Dessert/6 recipes

Lemon cranberry pie layers ruby cranberry sauce under a creamy lemon icebox custard. A two-layer holiday pie with sweet-tart fireworks in every slice.

Granny's chocolate pie is an old-fashioned Southern stovetop cocoa custard pie with evaporated milk, finished with toasted meringue. The kind of pie that recipe-card heirlooms are made of.

Spritz dainties for the cookie press, made with brown sugar instead of white for a deeper butterscotch note. Buttery shaped cookies brushed with egg white wash and decorated for the holidays.

Finnish fingers (sokerikakkusormet) are short, buttery shortbread sticks brushed with egg white and rolled in pearl sugar for a crunchy, sparkling exterior. Classic Scandinavian Christmas cookie.

Classic Eton mess with fresh strawberries macerated in Kirsch, whipped cream, and crushed meringue shells. A beloved British summer dessert that takes minutes to assemble.

Frozen s'mores sandwiches with chocolate peanut butter pudding and whipped topping between graham crackers. A no-bake, five-ingredient frozen treat with no campfire needed.

Spiced meringue cookies with crushed gingersnaps folded into whipped egg whites with cinnamon and ginger. Crisp, airy, and virtually fat-free with a snappy ginger crunch.

Soft gingerbread cookies with molasses, hot coffee, cinnamon, cloves, and ground ginger. A rollout cookie dough for gingerbread men with a tender, cake-like texture instead of a crisp snap.

Mock apple pie made with crackers instead of apples, boiled in sugar syrup with cream of tartar. A Depression-era trick pie that tastes surprisingly like real apple pie without a single apple.

Tropical quesadillas filled with ripe banana, green chilies, and Monterey Jack cheese with a squeeze of lime. A sweet-savory snack or dessert ready in 15 minutes.

Baked rice souffle with a creamy milk-cooked rice base, whipped egg whites for lift, and a homemade raspberry sauce. A light, elegant French-style dessert with a golden top.

No-bake key lime pie made with lime gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, fresh lime juice, and zest folded into a beaten egg-white cloud. A retro Florida pie that sets up cold without an oven.

Thin, lacy sesame wafers with nutty toasted sesame seeds and brown sugar. These crisp, buttery cookies spread into golden wafers as they bake, making 4 dozen irresistible treats.

Mix-in-pan carrot cake: stir all ingredients directly in the baking pan with a fork, no extra bowls or mixers. Spiced with cinnamon and allspice, topped with classic cream cheese frosting.

Buttermilk pie whisks tangy buttermilk with sugar, eggs, melted margarine, flour, and lemon extract into a sweet-tangy single-crust pie. Classic Southern five-minute pie filling.

Monkey tails are frozen chocolate-dipped bananas on a stick, brushed with orange juice to prevent browning. A fun, easy no-bake treat kids can help make.