Dessert Recipes

Classic four-ingredient flaky pie dough with shortening and ice water. Makes two 9-inch crusts for double-crust pies, lattice tops, or freezer-stash backup. The base every home baker needs.

Marguerites cookies made with fluffy meringue piled on saltine crackers and topped with chopped nuts. A vintage sweet-and-salty treat browned in the oven.

Quick caramel apple pie with quartered caramel candies, caramel ice cream topping, diced unpeeled apples, and a pecan topping. Uses a store-bought crust for easy assembly.

Low-fat apple bread pudding sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugar. Egg whites and skim milk keep it light while apples and raisins add natural sweetness. A guilt-free comfort dessert.

Pineapple butterscotch cake doctored from pound cake mix and instant butterscotch pudding, topped with crushed pineapple and butterscotch chips. The shortcut potluck cake that always disappears.

Homemade pepper jelly with sweet bell peppers, banana peppers, and apple cider vinegar. Colorful marmalade-style slices suspended in a sweet, tangy jelly.

Light-as-air sourdough chiffon cake with a subtle tang from sourdough starter, brightened by lemon juice and vanilla. Baked in a tube pan for sky-high lift and a cloud-soft crumb.

Easy Butterfinger pecan cake: chocolate poke cake soaked in butterscotch sauce, topped with whipped topping folded with crushed Butterfingers and pecans. Five ingredients, all crowd-pleaser.

Mincemeat bars with a chewy oat-molasses crust and condensed mincemeat filling. Old-fashioned holiday baking with a crumble topping, dusted with powdered sugar.

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.

Christmas carrot pudding steams grated carrots and potatoes with breadcrumbs, raisins, suet and warm spices into a moist British holiday pudding served with brown sugar sauce.

Thai-style sweet sticky rice cooked in coconut milk, soaked overnight for a thick, creamy texture. A simple 2-ingredient dessert base served topped with fresh fruit.

Pretty pink jelly combining apple juice and fresh crushed strawberries with liquid pectin. Boils for just 1 minute. Seal with paraffin wax for shelf-stable preserves. Makes 3.5 cups.

Apple pie flipped upside down so the brown sugar and walnuts melt into a sticky praline-style topping over a flaky double crust. Inverted onto a platter for the reveal.

No-bake energy balls made with dried apricots, walnuts, coconut, and wheat germ, bound with orange juice and rolled in chopped nuts.

Marshmallows meet molten chocolate in this retro baked pudding with crunchy pecans that's part cake, part magic trick for nostalgic dessert lovers.