Dessert/4 recipes

City school red devil's food cake made with cocoa, hot coffee, buttermilk, cake flour, and a touch of red food coloring. The nostalgic cafeteria chocolate cake from scratch.

Grandma's picnic chocolate cake baked in one 8x8 pan with buttermilk, cocoa powder, and cake flour. An old-fashioned single-layer snacking cake that travels well and stays moist for days.

Buttery German almond crescents dusted with powdered sugar, made with ground almonds and double extracts for a melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie.

Chocolate chip meringue kisses that dry in the oven for 5 hours after a brief blast of heat. Light, crisp, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with just six ingredients.

Lemon spritz cookies made with lemon juice, zest, and powdered sugar. Egg-free, dairy-free pressed cookies with a bright citrus flavor and tender crumb.

Joe Froggers, the giant New England molasses cookies. Spiked with rum, dark with molasses, warmed with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Roll, cut big, bake.

An elegant charlotte lined with ladyfingers and filled with a tangy citrus cream made from quark, yogurt, and whipped cream. Topped with glazed fresh strawberries. A make-ahead showpiece for special occasions.

Low-fat moist chocolate cake made with egg substitute, dry milk powder, and cocoa. Tender cake-flour crumb. The everyday chocolate cake that won't wreck your day.

Low-fat brownies made with cottage cheese instead of butter, egg whites instead of whole eggs, and real unsweetened chocolate. Fudgy and rich with far less guilt.

Butterscotch pie cooks brown sugar and butter into a real caramelized butterscotch base, then folds it into a creamy egg-yolk custard topped with golden baked meringue. A retro diner classic.

Classic anise cookies build a meringue-like base from eggs whipped with sugar for 30 minutes, then rest overnight before baking into pillowy, licorice-scented Italian cookies.

Warm cornmeal pudding sweetened with molasses and brown sugar, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. This traditional New England dessert bakes up creamy with a characteristic whey center, perfect with cold cream.

Sour cream chocolate cake using a cake mix enriched with sour cream and brown sugar, topped with a broiled sour cream and brown sugar glaze. Extra moist and finished in minutes under the broiler.

Tangy lemon drops are tender shortbread slice-and-bake cookies made with butter, cake flour, lemon zest, and a snowy dusting of powdered sugar. Four ingredients, melt-in-your-mouth crumb.

Old-fashioned griddle spice cakes made with sour milk, nutmeg, and baking soda, stacked with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. A heritage breakfast treat served pie-style in wedges.

Eggless chocolate cake using vinegar and skim milk for tender, moist layers. A wartime-style two-layer cake with a light chocolate whipped frosting. Sixteen servings of nostalgia.