Dessert Recipes

Fresh pear and apple pie with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lime juice in a double-crust pastry. A fall fruit pie that blends the soft sweetness of pears with tart, firm apples.

Easy chocolate fudge with sweetened condensed milk, no candy thermometer needed and no boiling sugar to watch. Five ingredients, one double boiler, ready to chill in 10 minutes.

Lighter cranberry apple cookies made with egg whites and skim milk, loaded with fresh fruit, cinnamon, and orange zest. A guilt-free holiday cookie that yields 2 dozen.

Traditional German Dampfnudeln: soft steamed yeast dumplings stuffed with prunes, drizzled with buttery poppy seed sauce. A cozy Bavarian dessert that's surprisingly simple to make.

Light peach Bavarian cream dessert made with pureed peaches, peach yogurt, whipped egg whites, and real cream set with gelatin for an airy, no-bake treat.

No-bake Kahlua cocoa balls made with vanilla wafer crumbs, pecans, cocoa, golden raisins, and candied cherries. Roll in coconut, powdered sugar, or nuts.

Kookie Cookies: no-bake peanut butter corn chip bars with corn syrup and sugar. A salty-sweet, crunchy 4-ingredient treat that kids can help make in 15 minutes.

Fat-free oatmeal cookies sweetened with mashed banana, applesauce, and brown sugar. No butter, no oil. Whole wheat flour and oats give them satisfying chew. Vegan-friendly with optional raisins and sesame.

Three-ingredient flourless peanut butter cookies. Just peanut butter, sugar, and one egg. Naturally gluten-free, ready in 22 minutes. The classic dorm-room dessert.

Port-soaked dried figs stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with a whole almond. An elegant make-ahead appetizer or dessert bite that needs overnight chilling.

Friendship cake starter made with pineapple, cherries, and peaches layered with sugar and brandy over six weeks. A fermented fruit base for holiday fruitcakes.

Greek kadaifi pastry with shredded dough layered around a cinnamon-almond filling, baked golden and soaked in honey-lemon syrup. A baklava cousin.

No-bake peanut butter snowballs with chopped dates and walnuts, dipped in icing and rolled in coconut. Christmas cookie tin classic. No oven, kids love them.

Traditional German Lebkuchen honey cakes spiced with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, studded with candied citron and brushed with a clear sugar glaze.

These macaroons are slightly crisp outside, moist and chewy inside.

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.