Baked goods recipes

Zucchini bread with dark brown sugar and vanilla, baked into two moist loaves. The garden-rescue quickbread that puts late-summer squash to delicious use.

Light chocolate brownies made with cocoa powder, egg substitute and a corn oil spread instead of butter, so they bake up fudgy and cholesterol-free. A one-saucepan brownie, dusted with powdered sugar.

Sharp cheddar biscuits with butter and milk, baked hot for crisp golden tops and a tender, cheesy crumb. Six ingredients, one bowl. Best straight from the oven, split warm.

After dividing the dough in half, I cut each piece into six wedges, making 12 scones in total.

Mini-bites of heaven. Individual chocolate cheesecake topped with cherries.

Festival sugar cookies: tender cake-flour roll-out cookies that hold any shape, perfect for cutter cookies, icing, and sprinkles. Holiday-tested recipe yielding five dozen.

German pfeffernusse: spiced honey cookies with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace, and a touch of black pepper, dipped in vanilla glaze. Traditional Christmas cookie recipe.

Tender, bakery-style scones made with cake flour for a light crumb. The sticky dough scoops straight onto the pan, no rolling or cutting, and bakes right from frozen, so you can stash a batch and bake fresh whenever the kettle's on.

Chewy chocolate chip cookies made with applesauce instead of butter deliver all the flavor with a fraction of the fat and guilt.

Chewy chocolate brownies topped with a butterscotch chip drizzle. Lighter brownies made with an egg-and-egg-white blend, finished with a piped baggie drizzle for elegant butterscotch ribbons.

Mom's cheese biscuits, drop biscuits made with grated cheddar, buttermilk, and vegetable oil instead of butter. Tender Southern-style biscuits with golden cheese-flecked crusts, served with white gravy.

Sugar cookies with a half-shortening half-butter base for crisp edges and tender centers. Pressed flat with a sugar-dipped glass, baked 8 minutes, ready to ice and decorate.

Fresh tart cherry pie with a flaky double crust and just five ingredients. Summer baking at its most honest, no canned filling required.

Uncle Ben's best brownies: one-bowl cocoa brownies with a fudgy, glossy crumb. Butter melted right in the mixing bowl, four eggs for that classic shiny crackle top, and a deep cocoa hit.

Quick cheese biscuits with cheddar, baking mix, and a brushed-on garlic butter topping. A 15-minute drop biscuit recipe that tastes like the famous seafood-restaurant rolls.

Flaky, buttery pie shell built for pecan pie filling, with a sturdy bottom that holds up to sticky filling. Made with butter, shortening, and an egg-white wash for golden crispness.