Dessert Recipes

Moist, low-fat chocolate cake made with pureed prunes instead of butter and topped with a tangy orange glaze. Deeply chocolatey with barely any fat, and no one will guess the secret ingredient.

Buttery thumbprint cookies filled with jelly or preserves and rolled in powdered sugar. A tender shortbread-style cookie with chopped nuts and vanilla.

No-bake fresh peach pie with ripe peach wedges arranged in a swirl pattern, glazed with melted apricot preserves on a graham cracker crust. A summer dessert that lets perfectly ripe peaches do all the work.

Soft Southern cream cookies made with sour cream for a pillowy, cake-like texture. Pressed flat with a cinnamon-sugar coated glass and baked until barely golden.

Cherry cheesecake pie with tart red cherries baked under a creamy vanilla cream cheese topping in a pie shell. Almond extract adds a subtle, fragrant finish. Two desserts in one.

Mocha cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. An airy sponge cake soaked in orange syrup, filled and frosted with a coffee-chocolate buttercream made from Italian meringue.

Rocky road treats are no-bake chocolate squares loaded with cocoa krispies, mini marshmallows, and pecans. A five-ingredient lunchbox snack that sets up in the fridge.

Chocolate-dipped California figs stuffed with walnuts or marshmallows. An elegant no-bake candy with just three ingredients. Perfect for gift boxes.

Peaches and cream gelatin mold with fresh peaches, non-fat yogurt, and vanilla-orange extract. A light, sugar-free molded dessert with real fruit.

Tortilla chip wreath: a salty-sweet holiday candy wreath of vanilla-coated tortilla chips arranged in a circle and decorated with gumdrops. A no-bake Christmas dessert kids can help with.

No-bake rice cereal rolls with crunchy peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and crispy rice cereal, rolled into balls and dipped in melted chocolate. A 4-ingredient treat.

Lemon meringue pie from cooking school is the textbook version with a hand-rolled crust, cornstarch-and-flour curd, and a stable French meringue sealed to the crust. Detailed technique guarantees no weeping.

Dense fudge truffle cheesecake on a chocolate cocoa-wafer crust. A pound and a half of cream cheese melted with sweetened condensed milk and 12 ounces of melted chocolate chips. Eats like a giant chocolate truffle.

An exotic and decadent cake that is made with the wonderful fruit taste of passionfruit.

Fruity yogurt cheesecake strains vanilla yogurt into thick "cheese" for a no-bake filling. Graham cracker crust topped with peaches, apricot glaze, and fresh raspberries.

A creamy raspberry chocolate pie with cream cheese filling on a pecan vanilla wafer crust sealed with melted chocolate. Topped with jam-glazed berries for a make-ahead chilled dessert.