Dessert/9 recipes

Buttery sesame seed cookies topped with candied cherry halves for festive color. Simple drop cookie recipe makes 24 treats perfect for holiday baking with kids or last-minute cookie trays.

Soft gingerbread cookies with separated eggs folded in for airy texture, spiced with ginger and cloves, ready in just 10 minutes of baking.

Chocolate chiffon pots made with skim milk, cocoa, and gelatin blended with ice cubes for instant mousse. Low-fat chocolate dessert ready in 30 minutes.

Meringue madeleines made with whipped egg whites, cake flour, and melted butter. Light as air with crisp edges, best eaten warm straight from the oven.

Light and buttery almond spritz cookies piped into festive shapes. Made with egg whites for an airy texture that melts in your mouth, perfect for holiday cookie platters.

Sunshine cake with bright lemon frosting, an airy egg-yolk-and-white sponge baked in a tube pan with lemon zest and extract. Tender, fragrant, finished with a tangy lemon glaze.

Blender chocolate chip cupcakes mix the entire batter in a blender for one-bowl convenience. Tender vanilla cupcakes studded with semisweet chocolate chips. Mix, pour, bake. Done in 45 minutes.

Classic British teatime shortbread cookies with just four ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, and salt. Buttery, crumbly, and pale golden with the traditional fork-pricked tops.

Rigo Jancsi, the classic Hungarian chocolate cake with two layers of rich sponge filled with rum-spiked chocolate cream and topped with a glossy chocolate glaze. An elegant European pastry.

Weintraubentorte, a traditional German grape torte with a buttery shortcrust shell and a whipped egg white, almond, and fresh grape filling baked until golden.

Buttery spritz-style cookies flavored with vanilla, lemon and almond extracts. Tender, golden and ready to be pressed, cut, or tinted for holiday cookie trays. A family classic with a triple extract twist.

Homemade pound cake with butter, powdered sugar, eggs, and a hint of lemon extract. Five-ingredient classic for tea, dessert, or strawberry shortcake base.

Classic Italian tiramisu with mascarpone, espresso, cognac, amaretto, and dual layers of Savoiardi ladyfingers and amaretti biscuits. No-bake dessert showstopper.

Meringue-based granola cookies made with whipped egg whites, brown sugar, and folded-in granola. Light, crispy, and low-fat with no butter or flour needed.

Buttery almond snowball cookies made with biscuit mix and chopped nuts, rolled in powdered sugar while warm. Just 6 ingredients and no chilling needed.

Lemon cayenne cookie press cookies with bright lemon zest and a spicy kick from cayenne pepper. Buttery, crisp, and sweet-heat in every bite.