Dessert Recipes

Mocha mint mousse tart with a brownie base, cream cheese filling, melted Junior Mints, instant coffee, and marshmallow cream. A no-bake chocolate-mint dessert.

Linzer Augen are Austria's almond shortbread sandwich cookies: two tender, nutty rounds glued with apricot jam, the top cut with a little window that frames the glistening preserves under a snowfall of powdered sugar. A Christmas cookie tin classic.

My husband loves banana cream pie, and I love chocolate, so I decided to combine the two and the result was better than either one of us could imagine. It is delicious, and has tuned out to be a favorite.

Alice's lemon pie is a heritage 9-ingredient meringue pie with a cornstarch-thickened lemon filling and powdered-sugar meringue topping. Light, tart, and finished in a deep dish pastry shell.

Low-fat whole wheat banana cake uses honey, canola oil, and whipped egg whites for a light, tall tube cake with real banana flavor. A lighter banana cake that doesn't sacrifice texture or moisture.

Buttermilk walnut bundt cake baked over a brown sugar and Karo syrup topping with whole walnuts. A sticky-bottomed cake with a tender, airy crumb from whipped egg whites.

Oatmeal peanut butter drop cookies with plumped raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla. A hearty, old-fashioned cookie packed with oats and peanut butter flavor. Makes 3 dozen.

Rosky's (Czech rohlíky): cream cheese pastry cookies filled with apricot, dusted with powdered sugar. The Old World holiday cookie your grandmother kept on the tin every Christmas.

Gelato di pesche: Italian peach gelato made with fresh peach puree, simple syrup, lemon juice, and softly whipped cream. Pure summer-fruit Italian frozen dessert.

Loaded drop cookies with cream cheese, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, walnuts, raisins and coconut. Rich dairy base creates ultra-soft centers with chewy edges in just 12 minutes.

Capirotada, a traditional Mexican bread pudding layered with bananas, raisins, peanuts, almonds, and Monterey Jack cheese, soaked in a cinnamon-clove brown sugar syrup.

No-bake blueberry torte layered with a vanilla wafer crust, rich buttercream filling, blueberry pie filling, and a thick layer of whipped cream. Comes together in 30 minutes with a quick chill, and it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Peach pizza pie: a 12-inch shortbread crust topped with fresh peaches and a currant-jelly orange glaze, finished with whipped cream. A summer dessert dressed up like a fruit tart.

Traditional Thai mung bean pudding thickened with arrowroot and topped with warm salted coconut milk. A naturally vegan dessert that's creamy, lightly sweet, and just as good cold from the fridge.

Jumble berry pie with fresh blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in a buttery single crust. A simple three-berry pie with a thick, bubbly filling and just five minutes of prep.

No-bake Twinkie pie layered with chocolate mousse, chopped pecans, and whipped cream in a buttered casserole. A retro icebox dessert that turns store-bought snack cakes into something spectacular.