Dessert Recipes

Classic cheesecake supreme with a cinnamon-walnut graham cracker crust and a creamy lemon-vanilla filling, plus four variations: low-fat berry marble, sour cream, chocolate, and chocolate swirl.

A Swiss showstopper: fresh plums caramelized in red wine, kirsch, and honey with pine nuts and pistachios, topped with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Serve warm or cold.

Strawberry rhubarb pie with a lattice crust, made with both cooked and raw rhubarb plus fresh strawberries and preserves. A diabetic-friendly version sweetened with fruit juice and preserves instead of sugar.

Vintage gumdrop squares: chewy brown sugar bars studded with chopped gumdrops and walnuts, finished with a tangy orange butter frosting. A retro Christmas cookie tray treat.

A double-crust caramel walnut pie: walnuts simmered into a reduced-cream caramel and sealed in a tender shortcrust, served a la mode with from-scratch vanilla bean ice cream. A restaurant-worthy dessert.

Brown sugar cookie dough with butter, egg yolk, vanilla, and brandy. A versatile piped or spooned wafer cookie base that bakes thin, crispy, and golden in under 10 minutes.

Ricotta souffles with raspberry sauce are light, puffed individual desserts baked in a water bath with lemon zest, vanilla, and cinnamon. Slashed open at the table and filled with bright raspberry sauce.

Chocolate custard chocolate cheesecake combines a rich pudding-based chocolate filling with cream cheese and folded egg whites, topped with sour cream over a graham cracker crust. Deeply chocolatey, custard-soft.

Roll-and-cut butter crisp cookies with lemon zest and a splash of kirsch cherry liqueur. A 1986 cookie contest winner that ages two days for better flavor and keeps for six weeks at room temperature.

Lemon and white chocolate mousse parfaits layered with fresh strawberries in tall glasses. An elegant make-ahead dinner party dessert built from lemon curd mousse and creamy white chocolate mousse.

Rich bittersweet chocolate cake that makes its own mousse-like frosting from the same batter. Just 8 ingredients, no mixer tricks, and it keeps in the fridge for days.

Gluten-free old fashioned sugar cookies made with rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and cornstarch. Egg yolks and butter-flavored canola oil give them a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

A classic French-style custard sauce (crème anglaise) with egg yolks, cinnamon-infused milk, and vanilla. Silky, pourable, and pairs with any warm dessert.

Cinnamon sugar cookies with a tender shortening-based dough, brushed with egg white and topped with a cinnamon sugar sparkle. Crisp edges, soft centers.

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.

Classic chocolate cream pie with a deep two-chocolate filling spiked with rum and vanilla, topped with rum-laced whipped cream and grated chocolate. A make-ahead diner classic.