Dessert Recipes

Best candy apple pie: a classic cinnamon-spiced double-crust apple pie crowned with a bubbling brown sugar, cream, and pecan caramel poured right over the top. Apple pie meets pecan praline.

Deep pot apple pie with butterscotch chip sauce and cinnamon brown sugar pastry strips layered over cooked apples. A rustic, scoopable apple dessert served in bowls.

Kolaches (kolacky) made with a tender cottage cheese and butter dough, filled with pineapple or apricot filling, and dusted with powdered sugar. A Czech pastry classic.

Mint cheesecake squares on a chocolate wafer crust topped with sour cream chocolate ganache. Cool, creamy, and loaded with creme de menthe flavor.

Quick Hawaiian cream pie with vanilla pudding folded into whipped cream, crushed pineapple, mashed banana, and a topping of toasted coconut and pecans in a flaky baked crust.

Kurant vodka cheesecake baked in a water bath with a graham cracker-almond crust, topped with fresh strawberries glazed in strawberry jelly spiked with more Kurant vodka. A showstopper dessert.

Tofu pineapple cheesecake with a graham crust, sweetened naturally with honey and orange juice, topped with kiwi slices. A lower-calorie dairy-free cheesecake alternative.

Lemon poppyseed spritz cookies are pressed into star and swirl shapes, baked tender, then iced with a pale lemon glaze and finished with a poppyseed sprinkle.

Maple apple spice cake with pure maple syrup, chopped apples, and cinnamon topped with cream cheese frosting. A moist, nutty fall cake baked in a 9-inch square pan.

Israeli upside-down apple cake made with potato starch instead of flour, naturally gluten-free. Whole apples stuffed with walnuts and raisins bake in a caramel base topped with a light sponge.

Chocolate espresso cheesecake: dense, dark cheesecake on a chocolate wafer crust, finished with a glossy chocolate-pecan glaze. Real brewed espresso amplifies every cocoa note.

Purple plum pie loads sliced fresh plums into a deep-dish crust under a cinnamon-spiced buttery crumb. A late-summer fruit pie with jammy tart filling and golden streusel topping.

Paper bag apple pie: a vintage baking trick that wraps the whole pie in a brown paper bag during baking. Tender apples, golden streusel top, and an evenly browned crust without scorching.

Swedish butter cookies are slice-and-bake shortbread topped with browned butter frosting. Five ingredients in the dough, nutty caramelized butter on top, and the kind of crisp-edge melt that makes Christmas cookie tins worth opening.

Middle Eastern halvah cake made with tahini, semolina, and warm spices, soaked in a citrusy orange-lemon syrup. Dense, fragrant, and not overly sweet.

Banana orange chiffon cake: light and fluffy as angel food but moister and richer, scented with mashed banana and fresh orange juice. Topped with a glossy orange-zest powdered sugar frosting.