Dessert/5 recipes

Easy strawberry pie with fresh berries in a glossy cornstarch glaze, poured into a pre-baked pie shell and chilled. No-bake filling, minimal ingredients.

These healthy and scrumptious cookies are made with persimmon pulp, applesauce and chopped almonds.

Drop sugar cookies with cardamom or nutmeg, soft and tender with lightly browned edges. No rolling or chilling needed. Makes six dozen and freezes beautifully.

Mint chocolate brownie pie layers mint chocolate chips and fudgy brownie batter in a flaky pie crust, baked until set and served warm with vanilla ice cream. A rich after-dinner dessert with a built-in shortcut.

Lemon thins made with just 5 ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and lemon extract. A crispy, delicate drop cookie with bright lemon flavor and golden edges.

Mimi's bread pudding made with French bread soaked in evaporated milk, bananas, raisins, and a full ounce of vanilla. Served with a buttery whiskey sauce.

1-2-3-4 cake: classic American butter layer cake named for its 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, 4 eggs ratio. Finished with chocolate frosting between three tender layers.

Homemade red pepper jelly with sweet bell peppers, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, and liquid pectin. A sweet-tangy preserve perfect over cream cheese appetizers.

Midwest apple crunch pie tops sliced apples with a maple-scented sweetened condensed milk custard, then finishes with a brown sugar and granola streusel for the crunch on top. A Sunday-supper pie with a hearty crunch.

All the fun of a banana split frozen into a pie. Vanilla pudding swirled with pureed strawberries, layered over sliced bananas in a vanilla wafer crust, then topped with whipped cream, cherries, and chopped nuts.

Kay's apple pie is a classic double-crust pie with pared apples tossed in sugar and cinnamon, dotted with butter and finished with a milk-brushed, sugar-dusted top crust.

No-bake chocolate cream cake layered with chocolate wafer cookies, vanilla whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Refrigerate 8 hours and the cookies soften into cake-like layers.

Classic Mexican tres leches cake soaked in three milks (sweetened condensed, evaporated, and whole milk) with a hint of nutmeg, topped with whipped cream and chopped nuts. The Latin American birthday cake.

Finikia are Greek torpedo-shaped semolina cookies scented with orange and cinnamon, baked golden then dipped in a honey-cinnamon syrup and rolled in sesame or walnuts. Traditional Christmas melomakarona.

Rich, fudgy chocolate cake hiding a gooey caramel filling baked right inside. Sour cream keeps it impossibly moist while melted caramels and condensed milk create a buttery surprise layer.

Enjoy this creamy, rich and decadent cheesecake that's made with cream cheese and mascarpone.