Dessert Recipes

Old-fashioned coconut fudge candy shaped into little haystacks. Brown sugar, butter, and shredded coconut cooked to soft-ball stage, then dropped onto wax paper. Makes about 60 pieces.

Russian-style fried batter puffs made from choux dough with a hint of orange zest, drizzled in warm honey and dusted with cinnamon. Light, airy, and crispy on the outside. Makes about 28 puffs in just 30 minutes.

Chocolate peanut butter cake baked in a coffee can inside a slow cooker. Milk chocolate cake mix, smooth peanut butter, eggs, and nuts steamed to fudgy perfection.

To Do Tarts: small pecan cookies bound with ground stale bread, orange zest, and stiffly beaten egg white. Five-ingredient nut cookies with no flour and no butter, ready in 30 minutes.

Toasted nut cookies with hazelnuts and pecans made in a food processor. Ultra-thin, crispy lace cookies that bake in just 3 to 4 minutes. A quick ice cream accompaniment.

Tres leches cake using store-bought pound cake soaked in a blend of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream, topped with broiled meringue. A shortcut Latin classic.

Tropical quesadillas filled with ripe banana, green chilies, and Monterey Jack cheese with a squeeze of lime. A sweet-savory snack or dessert ready in 15 minutes.

Turtle shells are a novelty edible-insect snack: cooked cicadas dipped in warm chocolate glaze and cooled into crunchy, chocolate-topped morsels. A bold entry into entomophagy for the adventurous.