Dessert Recipes

Apple cheddar turnovers: whole baked apples stuffed with brown sugar and cinnamon, wrapped in a sharp cheddar pastry. A New England classic riff on apple-and-cheese.

Orange molasses cookies, soft and puffy with cracked tops, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a hit of black pepper, then rolled in orange sugar. Whole wheat flour and oats make them a wholesome holiday bake.

Old-fashioned looped jumble cookies with cinnamon dough rolled into ropes, shaped into loops, and topped with a poured chocolate glaze. A charming heritage cookie with a fun shape.

Peach dessert cake with fresh peaches baked into a lemon-scented batter, topped with cinnamon sugar and chopped nuts. Serve warm with whipped cream for a summer treat.

Prune Armagnac gingerbread is a deeply spiced holiday cake loaded with brandy-soaked prunes, three forms of ginger, molasses, and a coffee kick. Served with crème fraîche.

Taffy apple pizza on a giant sugar cookie crust topped with peanut butter cream cheese, sliced Granny Smith apples, caramel drizzle, and chopped peanuts. A party-size dessert.

Apple coconut kuchen with a yellow-cake-and-coconut crust, sliced apples layered with cinnamon sugar, and a sour cream custard drizzle on top. German-style coffee cake done semi-homemade.

Upside-Down Pineapple-Raisin-Carrot Cake bakes a spiced carrot batter over caramelized pineapple rings and raisins in a cast iron skillet. Two classics in one.

Apple brunch cake hides a cinnamon-sugar apple ribbon inside a buttery cake-mix base, baked in a tube pan and dusted with powdered sugar. An easy, cozy coffee cake for brunch or an afternoon treat.

Linda's fruitcake: brandy-soaked dates, citrus peel, raisins, almonds, and cherries folded into a spiced batter with a pineapple jam layer. Wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth to age.

A diabetic-friendly pumpkin cheese pie with a tangy cream cheese layer under spiced pumpkin custard. No added sugar, sweetened naturally for holiday tables that need a lighter dessert option.

Pumpkin apricot cake roll, a tender spiced pumpkin sponge rolled around an apricot filling. A stunning autumn dessert that looks harder than it is.

Bizcochitos are the official state cookie of New Mexico: lard-based shortbread perfumed with anise and sweet wine, dusted in cinnamon sugar, and baked into delicate flaky rounds. The traditional Christmas and wedding cookie of the Southwest.

Honey ginger snap cookies with cinnamon and cloves, rolled into balls and baked until crackled. Chewy centers with crisp, crinkled edges from the honey.

Chocolate zucchini cake with cocoa, cinnamon, and sour milk for a tender crumb, topped with chocolate chips. Grated zucchini keeps it incredibly moist.

Mini apple pies use refrigerated biscuit dough as a fast pastry shortcut. Each rolled biscuit wraps a tablespoon of cinnamon-sugar apple-raisin filling and bakes in muffin cups. Ten warm hand pies in 15 minutes.