silky, tangy slice without the guilt. Topped with bright homemade raspberry sauce.

Three-ingredient chocolate chip meringues, also called "forgotten cookies." Slip them into a hot oven, turn it off, and walk away overnight for crisp, melt-in-your-mouth puffs.

Apple pie cake made with yellow cake mix and canned apple pie filling, topped with a buttery cinnamon crumb streusel. A shortcut dessert that tastes homemade.

Best apple raspberry pie: tart Granny Smith apples and jewel-bright raspberries spiced with cinnamon under a flaky, folded lard crust. A sweet-tart twist on classic apple pie.

A moist bundt cake loaded with cinnamon schnapps-soaked apples and nuts, drenched in a buttery cinnamon glaze while still warm from the oven.

Apple snack cake mix shortcut: stir cake mix, egg, and milk right in the baking pan, press sugared apple slices into the top, and bake. A single-pan dessert ready in 40 minutes.

Chocolate icebox pie folds whipped cream into a cream cheese and chocolate syrup filling, then freezes it in a chocolate crumb crust. A no-bake summer dessert that scoops like ice cream pie.

Microwave chocolate turtle cheesecake layered with gooey caramel, pecans, cream cheese filling, and a chocolate chip topping. Ready in 40 minutes with no oven required.

Two-layer banana cake with pecans and buttermilk, filled and frosted with chocolate whipped cream and fresh banana slices. A showstopper that pairs ripe banana with rich chocolate mousse.

Victorian honey cakes from an 1872 recipe, made with butter, honey, and egg yolks, topped with heather honey and ground almonds. Light, tender, and warmly sweet.

Decadent candy bar pie with peanut butter cheesecake filling, chocolate topping, and chunks of candy throughout. A show-stopping dessert for serious sweet lovers.

Fudgy chocolate pudding cake that bakes its own gooey sauce underneath. Made with baking mix, cocoa, condensed milk, and chocolate syrup. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Sunshine ice cream pie with layers of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet on a graham cracker crust, topped with mandarin oranges and toasted coconut. No-bake summer dessert.