Dessert/8 recipes

Slice and bake sugar cookies that freeze in logs for up to six months. Vanilla and lemon extracts give the classic bakery-cookie flavor. Slice from frozen, bake straight away, no thaw needed.

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.

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.

Classic Italian biscotti studded with toasted walnuts and star anise, double-baked until crisp for perfect dunking in coffee or wine.

Old-fashioned spice cake with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg, sweetened with brown sugar and studded with raisins. A tender crumb built on evaporated milk and topped with caramel frosting.

Molasses ginger snaps with the classic crackled tops that form as the dough balls melt and spread. Warmly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, these crisp-edged cookies are a holiday baking staple.

Old-fashioned applesauce cake: applesauce and oil keep it moist and tender, warm cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg give it autumn spice, and raisins and nuts add chew. An easy one-pan cake.

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.

Tangy goat cheese replaces cream cheese in this elegant cheesecake with a honey-kissed graham cracker crust and silky sour cream topping. Bright with lemon zest and vanilla, it chills overnight for a make-ahead dessert that wows.

Low-fat holiday cheesecake with nonfat cream cheese, lemon yogurt, and a graham cracker crust, topped with cherry pie filling and whipped topping.

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.

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.

French chocolate cake from a 1953 recipe contest, made with cocoa powder, sour cream, and folded egg whites for a tender, tall crumb. Finished with a soft-ball brown sugar chocolate frosting that sets glossy and rich.

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.

Illinois apple pie fills a flaky double-crust shortening pastry with thin-sliced Granny Smith apples spiced with cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Brushed with milk and dusted with sugar for a sparkling top.