Dessert Recipes

Sugar and spice layer cake with cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar, and buttermilk in a tender two-layer round cake. A warmly spiced classic with buttercream frosting.

Apple nut cake spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, loaded with fresh apples and nuts in a one-bowl batter. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Buttery sugar diamonds cookies with cinnamon and pecans. Sheet pan bar cookies with a crispy pecan topping that bake until golden at 300°F.

Sugar drops: classic buttery drop cookies with chopped nuts (or chocolate chips), crisp edges, and soft centers. Basic pantry dough ready in 30 minutes.

Sugarplum black forest torte stacks four thin chocolate buttermilk layers with a fudgy chocolate-almond filling and almond whipped cream. A nutty twist on the classic, with toasted almonds in every bite.

Fresh peach pie with a peach gelatin glaze in a baked pie shell. Sliced ripe peaches set in a sweet, glossy filling and topped with whipped cream. No-bake filling.

Chocolate summer fruit cake with whole wheat flour, fresh stone fruit, coconut, raisins, and walnuts, soaked in a hot buttermilk glaze. A dense, fruit-packed sheet cake for seasonal baking.

Speedy no-fuss rice pudding made with vanilla yogurt instead of slow-simmered custard, sweetened with honey and cinnamon, then layered with fresh summer berries and peaches. A light, chilled dessert.

Classic three-layer butter cake with rich chocolate icing. Made from scratch with cake flour for an incredibly tender crumb, this is the kind of homemade chocolate cake worth clearing your Sunday for.

Chocolate chunk cookies with hand-cut semi-sweet chocolate pieces and walnuts, topped with a melted chocolate glaze. Triple chocolate intensity in every cookie.

Super easy way to make a delicious carrot cake. Frost it with a butter-cream cheese frosting to add extra layer of deliciousness. If not, the cake is yummy enough on its own.

Super rich fudge truffle cheesecake: chocolate wafer crust, two pounds of dark chocolate ganache folded into a vanilla cream cheese filling, and piped truffles on top. A serious chocolate showpiece.

Crunchy sundae topping made from toasted oats, brown sugar, butter, and salted peanuts. A make-ahead crumble for ice cream, pudding, and desserts.

Chocolate cupcakes with a hidden cream cheese and chocolate chip filling baked right inside. An old-fashioned cocoa batter with vinegar for extra tenderness, topped with crunchy pecans.

Chocolate drop cookies with a hidden chunk of white chocolate baked into the center. No flour, no eggs: melted chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and nuts make the entire dough. Fudgy, dense, surprise inside.

Mexican wedding cakes are always a holiday favorite but this recipe takes it up a notch or two, writes Mary Wilhelm of Sparta.