Dessert Recipes

Low-fat brown sugar apple pie made with fat-free margarine crust and Butter Buds in place of real butter. Granny Smith apples spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh lemon zest.

Ricotta pudding baked in individual cups until puffed and golden, made with part-skim ricotta, lemon zest, and a folded egg white for souffle-like lift. A light Italian-style dessert.

Palm Beach pineapple squares: a chocolate walnut cake base topped with a lemon-scented pineapple layer, baked together into one tropical dessert bar.

Apple custard cake layered on a buttery lemon shortcrust, with rum-soaked raisins and tart apples under a baked vanilla custard that sets soft and creamy. A bakery-style dessert with a boozy backbone.

Irish Porter Cake is a dense, dark fruit cake made with Guinness, currants, raisins, mixed peel, and warm spices. Bakes for up to 3 hours, then rests a full week before cutting.

Lace cookies with lemon buttercream filling, thin caramelized oat-and-molasses wafers sandwiched around a silky lemon curd buttercream. Delicate, bakery-style cookies worth the patience.

Flaky Asian pear and lychee strudel with phyllo dough, crystallized ginger, toasted coconut, walnuts, and Chinese five spice. A showstopping fusion dessert dusted with powdered sugar.

Low-calorie berry bars made with a tangy buttermilk batter topped with fresh or frozen blueberries and raspberries, finished with sugar and lemon zest. No butter needed. Just 48 calories per bar.

A from-scratch cheesecake with a buttery lemon shortbread crust, rich cream cheese filling, and homemade tart cherry sauce. This is the cheesecake you make when you mean business.

Silky cottage cheese blends with lemon zest, plump raisins, and crunchy nuts in a sweet custard pie that tastes like a lighter, tangier version of cheesecake.

A scrumptious bread pudding made with pina colada drink mix, pineapple juice, bananas and cream of coconut.

A buttery, moist and delicious cake, whoever has it will definitely give you a big "wow".

There are many versions of this one. The following has been a favorite for years. To be truly German, it should be served warm with whipped cream on top.

Haselnussmakronen, traditional German hazelnut macaroons: a cocoa meringue folded with crushed hazelnuts and lemon zest, baked low into chewy, flourless cookies. A naturally gluten-free holiday treat.

Classic New Orleans king cake: a brioche-like yeast ring scented with nutmeg and lemon, filled with citron, glazed with lemon icing and purple-green-gold sugar. Mardi Gras tradition baked at home.

The name says it all. I got this from Sandra Lee at Food Network. I am adding it to my recipe box because I'm a sucker for ANYTHING cheesecake.