Dessert Recipes

Lester's fruitcake is a heirloom holiday loaf: pounds of candied fruits, figs, dates, raisins, pecans, and walnuts bound in spiced molasses batter. Slow-baked, brandy-soaked, aged a month.

Marbled pumpkin cheesecake squares swirl a tangy cream cheese topping into a spiced pumpkin batter built with prune puree instead of butter or oil. Lower-fat fall dessert with cinnamon, ginger and clove.

Streuselkuchen: the classic German yeast-risen crumb cake topped with a buttery brown-sugar cinnamon streusel that bakes into a thick, craggy crust. The German bakery favorite for kaffee und kuchen.

Orange oatmeal cookies sweetened with banana, honey, and orange juice concentrate. A low-fat cookie with no butter, no oil, raisins, walnuts, and fresh orange zest.

Moist pumpkin cake rolled up with sweet cream cheese frosting and dusted with powdered sugar. This impressive fall dessert looks fancy but follows a simple jellyroll technique.

Easy apple puff pie with halved McIntosh apples arranged in a pie shell, drenched in sweetened condensed milk, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Just 5 ingredients for a caramelized, custardy apple pie.

Lightened key lime pie made with fat-free condensed milk, gelatin, and whipped skim evaporated milk. Graham crust, tart lime filling, and tiny piped meringues perched on lime slices.

Orange carrot cake baked in a tube pan with grated carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest, finished with a tangy orange glaze. A bright twist on classic carrot cake.

Ginger molasses skillet cake baked in cast iron with brown sugar, five warm spices, pine nuts on top, and a sour cream whipped cream. Served warm from the pan.

Individual pineapple upside-down cakes baked in small Pyrex dishes with a homemade cinnamon-pineapple syrup and a pineapple ring in each. Buttery, caramelized, and portion-perfect.

Canned apple pie filling with Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a thickened syrup. Water-bath processed for shelf-stable jars ready to spoon into a pie crust any time of year.

Chocolate orange cheesecake layers a chocolate cream cheese base with a Grand Marnier-and-orange-zest top on a chocolate wafer crust. A two-tone showstopper for special occasions.

Molasses sandwich cookies with a hidden strawberry preserves filling, spiced with cinnamon and ginger, and topped with a vanilla powdered sugar glaze. The secret is inside.

Texan fried pies stuffed with spiced dried apricot filling in a flaky, vinegar-laced pastry. Hand-held, golden-fried, and dusted with sugar. A classic Southern dessert from scratch.

An instant favorite, these dessert bars are full of flavor!

Low-fat spicy pumpkin pie with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves in a diabetic-friendly filling. Uses calorie-free liquid sweetener with just 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for warmth and depth.