Dessert Recipes

Buttery spiced fig thumbprint cookies, tender brown-sugar dough rolled in a crunchy flax-sugar coating and filled with jammy fig preserves. Warm cinnamon and nutmeg make them a standout on the holiday cookie tray.

Vegetarian mincemeat made with fresh pears, dried fruit, candied cherries, almonds, and a splash of whiskey. No suet needed. Spiced with allspice, nutmeg, and ginger for traditional Christmas mince pies.

Homemade creme fraiche from whipping cream and sour cream, cultured 24 hours at room temperature. Serve as a dipping sauce with fresh strawberries.

Pink marble pudding: rhubarb-raspberry puree layered with vanilla whipped cream in dessert glasses. A vintage parfait-style dessert with a fig cookie thickener.

Fig Star Cookies feature a maple-scented shortening dough wrapped around a homemade dried fig filling with lemon and nuts. A vintage holiday cookie worth the effort.

Crisp, light date macaroons made with just four ingredients: egg whites, dates, nuts, and powdered sugar. Naturally flour-free and baked to a golden brown.

Self-saucing chocolate puddle pudding: a cocoa cake batter with boiling chocolate sauce poured over before baking. Vegan-friendly, egg-free, and magically creates its own gooey sauce.

Peanut butter fudge marble cake doctors a boxed mix with melted peanut butter chips swirled through chocolate batter. A semi-homemade dessert with bakery-style swirls.

Summer peach and berry lattice pie with fresh orange juice, nutmeg, and a golden egg-washed crust. Use any mix of strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries.

Classic peach Melba: vanilla ice cream crowned with a poached peach half, glossy raspberry-currant sauce, crushed macaroons, and a piped collar of whipped cream. Auguste Escoffier's signature dessert from 1893.

No-cook peanut butter fudge blends chunky peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and dry milk powder with chopped peanuts for double peanut crunch. No candy thermometer required.

Old-fashioned pineapple ice made with fresh pineapple, sugar syrup, lemon juice, and meringue for a light, scoopable frozen dessert. No ice cream maker needed.

Classic apricot sweet simmers dried apricots with cardamom, ginger, and almonds into a fragrant, spiced compote, much like Hyderabad's qubani ka meetha. Naturally fruit-sweet, served chilled. A make-ahead Indian dessert.

No-bake marshmallow monsters coated in peanut butter and green-tinted coconut with cinnamon candy eyes. A 3-ingredient kids treat that takes 10 minutes and zero cooking for Halloween or classroom parties.

Potato crisps with sour cream and caviar are crispy mini potato pancakes topped with cool sour cream and salty salmon roe. An elegant 35-minute cocktail appetizer that looks restaurant-worthy.

Vegetarian mincemeat with fresh pears, mixed dried fruit, candied peel, glace cherries, dates, almonds, citrus zest, and whiskey. A meat-free version of the British holiday classic.