Dessert Recipes

Depression-era eggless, milkless, butterless cake with brown sugar, raisins, ginger, and cinnamon. A simple wartime recipe that bakes into a spiced, dense loaf with minimal pantry staples.

Chocolate buttermilk sheet cake with rich cocoa icing poured on while still hot. A classic potluck crowd-pleaser that bakes in under 25 minutes and feeds a big group.

Vermont maple cinnamon swirl cookies: a flaky butter-and-maple pastry rolled around brown sugar cinnamon filling, then sliced and baked. Crisp edges, tender centers, and a real maple glaze on top.

Better than sex cake is a four-layer chocolate-pecan icebox dessert: a buttery pecan shortbread crust, sweet cream cheese, chocolate pudding, and whipped topping. A make-ahead potluck legend.

Brownie shortbread bars layer fudgy unsweetened chocolate brownie over a buttery shortbread base. Two textures, 24 bars per pan, diabetic-friendly if made with sugar substitute.

Chocolate-coconut macadamia pie: a Hawaiian-style dessert pie with semi-sweet chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and dry-roasted macadamia nuts in a brown sugar custard. Tropical pecan-pie territory.

Lemon blossom cookies are buttery thumbprint cookies made with lemon juice and powdered sugar, rolled in chopped nuts, and filled with fruit preserves or pecans. A classic holiday cookie tray staple.

Old-fashioned icebox cookies with cardamom, cinnamon, lemon juice, and chopped nuts. Slice-and-bake dough that refrigerates overnight or freezes for weeks. Paper-thin and crispy.

Buttered rum pound cake: a tall, tender sour cream pound cake with vanilla and lemon notes, lightened by whipped egg whites folded in at the end. A Southern holiday classic for slicing and sharing.

Black Forest ice cream cake: two layers of moist chocolate-coffee cake sandwich a slab of vanilla ice cream, frosted with whipped cream and crowned with cherry pie filling. A frozen showstopper.

These moist and rich cookies are a great snack after dessert, just make sure you hide the cookie jar after.

French lace cookies bake corn syrup, shortening, brown sugar, flour, and pecans into thin, delicate, caramel-toffee disks. Optional chocolate drizzle. Five ingredients, holiday tray classic.

Chocolate malt cake built on a full cup of malted milk powder, cocoa, butter, and half-and-half. A nostalgic 9x13 sheet cake with deep chocolate flavor and that unmistakable Whoppers-meets-fudge finish.

Southern peanut butter pie with a creamy custard filling, crunchy peanut butter crumble layered on top and bottom, and golden meringue. An old-fashioned Georgia-style dessert.

Apple cinnamon cake loaded with 6 fresh apples and chopped almonds in an oil-based batter with a full tablespoon of cinnamon. Dense, moist, and best served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Apple-cranberry pie with Golden Delicious apples, fresh cranberries, cinnamon, and nutmeg under a crunchy brown sugar crumble topping. A fall and holiday favorite.