Dessert/8 recipes

Little lemon spritz cookies made with a cookie press, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice, dipped in a tangy lemon cream glaze. Crisp, buttery, and perfect for cookie trays.

Mocha layer cake built with cake flour, cocoa, and strong brewed coffee, sandwiched with sweetened whipped cream folded with dates and nuts. A vintage two-layer dessert dusted with powdered sugar.

Hundred-dollar chocolate cake made with mayonnaise-style salad dressing instead of eggs and butter. Moist, fudgy, and topped with a boiled cocoa frosting.

Sugar-free orange cookies with fresh orange juice, zest, and buttermilk. Made with sugar replacement for a diabetic-friendly drop cookie with real citrus flavor.

Crazy cake (also called wacky cake or depression cake) needs no eggs, no milk, no butter. Mixed straight in the pan with vinegar for chemistry-class lift. A Depression-era favorite.

Wacky cake, a Depression-era chocolate cake made with no eggs, no butter, and no milk. Vinegar and baking soda provide the rise, and cocoa powder delivers deep chocolate flavor from pantry staples.

Classic four-ingredient shortbread cookies with just flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Pressed into a sheet pan, pricked with a fork, and baked until set.

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.

Frangelico chocolate cake with coffee-spiked cocoa frosting. Hazelnut liqueur and strong coffee deepen the chocolate flavor in this rich, two-layer celebration cake.

Sunshine cake is a tall, lemon-kissed cousin of angel food and sponge cake, leavened entirely by whipped egg whites and yolks with bright lemon zest and juice.

Crisp, light date macaroons made with just four ingredients: egg whites, dates, nuts, and powdered sugar. Naturally flour-free and baked to a golden brown.

A show-stopping sour cherry pie with a hint of almond extract, topped with overlapping heart-shaped pastry cut-outs instead of a traditional crust. Gorgeous for Valentine's Day or any day you want to impress.

Funnel cake batter is poured through a funnel into hot fat in a swirling spiral, fried until golden, then dusted with confectioners sugar. The state-fair classic, made at home.

Pfeffernusse-style German pepper cookies with white pepper, cinnamon, mixed spice, candied peel, and lemon zest. Small, puffy spice balls dusted in powdered sugar.

Strawberry cream pie layered with toasted almonds, a from-scratch vanilla cream filling, fresh halved strawberries, and a glossy strawberry glaze. Diner-counter classic done properly.