Dessert, Holiday Recipes

No-bake cheesecake sets on a graham cracker crust, then gets decorated with star-shaped cutouts filled with warm strawberry jam and a border of fresh blueberries for easy July 4th entertaining.

This 4th of July make-ahead dessert features multiple layers of sponge cake and strawberry and vanilla ice cream. Perfect to wow a crown this Independence day.

Halloween spiderweb cheesecake is a no-bake creamy vanilla cheesecake on chocolate crust, decorated with a piped-and-pulled chocolate web. A spooky kid-friendly dessert ready to chill in 10 minutes.

Spooky chocolate cookies with pretzel stick legs coated in melted chocolate and sprinkles with candy eyes. These Halloween tarantula treats are fun to make with kids.

Experimentation led Mary Ann Zarczynski of Franklin to create this recipe, which she described as "very rich and delicious."

Linzer Augen are Austria's almond shortbread sandwich cookies: two tender, nutty rounds glued with apricot jam, the top cut with a little window that frames the glistening preserves under a snowfall of powdered sugar. A Christmas cookie tin classic.

Pumpkin flan: a silky honey-sweetened pumpkin custard baked in a water bath with a brown sugar bottom and a splash of brandy. A fall twist on classic Spanish flan, chilled and ready in 5 hours.

Rugelach roll flaky cream cheese dough around apricot preserves, cinnamon-brown-sugar, walnuts, and raisins into bite-sized crescents. A classic Jewish bakery cookie for Hanukkah and Christmas alike.

Old-fashioned molasses cookies built on dark molasses and dark brown sugar for deep, almost-burnt-sugar flavor. Crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle, optional warm spices for a holiday version.

Steamed cranberry pudding, a brighter take on Christmas pudding: tart cranberries, walnuts, and apricots in a suet batter, steamed moist and served warm with caramel or hard sauce. A festive holiday dessert.

Halloween pumpkin pie with a from-scratch pastry crust, silky spiced custard, and fresh grated ginger for a livelier kick than the usual canned pie. The kind of pumpkin pie that earns its place on the autumn table.

Pear and cranberry tart with a buttery oat crumble topping. Tart cranberries burst in a sweet corn syrup sauce with tender sliced pears underneath the crisp.

Litchi five-spice ice cream: a silky custard ice cream perfumed with Chinese five-spice and blended with sweet, floral lychees. An elegant, exotic frozen dessert that's a favorite for Chinese New Year.

Frozen cranberry souffle with Italian meringue and whipped cream, garnished with spun sugar cranberries. A showstopping holiday dessert that's made ahead and served frozen.

Passover-friendly rhubarb cobbler with raspberries and a matzo meal crumble topping. Tart, fruity, and bubbling with a golden, nutmeg-scented crust. No flour needed.

Pear and ginger cheesecake bakes a granola crust around a filling of simmered pears, crystallized ginger, and a lightened cottage-and-cream-cheese base. A cozy holiday dessert with less heft than classic cheesecake.