Dessert Recipes

Oven poached pears in wine, whole ripe pears roasted upright in fruity white wine and honey with cinnamon, bay, and orange zest, then drizzled with the reduced syrup. An elegant, light, make-ahead dessert.

Cristina's brownies are dense, fudgy, and packed with a full pound of walnuts. Built on deep unsweetened cocoa and plenty of butter, then chilled overnight so they slice into clean, bakery-size squares. A serious brownie for serious chocolate lovers.

Apricot ice cream with low-fat yogurt and fromage frais instead of cream. A lighter frozen dessert built on dried apricot puree, perfect for hot afternoons without the heaviness of dairy ice cream.

Fudgy brownies made with confectioners' sugar instead of granulated, walnuts and unsweetened chocolate. Extra-tender, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate squares from a vintage recipe.

The combination of black beans and sweet potato gives these brownies a moreish, moist quality. These are great for kids as they contain no added sugar or trans-fats (you may wish to omit the coffee and substitute cacao powder if serving to youngsters, though).

Forget about buying jam at the store, use this simple recipe to make a delicious batch that you can use for toast, crackers and more!

Cranberry cheesecake swirled with a homemade cranberry-orange filling and finished with an orange sour cream topping over a vanilla wafer crust. A tart-and-creamy holiday cheesecake worth the centerpiece spot.

Fat-free carrot cake made with yogurt, egg substitute, and wheat germ instead of oil and eggs. Topped with a light cream cheese frosting spiked with almond extract and lemon.

Whole wheat carrot pineapple cake is a moist, dairy-free, low-fat one-bowl cake sweetened with applesauce and pineapple. No oil, no butter, no yolks, all the carrot cake flavor.

No-bake fruitcake packed with candied cherries, pineapple, dates, raisins, and nuts, bound with sweetened condensed milk and crushed graham crackers. Refrigerate and slice.

Flourless chocolate mocha cake made with bittersweet chocolate, ground espresso beans, and a water bath bake. Crowned with vanilla whipped cream, toasted pecans, and a zig-zag chocolate drizzle.

Old-fashioned peach gingerbread upside-down cake: molasses-spiced gingerbread baked over fresh sliced peaches, then topped with butter-glazed peaches and a preserves brush. Late-summer dessert perfection.

Caramel chocolate pecan pie with a toasted pecan crust (no flour), a melted caramel middle, and a silky chocolate top layer. A no-bake-filling triple-stack indulgence.

Cherry-pistachio biscotti studded with tart dried cherries and bright green pistachios, brightened with lime zest and twice-baked to that classic dunkable crunch. Holiday cookie tin material.

Buttermilk chocolate cake made with real unsweetened chocolate and topped with a from-scratch dark chocolate frosting. A rich, tender two-layer cake with deep cocoa flavor.

Classic hermit cookies with brown sugar, cold coffee, raisins, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. An old-fashioned New England drop cookie that's soft, chewy, and warmly spiced.