Dessert Recipes

Pumpkin pie cognac with a silky custard of half-and-half, dark brown sugar, candied ginger, and a generous splash of brandy. The grown-up holiday pie that smells like Thanksgiving in a glass.

"This pie definitely rates 5 stars. It's easy to assemble and a fantastic addition to your Thanksgiving dinner."

I use a bit more flour, let the dough rest in the fridge for 1 hr., and shape these into logs instead, brushing with egg wash and sprinkling with a little granulated sugar. I then bake them for 17 minutes. After cooling in the sheet pan for 5 min., I cut them into squares.

Pineapple bread pudding with crushed pineapple, cinnamon, pecans, and cubed bread in a sweet egg-margarine batter baked until set. A tropical twist on classic bread pudding served with caramel fluff.

Fig and cherry cobbler with dried figs, cherry pie filling, cinnamon, and drop biscuit topping. A bubbly, old-fashioned fruit cobbler that starts hot and finishes at moderate heat.

Spiced cranberry hazelnut bread with cinnamon, cloves, and orange juice baked into mini loaves. Wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth, this holiday quick bread deepens in flavor for weeks.

George Washington cake is a moist, cinnamon-spiced apple cake baked over a layer of sliced apples, then crowned with tangy cream cheese frosting and a fan of fresh apple slices. A festive Christmas dessert.

Cold pumpkin souffle is a no-bake gelatin-set dessert with whipped cream, eggs, pumpkin, rum, and warm spices. A make-ahead alternative to pumpkin pie that stands tall above its dish with a foil collar.

Southern Japanese fruitcake: a 4-layer cake alternating plain butter cake with spiced pecan-and-raisin layers, bound by a thick lemon-coconut filling. A vintage Christmas dessert from the American South with a name that has nothing to do with Japan.

This is the second recipe I'll post tonight--promised it to AH earlier tonight. My mother found this recipe 35 or so years ago in a magazine and it has become a family favorite. For years she only made it at Thanksgiving until I took over the baking reigns in the family; now she makes it more often especially when my brother, Lewis, is going to be in.

Quick apple streusel coffee cake made with Bisquick baking mix and sweetened applesauce. Topped with cinnamon brown sugar crumble in under 45 minutes.

Flaky cream cheese pastry turnovers filled with homemade apricot filling, sealed like hand pies, and iced with powdered sugar.

Buttermilk Christmas pudding: a warmly spiced, molasses-dark steamed pudding studded with raisins and made tender by buttermilk and suet. The traditional British holiday dessert, served with brandy sauce or custard.

Pumpkin chess pie crosses Southern chess pie with classic pumpkin filling. Cornmeal-thickened, warmly spiced, and richer than traditional pumpkin pie with a denser, sliceable texture.

Glad that I made this pumpkin sheet cake. It was quite moist, and tasted great. The cream cheese frosting is a must, and it really made the cake shine!

Sour cream rugelach rolled with cinnamon-sugar and chopped nuts. The tangy dough chills into a tender, flaky crescent that rolls easily without tearing.