Baked Good Recipes

Slice-and-bake cream cheese cookies sweetened mostly with fructose for a lower-sugar treat. Tender, lightly sweet refrigerator cookies that bake up in 10 minutes.

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies with rolled oats and your choice of chocolate chips or chopped peanuts. Chewy centers, crisp edges, and a 5-dozen yield from one batch.

German apple cake with tender yeast dough topped with cinnamon apples and buttery streusel crumble for a not-too-sweet dessert that's perfect with coffee.

Flaky buttermilk biscuits made with frozen shortening rubbed into quadruple-sifted flour. The freezer trick and gentle handling are what make these tall and tender.

Savory bacon cheddar muffins with oats, a pinch of chili powder, and skim milk. A hearty, grab-and-go breakfast muffin for the brunch crowd or a make-ahead school morning.

Pistachio-almond biscotti drizzled with dark chocolate: crunchy, twice-baked Italian cookies packed with two kinds of nuts. Coffee's best friend and a gift-tin classic.

Eggless chocolate amaretto cheesecake: a rich, dense chocolate cheesecake made with egg substitute instead of whole eggs, spiked with amaretto and topped with whipped cream and sliced almonds. A nutty, chocolaty twist on the classic.

Mississippi mud cake with a fudgy cocoa and pecan cake base, melted marshmallow layer, and rich chocolate pecan icing. A three-layer Southern chocolate dessert that's pure indulgence.

Whole wheat oatmeal cookies with molasses, honey, raisins, and walnuts. Sweetened three ways with brown sugar, molasses, and honey for a chewy, spiced high-fiber cookie.

Egg-free and dairy-free corn muffins made with cornmeal, flour, shortening, and vinegar. A simple, old-fashioned recipe that bakes up golden in 20 minutes with pantry staples and water instead of milk.

Pistachio chip cookies with white vanilla milk chips, brown sugar, and a touch of oats for chew. Buttery, salty-sweet drop cookies studded with crunchy green pistachios in every bite.

Honey lemon sponge cake is a take on Japanese castella (kasutera): a tall, springy, honey-sweetened sponge brightened with lemon. Whipped eggs alone give it lift, no butter needed, for a delicate, fine-grained crumb.

Flaky pastry tart crust made with grapefruit soda instead of water. A 4-ingredient shortening crust that blind bakes golden in 20 minutes. The carbonation keeps the dough light and tender.

Pennsylvania Dutch fastnachts (fried doughnuts) made with yeast dough, evaporated milk, nutmeg, and lemon juice, then tossed in cinnamon sugar. A Shrove Tuesday tradition.

Easy breakfast carrot muffins sweetened with sugar substitute, packed with grated carrot, raisins, and a bright hit of orange zest. Diabetic-friendly, single-bowl, and on the table in 35 minutes.

Espresso cake is a coffee-infused angel food cake: 12 whipped egg whites, cake flour, and espresso baked in a tube pan, then finished with a coffee-cocoa icing. Feather-light and caffeinated.