Dessert/7 recipes

Alice's white cake is a tender vanilla and almond-scented layer cake leavened with whipped egg whites for an airy, snowy crumb. The kind of from-scratch white cake that makes box mixes look amateur.

Old-fashioned Nantucket molasses cookies with brown sugar, butter, and a soft, cake-like texture. Six pantry ingredients and no eggs, just like the New England whaling-era originals.

So very rich, so very wonderful. The candied cherries and raisins are sure to make you hungry for more.

Magic Fruit Cake bakes up tender and jewel-bright with mincemeat, sweetened condensed milk, red and green cherries, and chopped walnuts. A no-fuss holiday tube cake that mixes in one bowl and slices into glossy, fruit-studded rounds.

Mom's Heath Bar cake with a brown sugar buttermilk batter topped with a crumbly streusel and crushed frozen Heath bars. A one-pan toffee-studded coffee cake in under an hour.

Diabetic-friendly date nut cookies sweetened with sugar-free orange marmalade instead of sugar. Chopped dates, nuts, and cinnamon in a simple drop cookie.

Barbara Bush's signature chocolate chip cookies with a quirky splash of hot water in the dough that yields a crisp-edged, soft-centered cookie. A small-batch White House classic.

A double-crust caramel walnut pie: walnuts simmered into a reduced-cream caramel and sealed in a tender shortcrust, served a la mode with from-scratch vanilla bean ice cream. A restaurant-worthy dessert.

Diabetic-friendly cocoa cake made with liquid sweetener, egg whites, and minimal sugar. A meringue-folded chocolate layer cake for diabetic dessert needs without sacrificing flavor.

A delicious and rich dessert to let everyone indulge!

Baked coconut custard made with shredded coconut steeped in hot water, thickened with cornstarch and flour. An egg-free, dairy-free custard with a creamy coconut flavor.

Easy chocolate brownie with nuts is baked in a pie plate.

Tropical coconut poke cake soaked with cream of coconut and warm crushed pineapple, then piled high with whipped topping and shredded coconut. A potluck showstopper that starts with a box mix.

Granny's chocolate cake is a one-bowl wonder with cocoa, hot water, and egg whites baked into a moist single-layer square. Old-fashioned weeknight cake dusted with powdered sugar.

Buttery, paper-thin ginger cookies with a double hit of crystallized and ground ginger folded into brown sugar dough. Crisp, snappy, and warmly spiced, this recipe yields four dozen from scratch.

Cognac cookies, no-bake bourbon-ball cousins made with melted semisweet chocolate, crushed vanilla wafers, finely chopped pecans, and a generous splash of cognac. Roll in sugar and let them mellow.