Dessert/9 recipes

Alphabet cookies shaped by hand from a simple butter cookie dough rolled into ropes. A fun baking project for kids that doubles as a tasty learning activity.

Three-layer Southern cookies: a buttery shortbread round spread with gooey caramel-pecan filling, then drizzled with rich chocolate icing. Named after the wildflower and just as eye-catching on a cookie tray.

Old-fashioned pumpkin preserves with lemon and mixed spices, slow-macerated overnight in sugar then boiled until clear and glossy. A heritage canning recipe for fall.

Crushed graham crackers, chopped almonds, and walnuts create a nutty, buttery cake with old-fashioned charm. Serve warm in squares dusted with powdered sugar or topped with whipped cream.

Rhubarb bars with an oatmeal crumble crust and topping sandwiching a sweet-tart rhubarb filling with orange zest. A spring dessert that puts seasonal rhubarb to good use.

Death by chocolate Bundt cake from Dom DeLuise's cookbook. Cake mix doctored with pudding, sour cream, and 12 ounces of chocolate chips for an intensely fudgy result.

Make these delicious Italian cookies for a change, they are buttery and just right amount of sweetness. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

Butterscotch oat squares need just 4 ingredients: oats, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. A no-fuss chewy bar with deep caramel notes and ready in 30 minutes.

Cherry divinity is the pink church-cookbook candy: hard-ball sugar syrup whipped into beaten egg whites with cherry Jello, then loaded with chopped nuts and coconut. Old-fashioned, fluffy, festive.

Buttery slice-and-bake pinwheel cookies swirled with cherry preserves and scented with vanilla and almond extract. Roll, freeze, slice, and bake to golden perfection.

An instant favorite, these dessert bars are full of flavor!

Famous lemon meringue pie shortcuts the curd using a packet of lemon pudding pie filling boosted with extra fresh lemon juice and butter. Topped with French meringue, ready in under an hour.

Holiday master butter cookie dough combines flour, cornstarch, and creamed butter into a tender, rollable base for cut-outs, Linzers, thumbprints, and pinwheels. Chills up to 3 days or freezes up to 6 months.

Diabetic-friendly strawberries Romanoff: fresh strawberries folded into a sweetened yogurt with a whisper of nutmeg. Four ingredients, no sugar, five minutes to a guilt-free dessert.

Buttermilk pound cake with lemon and almond extracts, baked in a 10-inch tube pan or two loaf pans. Tender, fine-crumbed, classic Southern pound cake recipe.

Rich chocolate cake bakes over boiling water to create a molten pudding layer underneath, delivering warm spoon-tender comfort in every bite.