Dessert Recipes

Homemade apple jelly made in the microwave with apple juice, pectin, and red hot cinnamon candies for a spicy-sweet twist. Yields 6 half pints in under an hour.

Neapolitan torte stacks chocolate, vanilla, and pink cake layers with green cream cheese filling and chocolate frosting. A retro Italian-flag-colored layer cake from boxed mixes.

Brownie shortbread bars layer fudgy unsweetened chocolate brownie over a buttery shortbread base. Two textures, 24 bars per pan, diabetic-friendly if made with sugar substitute.

Packed with almonds, these glazed almond cookie slices make a great snack.

Shaker sugar pie: brown sugar caramelized at the bottom of a flaky shell, topped with vanilla cream and butter, baked into a silky no-egg custard. American religious tradition meets Sunday dessert.

A favorite throughout the South, chess pie takes its name from the description given by a cook who was asked what sort of pie it was, and replied, "jes pie, honey."

Boozy bundt cake soaked in an apricot-rum glaze that seeps into every crumb. A showstopper dessert that tastes fancy but starts with a box mix.

Apple cheddar turnovers: whole baked apples stuffed with brown sugar and cinnamon, wrapped in a sharp cheddar pastry. A New England classic riff on apple-and-cheese.

Dense, moist pound cake loaded with Granny Smith apples, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans. No mixer needed. Bake in a tube pan for 80 minutes of pure comfort.

A unique applesauce cake baked directly in sterilized canning jars, creating shelf-stable gifts that can be sealed and stored at room temperature.

Crunchy twice-baked biscotti packed with roasted almonds and hazelnuts, scented with vanilla, anise, and almond extract. A big-batch Italian cookie that keeps for weeks and begs to be dunked.

Fudgy brownie batter baked in a chocolate wafer crust, frosted with warm chocolate ganache, and crowned with glossy cherry pie filling. All the Black Forest flavors packed into one intensely chocolatey pie.

Blushing grapefruit marmalade turns ruby red grapefruit and lemon into a pink-blush preserve with bittersweet citrus depth. A traditional small-batch marmalade with liquid pectin set.

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.

Chocolate brownie macaroons with melted chocolate, whipped egg whites, shredded coconut, and condensed milk. Fudgy centers with crisp tops, crowned with a blanched almond.

Flourless chestnut and pecan torte with a bourbon-coffee-chocolate filling, bittersweet chocolate ganache icing, and bourbon chantilly cream. Rich, nutty, and deeply warming. The kind of torte that ends a dinner party with a standing ovation.