Dessert Recipes

Old-school cocoa drop cookies made with buttermilk and whole wheat flour, topped with a glossy homemade chocolate frosting. Quick to mix, quick to bake, and yields a big batch of 4 dozen.

Cocoa drop cookies made with cream cheese for an extra-soft, tender crumb. A simple chocolate cookie with just 8 ingredients that comes together in minutes.

Low-fat cocoa spice cake made with applesauce instead of oil, egg whites only, and a hint of cinnamon. A lighter chocolate cake that still bakes up moist and satisfying.

No-bake coconut mocha drops with toasted coconut, instant coffee, and powdered sugar microwaved into rich little candies. Five-ingredient bite-sized treats ready in 25 minutes.

Pecan shortbread cookies shaped into little ovals and rolled in powdered sugar. Only 4 ingredients, no eggs, mixed by hand, and they melt in your mouth. A Mexican wedding cookie cousin that makes 4 dozen.

Creamy baked mac and cheese with sauteed peppers and onions in a velvety cheese sauce. A 30-minute comfort food classic the whole family will devour.

Cookie brittle with chocolate chips and walnuts pressed into one pan, baked, then snapped into snappy shards. Sugar-substitute friendly with crisp, candy-like edges.

Cranberry-orange bars with whole wheat flour, ground whole orange, and raisins. Low in added sugar and diabetic-friendly with a tart, fruity bite in every bar.

Chocolate cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, made with chocolate sweetened condensed milk for a silky, no-fuss filling. Six ingredients, one bowl, deeply chocolatey.

Creamy chocolate cheesecake with a salty pretzel crust, dense cocoa filling, and a tang of sour cream. The sweet-salty dessert that disappears at every potluck.

Creme de menthe truffle cups: bite-size chocolate candy shells piped full of minty chocolate ganache with ground almonds. A boozy, bakery-style Christmas confection made in a double boiler.

Old-fashioned brown sugar crumb cake uses a single mixture for both the cake and the crumb topping. A coffee-cake classic with cinnamon spice and a streusel-like crown, dusted with powdered sugar.

Old-fashioned chocolate sheet cake with a boiled cocoa frosting that goes on while everything's still hot. Buttermilk keeps it moist, chopped nuts add crunch. Ready in under an hour.

Carrot raisin cheesecake mashes carrot cake into a cream cheese filling on a graham crust, with shredded carrots, plump raisins, warm nutmeg and ginger, finished with an orange-spiked frosting.

Diet blueberry bread pudding made with fresh blueberries, diet bread, skim evaporated milk, and minimal sugar. A lighter take on classic bread pudding with bright berry flavor.

Dense chocolate tube cake loaded with melted chocolate bars plus chocolate syrup for double the flavor. Crunchy pecans throughout, no icing needed for this fudgy beauty.