Baked Good Recipes

German cheese torte with a cinnamon graham crust top and bottom, filled with ricotta beaten with eggs, sugar, and a splash of heavy cream. Old-world dessert, baked in a springform.

Boston cream pie from scratch with a sponge cake split and filled with vanilla custard, topped with a glossy chocolate ganache glaze. The classic American dessert done right with three handmade components.

Herbed cheese tarts bake as mini savory cheesecakes with cream cheese, cottage cheese, and Swiss in breadcrumb-lined muffin cups. Finished with sour cream, caviar, or olives for cocktail parties.

Old-fashioned apple ring fritters: peeled apple slices dipped in a quick milk-and-egg batter, pan-fried in shortening until golden, and dusted with cinnamon sugar. A 30-minute dessert from grandma's kitchen.

Kahlua fudge brownies with unsweetened chocolate, walnuts, and a double hit of coffee liqueur baked in and brushed on top. Dense, boozy, intensely chocolate.

Zucchini bread with applesauce instead of oil, raisins, and cinnamon, baked into 2 moist loaves. A lighter zucchini bread recipe that uses applesauce to replace oil without sacrificing texture.

Kourabiedes are traditional Greek butter cookies with ground almonds and brandy, dusted heavily in powdered sugar. Fragile, sandy, and meant for celebrations.

Lemon coriander crescent cookies: buttery, powder-dusted shortbread scented with ground coriander and bright lemon zest. An unexpected spice pairing for the holiday cookie tin.

Lemon icebox cookies with cornmeal and cardamom, sliced from a chilled log and baked golden, finished with tart lemon icing and chopped pistachios. Makes 6 dozen.

Lemon tea loaf bakes a fragrant, lightly sweet quick bread packed with fresh lemon zest. Tender crumb, golden top, and a citrus aroma that fills the kitchen.

Butternut squash pie with a from-scratch shortening crust, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a touch of lemon extract. A sweeter, nuttier alternative to pumpkin pie.

Maple macadamia quick bread with whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and a warm maple-cinnamon glaze. Rich, nutty, and sweetened entirely with real maple syrup.

Maple nut quick bread with maple flavoring and chopped nuts baked in a loaf pan. A simple, no-yeast bread with a sweet, nutty crumb that slices beautifully for breakfast or snacking.

Mocha buttercrunch pie with a pecan-chocolate shortbread crust, a frozen mocha mousse filling, and a coffee whipped cream top studded with chocolate chips. Three layers of coffee-and-chocolate richness in every slice.

Buttermilk quick bread studded with walnuts and raisins, made lighter with egg substitute and just two tablespoons of oil. No yeast, no kneading, and ready to slice in under 90 minutes.

Old-fashioned sour cream cookies with nutmeg, rolled and cut into rounds with a sugar-sprinkled top. Soft, tender, and lightly spiced with a big-batch yield of 60 cookies.