Dessert/9 recipes

No-egg fruit cake loaded with candied cherries, pineapple, dates, toasted coconut, and nuts, bound with sweetened condensed milk and glazed with orange juice and honey.

Classic savayar (savoiardi), Italian ladyfinger cookies piped from a sponge batter of egg yolks, whipped whites, sugar, and flour. Crisp outside, tender inside, the perfect tiramisu builder or dessert dunker.

Nut horns are Eastern European cream cheese pastries filled with a sweet walnut meringue filling. The dough chills overnight for a flaky, tender bite that melts in your mouth.

Sugar-free chocolate banana cream pie with a no-bake peanut butter and crisp-rice crust, sliced bananas, sugar-free chocolate pudding and a light whipped topping. Press it, layer it, freeze it. No oven, no refined sugar.

Four-layer sour cream orange cake with citrus zest, a Grand Marnier glaze, cream cheese coconut frosting, and toasted coconut on the sides. A make-ahead showstopper for celebrations.

Chocolate and cherries - always a great combo - are enhanced in this winning shaped-cookie recipe by a coating of cocoa and powdered sugar. It was submitted by Lois A. Hernandez of West Allis.

Lower-fat banana cake with pureed prunes replacing most of the butter, nonfat vanilla yogurt, and egg whites. A moist sheet cake that cuts the fat without losing flavor.

Authentic biscotti di Prato from Tuscany. Twice-baked Italian almond cookies with toasted almonds, a pinch of saffron, and the traditional pasta-board well method. Crisp, dunkable, and built to keep.

Cream cheese chocolate chip cookie bars made from two rolls of refrigerated cookie dough sandwiching a vanilla cream cheese filling. A bakery-counter dessert from supermarket shortcuts in 15 minutes of prep.

Imperial coconut flan made from scratch with a whole fresh coconut, homemade condensed milk, and separated eggs baked in a caramel-lined mold. A traditional Mexican showpiece.

Go-to brown sugar slice and bake cookies: a freezer-friendly cookie log that slices straight from frozen onto the baking sheet. Tender, caramel-sweet, and ready to bake any time you need cookies fast.

Apple-cranberry pie with Golden Delicious apples, fresh cranberries, cinnamon, and nutmeg under a crunchy brown sugar crumble topping. A fall and holiday favorite.

Chocolate pudding cake bakes covered to develop a moist, dense crumb that lands between cake and pudding. A buttermilk-cocoa dessert that holds at room temp or chilled.

A warmly spiced sheet cake made with sour cream, raisins, and walnuts, sweetened with brown sugar replacement. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg fill every moist slice with cozy fall flavor. Diabetic-friendly and feeds a crowd.

Creamy white chocolate cheesecake on a graham cracker crust, topped with a glossy cranberry glaze and chocolate gratings. A stunning holiday dessert baked in a water bath for silky texture.

Yankee maple sugar apple pie sweetens tart apples with a full cup of soft maple sugar instead of granulated. Just cinnamon, a hint of flour, and dotted butter under a cream-washed top crust deliver heritage New England flavor.