Dessert Recipes

Rough puff pastry is the home cook's shortcut to puff pastry, made by folding walnut-sized chunks of cold fat through a soft dough four to five times. Flaky enough for tart shells, vol-au-vents, and turnovers.

Diabetic-friendly lemon pie uses sugar substitute and a meringue-lightened lemon filling on a graham cracker crust. Lower-sugar tang and lightness without sacrificing the classic lemon pie hit.

This chocolate cake includes bananas both in the cake and creamy sauce.

Oatmeal chocolate chip sheet cake with a boiling-water oat soak for a tender, moist crumb. Topped with walnuts and extra chips for a crackly crust.

Upside-down apple cake with caramelized Granny Smith slices, applesauce-enriched batter, and a cinnamon cream cheese topping. Served warm for the ultimate fall dessert.

Double chocolate bar cake with melted milk chocolate, cocoa, and sour cream batter, filled and frosted with whipped chocolate cream. A light, airy three-layer stunner.

Hello Dollys (magic cookie bars) layered with vanilla wafer crumbs, chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, and sweetened condensed milk. No mixing needed, just layer and bake for a gooey, chewy bar.

Poppy seed bundt cake using yellow cake mix and instant pudding for extra moisture. A dump-and-stir cake with tender crumb and crunchy poppy seeds, dusted with powdered sugar.

Easy sour cream apple cake with a buttery coconut crust made from yellow cake mix. Cinnamon-dusted apple slices get a tangy sour cream drizzle and bake up golden in under an hour. Serve warm.

Stovetop fudge made with semisweet chocolate, butterscotch coating, and marshmallow cream for a two-toned candy that is rich, nutty, and smooth in every bite.

Old-school lard pie crust with egg, vinegar, and a touch of brown sugar. One batch yields four disks for double-crust pies. The flakiest crust comes from cold lard worked into the size of tiny peas.

Zucchini pie that tastes like apple pie. A classic garden-glut mock apple pie with peeled zucchini, cinnamon, brown sugar, and a buttery streusel top, perfect for end-of-summer harvests.

A self-saucing cocoa espresso pudding cake that creates its own hot fudge layer as it bakes. Boiling water poured over the batter before baking does all the work. Serve warm for 6 to 8.

Double chocolate chip cookies with cocoa-rich dough, buttermilk for tang and tender texture, and semi-sweet chocolate chips throughout. Soft-set centers and chewy edges every time.

Peanut butter chocolate chip pound cakes made with buttermilk for a tender crumb, loaded with mini chocolate chips. Bakes into four mini loaves with rich, nutty flavor.

Chef Tom's pecan pralines, the New Orleans-style sugar candy made with brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and toasted pecan halves. Drop spoonfuls cooled on wax paper for that signature flaky-creamy bite.