Dessert Recipes

Loren's cheesecake with three packages of cream cheese on a graham cracker crust, topped with a sweetened sour cream layer. A classic New York-style cheesecake done in three simple stages.

Easy one-layer chocolate cake made with melted unsweetened chocolate, applesauce, and pecans. Dense, fudgy, and finished with a simple dusting of powdered sugar.

Crostata di fragole is an Italian strawberry tart with almond-enriched pasta frolla, a layer of strawberry jam, and fresh berries arranged for a stunning no-bake filling on a crisp, buttery shell.

Tart apple cake brightened with lemon and a splash of rum, baked in a springform with halved apples crowning the top. Light, lemony, European-style coffee cake with dusted sugar.

New Year's Eve chocolate clock cake stacks three layers of egg-white sponge with stovetop chocolate cream filling and Hungarian chocolate frosting, then iced with a clock face for the midnight countdown.

Very Minty Chocolate Cake with Mint Frosting recipe

Lemon Ice-Box Pie (For Non-Weight Watchers) recipe

Moist applesauce cake with molasses, cinnamon, and raisins baked in a square pan, then glazed with lemon icing while still warm: tender, spiced, and just sweet enough.

A clever single-serving microwave pavlova rolled with whipped topping and fresh strawberries. Light, crisp meringue meets soft fruit in this low-calorie, gluten-free treat that's ready in 20 minutes.

No-bake rum balls made with crushed vanilla wafers, pecans, cocoa, powdered sugar, and real rum. A classic Christmas cookie tin staple rolled in powdered sugar.

Soft drop cookies made with mashed cooked carrots and shredded coconut, topped with a bright orange butter icing. Makes 4 dozen, great for holiday cookie trays and bake sales.

Filled butter ring cookies sandwich apricot preserves between two shortbread rounds, the top one cut with a thimble window, dusted with powdered sugar. Linzer-style holiday classic.

Chocolate mint squares with fudgy pecan-studded brownie base and a creme de menthe buttercream frosting. A retro church cookbook classic with serious holiday party vibes.

The crisp, densely chocolaty cookies, with an unusually long baking time, were an annual favorite among the 20-plus recipes that Susan Couchman of Hartland remembers were made each year by her mother, Gloria Kuchler.

Raspberry chocolate cheesecake in a chocolate wafer crust, topped with fudge sauce and fresh berries. A quick bake with a stunning layered presentation.

Perfect for Halloween, chocolate cake decorated like black widow spiders.