Dessert Recipes

No-bake peanut butter cracker sandwiches dipped in melted white chocolate. A four-ingredient sweet-and-salty treat that takes 20 minutes and tastes like a homemade candy bar.

Mango yogurt parfait layered with fresh mango cubes and vanilla lowfat yogurt, topped with mint. A two-ingredient no-cook dessert or breakfast ready in under 5 minutes.

Homemade chocolate cannoli with beer-leavened fried shells filled with sweetened ricotta, chocolate chips, toasted walnuts, and orange and lime zest. An Italian pastry shop classic made from scratch.

Three-layer chocolate pudding cake with rich chocolate custard between cocoa sponge layers, baked in a water bath and served with a Grand Marnier bittersweet chocolate sauce.

Cola chocolate cake with marshmallows baked in, topped with a broiled peanut butter and brown sugar frosting loaded with chopped peanuts. A true Southern classic.

No-bake cafe au lait blender cheesecake whips cottage cheese, instant coffee, and whipped topping into a light gelatin-set dessert. Cinnamon zwieback crumbs top each slice.

Grilled figs filled with a lemon myrtle and ricotta cheese filling.

No-bake cherry cheese pie with whipped cream cheese, condensed milk, and lemon juice in a buttery graham cracker crust. Ready in 20 minutes plus chill time.

Rich chocolate walnut tube cake with a gooey fudge "tunnel" running through the center, topped with cocoa glaze and served with fresh raspberry sauce. A showstopping Pillsbury Bake-Off classic.

Strawberry Dream Dessert layers an oat-brown sugar crust with a fluffy strawberry mousse of fresh berries, whipped cream, and egg whites. A cool, cloud-light icebox dessert for summer.

Soft, fudgy chocolate cookies with cocoa and mini chocolate chips, made with cream cheese for an impossibly chewy texture. Just 8 minutes in the oven and you've got 32 eggless cookies.

Popcorn fruit cookies made with ground popped corn, cornmeal, dried fruit, and nutmeg. A crunchy, unusual rolled cookie with a satisfying corn-forward crumble.

Light angel food cake made with whipped egg whites and cake flour, frosted with a rich mocha buttercream of coffee, cocoa, and butter. A classic pairing of airy cake and intensely flavored frosting.

Whole Bartlett pears cored and filled with currant jelly, wrapped in golden puff pastry and baked, served pooled in Calvados caramel sauce. A bakery-window dessert that looks impossible but isn't.

Silky cocoa creme is a light chocolate mousse made with ricotta, cocoa powder, and whipped topping, set with gelatin. A low-fat molded dessert served with strawberries.

The crisp, densely chocolaty cookies, with an unusually long baking time, were an annual favorite among the 20-plus recipes that Susan Couchman of Hartland remembers were made each year by her mother, Gloria Kuchler.