Dessert Recipes

Bread pudding loaded with pecans, raisins, and chopped apple, baked in a spiced custard and drowned in a rich bourbon butter sauce. A classic New Orleans-style dessert.

Scotch-spiked cheesecake on a toasted almond shortbread crust, crowned with homemade butterscotch sauce and chopped almonds. A three-component showpiece rated 4.8 stars.

Cactus honey sherbet swirls magenta prickly pear juice with peeled peaches, wildflower honey, lemon, and a fold of whipped cream for a Southwestern frozen dessert that lands somewhere between sorbet and ice cream.

Caramel apple cookies are buttery shortbread balls on toothpick sticks, dipped in melted caramel with apple juice concentrate, and pressed into chopped walnuts. Miniature caramel apple treats.

Four-ingredient cherry crunch with a buttery yellow cake mix crust, cherry pie filling, and a pecan crumble topping. Warm, crunchy, and ready in one hour.

Cherry divinity is the pink church-cookbook candy: hard-ball sugar syrup whipped into beaten egg whites with cherry Jello, then loaded with chopped nuts and coconut. Old-fashioned, fluffy, festive.

Buttery slice-and-bake pinwheel cookies swirled with cherry preserves and scented with vanilla and almond extract. Roll, freeze, slice, and bake to golden perfection.

Lighter chocolate caramel cheesecake built on a crispy rice cereal crust with nonfat cream cheese, fat-free sour cream, and egg whites. A gooey caramel layer and chocolate-walnut crumble keep things indulgent without the guilt.

Triple-chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate wafer crust with both unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate melted into the cream cheese filling. Rich, velvety, and unapologetically decadent. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if you dare.

Twice-baked Jewish cookies studded with melty semi-sweet chocolate chips that turn crispy on the outside and stay tender inside. Simple ingredients make 2 dozen crunchy biscotti-style treats.

I received this recipe from a friend who knows I love dates. It is an outstanding chocolate square, it is moist, keeps well and freezes nicely.

Chocolate zucchini cake with cocoa, cinnamon, and sour milk for a tender crumb, topped with chocolate chips. Grated zucchini keeps it incredibly moist.

Classic anise cookies build a meringue-like base from eggs whipped with sugar for 30 minutes, then rest overnight before baking into pillowy, licorice-scented Italian cookies.

Chocolate bundt cake spiked with Kahlua and instant coffee, made easy with a cake mix and pudding mix shortcut. Drizzled with a coffee liqueur icing that soaks into every ridge.

A creamy vegan cheesecake made with blended tofu on a crunchy granola crust, topped with a fresh strawberry sauce. Dairy-free, egg-free, and naturally sweetened. Serves 8.

Cranberry-swirled cheesecake on an Oreo chocolate crust with orange zest, ribboned filling, and a tart cranberry topping. A stunning holiday centerpiece that cuts like a dream.