Dessert, Baked Good Recipes

Santa's Whiskers are festive slice-and-bake cookies with candied cherries and pecans in a buttery dough, rolled in flaked coconut for a snowy, whiskery edge.

Soft Southern cream cookies made with sour cream for a pillowy, cake-like texture. Pressed flat with a cinnamon-sugar coated glass and baked until barely golden.

Pan di Spagna, the classic Italian sponge cake with eggs whipped to a ribbon, cake flour and cornstarch folded gently to preserve air. The foundation for tiramisu, zuppa inglese, and fruit-layered tortes.

Scotch shortbread with just five ingredients: butter, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. A classic, buttery, sandy-textured cookie that melts on the tongue.

Almond rolls are buttery shortbread logs made with just four ingredients: butter, sugar, ground almonds, and flour. The kind of cookie tin staple that goes with afternoon tea or coffee.

Deep-dish peach pie with a tangy cream cheese pastry top draped over six cups of fresh peaches, brown sugar, and nutmeg. The cream cheese makes the crust shatteringly tender and golden under the egg wash and sugar.

Oatmeal cookies packed with chopped dates, sweetened coconut, and nuts in an orange juice-brown sugar dough. Three cups of oats for serious chew, plus cinnamon warmth in every bite.

Sicilian cassata cake with a delicate sponge layer, Marsala wine soak, and rich chocolate custard filling. A traditional Italian celebration dessert built in stages.

Macadamia white chocolate cookies with raspberry jam stirred into the batter for fruity sweetness. Buttery, chewy, and ready in under 30 minutes.

Nesselrode pudding pie with a rum-spiked custard, whipped egg whites, and Nesselrode mix set in a pie shell and topped with chocolate shavings. A classic, elegant chilled holiday dessert.

Patriotic jello cake is a red-white-and-blue poke cake with strawberry and blueberry jello soaked into a white cake, frosted with whipped topping. A July 4th potluck classic that slices into stripes of color.

Roll-and-cut almond cookies with toasted sliced almonds folded into a buttery dough and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. Crisp edges, tender centers, and a double hit of vanilla and almond extract.

Old-fashioned buttermilk gingerbread with a streusel-style crumb topping built from the same dough. Molasses, ginger, and cinnamon meet a tangy buttermilk batter for a soft, warm-spiced cake. Serve warm with whipped cream or baked apple.

Light, crisp peppermint meringue cookies made with egg whites, sugar, and crushed candy canes. Slow-baked until dry and melt-in-your-mouth airy.

Low calorie oatmeal cookies made with oat bran, quick oats, apple juice, and just a touch of margarine. No flour, no butter, all the chew.

Apricot almond chewies are no-bake bites that bind dried apricots, toasted slivered almonds, and shredded coconut with sweetened condensed milk. Refrigerator cookies, no oven required.