Dessert Recipes

Oatmeal coconut cake with a soft cinnamon-spiced crumb and a broiled brown-sugar coconut-nut topping that bubbles into a chewy caramel crown. Lazy Daisy-style, the way grandma made it.

Soft chocolate chunk cookies with a hidden boost of peanut butter for tenderness, plus chunks of dark chocolate and chopped walnuts in every bite. Baked low and slow for chewy centers.

Soft molasses cookies spiced with ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. A classic LA Times recipe that bakes up thick, cakey, and deeply spiced.

Sour cream bundt cake with a hidden layer of cinnamon, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Made with whole wheat flour for a heartier crumb. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm for brunch.

Soft sour cream drop cookies with a pillowy, cakey crumb, topped with a thick chocolate frosting made from melted unsweetened chocolate. Chill the dough, bake, and frost. Makes 24.

Sweet baked Southern praline grits with brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and butter. A custard-like grits casserole that turns humble breakfast grits into a warm, spiced dessert.

Lacy Florentine cookies made with ground pecans and coconut, sandwiched together with melted dark chocolate. Thin, crispy, and freezer-friendly for up to a month.

Starlight double-delight cake, the retro Pillsbury bake-off winner where a chocolate-peppermint cream cheese frosting doubles as part of the batter. Two moist mint-chocolate layers, frosted in the same blend.

Steamed cranberry pudding, a brighter take on Christmas pudding: tart cranberries, walnuts, and apricots in a suet batter, steamed moist and served warm with caramel or hard sauce. A festive holiday dessert.

Sticky pecan bars with a buttery shortbread crust and gooey brown sugar-corn syrup filling loaded with pecan halves. Like pecan pie in bar form, easier to make and easier to share.

Carrot cake meets fresh strawberries in this spiced bundt cake loaded with pecans, brown sugar, and warm cinnamon. Finished with a strawberry cream cheese glaze that drips down every ridge.

Sunshine orange cake made with fresh orange juice, raisins, and a hint of cinnamon. A lighter one-bowl cake with less sugar that's bright, citrusy, and needs no frosting.

Sunshine orange cream cake layered with tangy sour cream and fresh orange slices. A from-scratch sheet cake split into two layers with a bright, creamy citrus filling.

Swedish rosettes are crisp, lacy fried cookies shaped by a decorative iron dipped in batter and flash-fried until golden. A Scandinavian holiday tradition dusted in powdered sugar.

Sweet potato pie with evaporated milk, cinnamon, and a surprise hit of lemon extract. Old-fashioned Southern dessert with a custardy filling and a deeply browned crust.

Texan fried pies stuffed with spiced dried apricot filling in a flaky, vinegar-laced pastry. Hand-held, golden-fried, and dusted with sugar. A classic Southern dessert from scratch.