Dessert/5 recipes

Cinnamon sugar cookies with a tender shortening-based dough, brushed with egg white and topped with a cinnamon sugar sparkle. Crisp edges, soft centers.

A silky Belgian cream cheese tart with lemon juice and whipping cream, baked in an 8-inch tart shell and brushed with a glossy egg wash. Light, creamy, and elegant.

Nancy's ice cream kolacky: a three-ingredient Eastern European-style cookie where vanilla ice cream replaces liquid and eggs, creating a tender pastry dough filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. A Christmas cookie-tray favorite.

A layered no-fuss dessert with a nutty baked crust, creamy cream cheese layer, and chocolate-vanilla pudding on top. Finished with whipped topping and shaved chocolate.

Caramel pecan pie skips the corn syrup and melts soft caramels into the filling instead, layered with pecan halves in a flaky crust. Richer, chewier twist on the Thanksgiving classic.

Pecan tossies with cream cheese pastry cups filled with a brown sugar, butter, and pecan filling. Miniature pecan pies baked in muffin tins for bite-sized holiday treats.

Classic bananas flambe with rum and banana liqueur, sauteed in butter and brown sugar with cinnamon. A dramatic tableside dessert served over vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate chip walnut pie with melty chocolate chunks, toasted walnuts, and brown sugar baked into a flaky pastry crust. Cookie-meets-pie hybrid that begs for vanilla ice cream on top.

Strawberry rhubarb pie with an egg custard filling and a buttery honey streusel topping. A two-temperature bake that sets the crust first, then finishes under a crumbly, golden topping.

Silky Mexican flan baked in homemade caramel with cinnamon-infused milk, whole eggs, and extra yolks for richness. A traditional custard dessert that's slow-baked in a water bath until set like velvet.

Cookies in a jiffy use a box of yellow cake mix plus oats, butter and an egg for fast, chewy drop cookies you can load with chocolate chips, butterscotch or M&M's. Five ingredients, ready in about 20 minutes.

Silky pumpkin mousse with warm spices and caramel, set with gelatin for airy texture. Elegant make-ahead dessert that tastes like autumn in a glass.

Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie pie: crushed mint cookies folded into meringue with chopped nuts, baked into a chewy-crisp pie crust and topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Old-fashioned persimmon cake made with ripe persimmon pulp, shortening, eggs, and a simple flour-and-leavening base. A vintage autumn bake from the Hoosier and Appalachian traditions.

These moist and rich cookies are a great snack after dessert, just make sure you hide the cookie jar after.

Bizcochitos are the official state cookie of New Mexico: lard-based shortbread perfumed with anise and sweet wine, dusted in cinnamon sugar, and baked into delicate flaky rounds. The traditional Christmas and wedding cookie of the Southwest.