Dessert, Baked Good Recipes

Traditional Italian fig cookies (cucidati) with a sweet filling of dried figs, raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon wrapped in a buttery dough. A classic holiday cookie from Italian-American bakeries.

Old-fashioned lemon chess pie with cornmeal as the traditional thickener and fresh lemon juice for tang. The simplest Southern dessert: 5 ingredients, one bowl, no fuss.

Chewy date and nut bar cookies with a crisp edge, baked thin on a sheet pan and dusted with powdered sugar. Simple, old-fashioned, and only 6 ingredients.

Peanut butter crunchies are soft peanut butter cookies rolled in crushed wheat flakes before baking for a crackly, toasty-crunchy exterior. A retro lunchbox classic with a textural twist.

Oreo cookie pound cake with chunks of Oreos folded through a buttery batter and finished with a glossy chocolate glaze. A cookies-and-cream bundt that bakes up dense, moist and tender.

Heirloom walnut icebox cookies with warm spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Make-ahead slice-and-bake cookies that keep frozen for weeks until ready to bake.

Finnish almond cookies with a buttery shortbread base, egg white glaze, and sliced almonds on top. A crisp, not-too-sweet Scandinavian cookie with elegant simplicity.

Rosette cookies fried on a decorative iron with a thin egg-and-milk batter, dusted with powdered sugar. Crisp, lacy Scandinavian holiday cookies with a delicate snowflake shape.

Fresh apple butter cake loaded with diced McIntosh apples and walnuts, baked in a tube pan and drizzled with a warm sherry glaze. Dense, spiced, and indulgent.

Easy bundt cake made with yellow cake mix, orange Jell-O, apricot nectar, and chopped nuts. Finished with a tart sour orange glaze. Mix everything in one bowl, bake, and glaze. Serves 8.

Creamy cocoa cheesecake on a graham cracker crust with a tangy sour cream topping baked until just set. Rich chocolate flavor from pure cocoa powder, not melted chocolate.

Bran cookies with raisins, cinnamon, and sour milk for a hearty, old-fashioned drop cookie with fiber and a soft, cake-like texture. A wholesome cookie that tastes like a bran muffin in cookie form.

Gumdrop fruitcake with white raisins, chopped nuts, and colorful gumdrops in a spiced applesauce batter. A festive, kid-friendly alternative to traditional fruitcake.

Classic anise pizzelles made with a full ounce of anise extract, butter, and a touch of lemon. Thin, crisp Italian wafer cookies pressed in a pizzelle iron in 30 seconds each.

No-bake frozen strawberry pie with egg whites whipped 15 minutes with berries and sugar, then folded into cream. Light, airy, and icebox-cold in a graham cracker crust.

Chewy oat chocolate chip cookies packed with rolled oats, semi-sweet chocolate, and chopped nuts. Bake 9 minutes for soft and chewy or 13 minutes for crisp edges. Also works as bars.