Dessert recipes

Heritage apple pie with a butter-and-lard crust, tart Northern Spy apples, brown sugar, and a teaspoon of bread crumbs lining the bottom shell to keep it crisp. A three-stage bake delivers an evenly browned crust.

Fudgy drop cookies packed with black walnuts and unsweetened chocolate, topped with a glossy homemade chocolate frosting. Old-fashioned, from-scratch baking that makes 2 dozen in under an hour.

Mocha white chocolate cheesecake with a cocoa vanilla wafer crust, Kahlua coffee filling, and sour cream topping. Baked in a water bath for a crack-free finish.

Skidaddle cookies fold canned fruit cocktail and chopped walnuts into a brown-sugar drop cookie batter for a soft, fruity vintage cookie. A pantry-staple drop cookie that bakes in 12 minutes.

Basic butter cookies with just 5 ingredients: flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar, butter, and walnuts. Melt-in-your-mouth shortbread-style cookies baked low and slow.

Salzburger Nockerl, a classic Austrian souffled dessert with billowy egg white mounds baked over cream, butter, and currant jelly. Golden, airy, and served straight from the oven.

A from-scratch blueberry lemon cobbler with a flaky buttermilk biscuit crust brushed golden and sprinkled with sugar. Lemon zest and warm spices make 3 pints of berries sing.

Flourless chewy oatmeal cookies made with just 7 ingredients: oats, butter, two sugars, an egg, vanilla, and salt. Naturally gluten-free with crispy edges and a soft, chewy center.

Make a delicious and sweet pizza with apples, almonds and dulce de leche glaze. It's good enough for both kids and grown-ups to keep picking up another slice.

Cumulonimbus chocolate cake hides a secret ingredient: sauerkraut. Drained, snipped, and folded into a cocoa-and-coffee batter, it disappears completely and leaves behind a moist, fluffy chocolate cake. Frosted with a two-ingredient chocolate sour cream icing.

Terry's turtle cake layers chocolate cake with melted caramel, chocolate chips, and pecans, then tops with more batter for a gooey caramel center. A church potluck classic on a doctored cake mix base.

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

Poached pears with chocolate drizzle: Bosc pear wedges simmered in white wine and apple juice with warm spices, then crowned with melted dark chocolate. An elegant light dessert.

Classic vanilla cupcakes made with the two-bowl method for tender, fluffy crumb and sky-high rise every single time.

Buttery shortbread logs dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with chopped walnuts. A 4-ingredient cookie with crisp, sandy texture and a rich chocolate finish.

Banana fritters dredge ripe banana pieces in flour, dip in a light water batter, then deep-fry to golden crisp. Hot, crackly Asian-style street snack served with ice cream.