Dessert/4 recipes

Whisky fudge cake with melted chocolate, 16 eggs, and a generous pour of whisky baked into a dense, rich sponge. Served with clotted cream for a showstopping British-style dessert.

Baked peaches from the Piedmont filled with crushed amaretti cookies, peach puree, sugar, and egg yolk. A classic Northern Italian summer dessert that's elegant and simple.

Peace Pie layers mincemeat and spiced pumpkin custard in a single pie shell for a holiday mashup that combines two Thanksgiving favorites in every slice.

Light-as-air sourdough chiffon cake with a subtle tang from sourdough starter, brightened by lemon juice and vanilla. Baked in a tube pan for sky-high lift and a cloud-soft crumb.

Kolacky cookies made with a tender cream cheese pastry dough filled with fruit spread, pinched into tri-cornered shapes, and baked golden. A Czech holiday cookie tradition.

Forget rock-hard biscotti that threaten your teeth. This butter-rich Italian cookie bakes up tender enough to eat without dunking, studded with raisins and nuts in every bite.

Lighter ricotta chocolate mousse made with part-skim ricotta, gelatin, cocoa powder, and chocolate syrup. A 25-minute Weight Watchers-friendly chocolate dessert that skips heavy cream entirely.

Lily cookies: cream cheese pastry rounds folded around a jelly center and dusted with powdered sugar. Old-school holiday cookies shaped like opening lilies.

Flaky biscuit dough rolled with sour cherries, sliced into pinwheels, and baked golden. Served warm with a homemade cherry sauce and ice cream or sherbet.

A triple-strawberry milkshake blending strawberry ice cream, fresh berries, and strawberry concentrate into one thick, frothy glass. Pure berry overload in every sip.

Cream cheese pinwheel cookies filled with cinnamon, sugar, and chopped pecans. A tender, flaky dough rolled jelly-roll style and sliced into swirled rounds.

Mocha layer cake made with hot coffee, cocoa, sour cream, and folded egg whites, topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. A rich, tender two-layer chocolate coffee cake from scratch.

Crisp, butter-brushed cookie sticks flavored with anise oil. A traditional Spanish treat that's simple to make with just 7 ingredients and ready in 30 minutes.

Cottage cheese blended with pumpkin purée, brown sugar, and warm spices makes a lighter, creamy filling for this graham cracker crust pie. Low-fat pumpkin pie that still satisfies.

Mock apple pie made entirely from Ritz crackers, sugar syrup, and cinnamon. The Depression-era classic that fooled families when apples were scarce or expensive, still uncannily convincing today.

Coca-Cola cake is a moist Southern chocolate sheet cake made with real cola and miniature marshmallows that melt and float to the top as it bakes. Rich, fudgy, and old-fashioned in the best way.