Dessert recipes

Traditional Panforte di Siena with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, candied orange peel, citron, cocoa, and honey syrup cooked to soft ball stage. A dense Italian Christmas confection.

Homemade chocolate cream pie with a stovetop cocoa custard filling poured into a baked shell. Old-fashioned, no-bake-friendly, ready for meringue or whipped cream on top.

No-fail pound cake with butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, baked low and slow in a tube pan. Six ingredients, dense moist crumb, the kind of cake that makes you look like a pro.

Elegant tea cookies made from a slice-and-bake butter dough with cream and vanilla. Chill overnight, slice thin, and bake until crisp and golden.

Soft molasses cookies spiced with ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. A classic LA Times recipe that bakes up thick, cakey, and deeply spiced.

Tres leches cake using store-bought pound cake soaked in a blend of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream, topped with broiled meringue. A shortcut Latin classic.

Jam-filled spice cookies with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves sandwiched with apricot or raspberry preserves. Buttery shortbread-style cutout cookies with a stained-glass window center.

Bite-sized wheat germ gem cookies rolled in toasted wheat germ for a nutty, crunchy coating. Brightened with orange zest and vanilla, these little rounds are a wholesome cookie jar staple.

Classic Southern chess pie with a custardy brown sugar and vanilla filling baked in a flaky pastry shell. A simple pantry pie with a crackly sugar top and silky middle.

German chocolate pretzel cookies (Schokoladenpretzel) hand-shaped from cocoa dough and topped with cocoa frosting. A fun baking project that makes about 2 dozen pretzel-shaped cookies.

Hand-shaped chocolate pretzel cookies made from a cocoa butter dough, baked until set, then frosted with a simple cocoa-powdered sugar icing. A playful baking project that yields about 2 dozen.

French hazelnut meringue biscuit with finely ground filberts folded into whipped egg whites. Baked hot and fast for a light, nutty base layer that's a pastry chef's secret weapon.

Red velvet cake with a tender buttermilk crumb, a hint of cocoa, and tangy cream cheese frosting. The Southern classic with vinegar-and-soda lift for that signature soft texture and deep red color.

Soft, chewy drop cookies packed with chopped figs, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger with hints of lemon and vanilla. An old-fashioned spiced fig cookie recipe that makes 2 dozen.

Chocolate orange truffles with semi-sweet chocolate, Cointreau, orange marmalade, and chopped almonds. A no-bake French-style candy rolled by hand, ideal for holiday gift boxes.

Orange coconut cake layers a tender almond-scented white cake with a tangy fresh orange filling and fluffy boiled-sugar frosting. A vintage Southern church-cookbook bake with citrus brightness throughout.