Dessert/9 recipes

Double-cocoa chocolate cookies studded with mint chips, then drizzled with a glossy homemade chocolate glaze. Fudgy, minty, and intensely chocolatey with crispy edges that shatter on the first bite.

No-bake rocky road cheesecake with chocolate cream cheese filling, marshmallows, and chopped nuts on a chocolate wafer crust. Set with gelatin, no oven needed.

Traditional Tuscan cavallucci spice cookies built from a hot sugar syrup kneaded with walnuts, candied orange peel, and warm spices like clove, anise, and cinnamon. Chewy, perfumed, and unmistakably medieval.

A novelty cake shaped like a giant hamburger! Golden pound cake topped with toasted sesame seeds, penuche frosting, cocoa "meat," and strawberry preserve "ketchup." A total showstopper for kids' parties.

Italian almond-hazelnut biscotti twice-bake to crisp dipping cookies with lemon zest, almond extract, and toasted nuts. Lower-fat traditional Italian style, keeps a month in a tin.

White chocolate raspberry cheesecake on a vanilla wafer crust, with melted white chocolate folded through the batter, layers of fresh raspberries and a glossy chocolate glaze. Baked low and slow for a crack-free, creamy slice.

Karithopita, a Greek spiced walnut cake with cinnamon and cloves, soaked in a honey-citrus syrup with orange and lemon peel. Rich, aromatic, and drenched in sweetness.

Chocolate-filled cake roll with a light sponge cake and chocolate pudding filling, dusted with cocoa. A lighter jelly roll dessert made with reduced sugar and skim milk.

Rum raisin cheesecake with crunchy oat-nut streusel topping and crumb crust. The textural contrast between creamy filling and crispy topping makes every bite interesting.

Miniature choco-lite puffs are bite-size cream puffs with a lightened twist: crisp choux shells filled with fluffy sugar-free chocolate pudding and whipped topping. An elegant, lower-fat party dessert that looks far fussier than it is.

Creamy cheesecake with poppy seeds throughout, almond crust, and sour cream topping. Ultra-low temperature baking creates silky texture in this two-hour cheesecake.

Alsatian apple cake with four pounds of Golden Delicious apples, honey, rum, and a caramelized egg-butter-brown sugar topping. A rustic French apple dessert.

Homemade chocolate whoopee pies with fluffy marshmallow creme filling. Soft cocoa cakes sandwiched around a sweet, billowy center for a New England bakery classic you can make at home.

Marbled pumpkin cheesecake swirls chocolate-pumpkin batter over plain pumpkin filling on a graham crust scattered with chocolate morsels. A Thanksgiving showstopper that earns its place at the dessert table.

Blueberry upside-down cake with a glossy brown sugar topping and tender white cake base. Inverted to reveal jammy purple-stained fruit on top.

Flaky puff pastry spiraled around horn molds, baked golden, then piped full of sweetened whipped cream and topped with grated chocolate. A classic European pastry at home.