Dessert Recipes

Bisochos (also known as Ka'ak or Crozettes), traditional Sephardic sesame-coated bread rings with anise, fennel, or coriander seed. Crisp, nutty, and dipped in egg before sesame.

Sugar-free apple pie sweetened entirely by plumped raisins and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. A naturally sweet double-crust pie with no added sugar.

Walnut snowball cookies rolled in powdered sugar then drizzled with melted chocolate. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread crescents made with just six ingredients.

No eggs, no butter, no milk in this vegan cake that's free of all dairy and egg products.

Pfefferneusse are traditional German pepper cookies with molasses, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, and black pepper, rolled in powdered sugar. This old-world recipe mellows for weeks in stoneware for the best flavor.

Sweet potato pie with warm brandy, fresh lemon zest, and a sprinkle of chopped citron over the top. The brandy-citrus brightness lifts the spiced filling into something more sophisticated than typical sweet potato pie.

Spiced pumpkin cookies with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Soft drop cookies topped with cinnamon sugar baked in 15 minutes.

Lemon blueberry pie with a tangy lemon curd base topped with a glossy blueberry compote in a baked pie shell. No-bake filling that chills to a silky set.

Mocha chocolate cheesecake blends instant coffee and melted semi-sweet chocolate into a dense, ultra-creamy cream cheese filling on a graham crust. NY-style two-temperature bake.

Griddle cheesecakes made with pureed cottage cheese, cooked like pancakes and served with a fresh cranberry-orange sauce. A light, tangy twist on traditional cheesecake.

Jewel cookies (thumbprint cookies) rolled in chopped pecans, baked with a center depression, and filled with jelly or a maraschino cherry. A vintage Christmas cookie tin staple.

Ruth's sugar cookies are tender drop cookies made with shortening and dipped warm into granulated sugar for a crackly, sparkling top. A simple recipe that makes three dozen in 30 minutes.

Flaky pie pastry using both shortening and butter for the best of both worlds. Stand mixer method cuts fat into flour in 30 seconds. Makes two crusts.

Hot sweet mustard blends prepared mustard with horseradish, Dijon, hot sauce, brown sugar, and cayenne. The bratwurst-and-pretzel condiment that bites back.

Double peanut butter cake with creamy PB baked into the batter and chunky peanut butter frosting on top. A single-layer sheet cake built for peanut butter lovers.

Hawaiian macadamia coconut squares: a chewy coconut-macadamia topping over a buttery brown-sugar-coffee shortbread crust. Tropical bar cookie that travels well and freezes beautifully.