Dessert/7 recipes

Chocolate custard chocolate cheesecake combines a rich pudding-based chocolate filling with cream cheese and folded egg whites, topped with sour cream over a graham cracker crust. Deeply chocolatey, custard-soft.

Crunchy Italian biscotti loaded with hazelnuts, lemon zest, sambuca, and rum. Twice-baked for that signature snap, these tozzetti are built for dunking in espresso or a glass of vin santo.

A no-bake cream cheese pie layered with sliced bananas and mandarin oranges in a graham cracker crust. Made with sweetened condensed milk and chilled until set. Just 15 minutes of hands-on work.

Old-fashioned apple ring fritters: peeled apple slices dipped in a quick milk-and-egg batter, pan-fried in shortening until golden, and dusted with cinnamon sugar. A 30-minute dessert from grandma's kitchen.

Mandel rolls (mandelbrot) made with cake meal, matzo meal, potato starch, and chopped nuts. Twice-baked Jewish biscotti that are crisp, cinnamon-spiced, and Passover-friendly.

Rich sour cream cheesecake with four packages of cream cheese, six eggs, cinnamon, and a vanilla wafer crust. Baked in a springform pan for 70 minutes. Dense, creamy, and tall.

Chocolate snickerdoodles rolled in a cocoa-cinnamon-sugar coating with chewy oats baked right into the dough. Soft centers, crinkly tops, and a double hit of chocolate.

Maple-walnut pound cake baked in a tube pan with a cinnamon-walnut streusel layer through the middle and on top. Dense, buttery, and loaded with maple and brown sugar flavor.

Pecan tassies with cream cheese pastry shells filled with brown sugar, pecans, and egg. Bite-size pecan pies baked in mini muffin tins until golden and set.

Southern buttermilk meringue pie with a tangy custard filling sweetened with brown sugar, topped with light whipped meringue. A heritage pie from old Appalachian and Southern kitchens.

Soft, cakey cranberry drop cookies loaded with whole fresh cranberries, walnuts, and a touch of lemon juice. Makes 3 dozen festive holiday cookies with a tender crumb.

Old-fashioned honey drop cookies with cinnamon, cloves, and raisins. No refined sugar at all. Soft, chewy, and warmly spiced with a caramel-like sweetness.

Rich chocolate truffles with crunchy pecan centers, dipped in smooth melted chocolate and topped with chopped nuts. Easy microwave method makes 3 dozen elegant candies.

Easter chip cookies loaded with pastel candy-coated chocolate pieces in a chewy brown sugar dough. Festive, colorful drop cookies the kids will love decorating Easter baskets with.

Classic Italian anise biscotti with toasted almonds and anise seeds infused in Sambuca or Pernod. Twice-baked until crisp and dry, built for dunking into espresso or Vin Santo.

Old-fashioned coconut meringue kisses with shredded coconut, vanilla, almond extract, and a cherry half on top. A naturally gluten-free holiday cookie with a crisp exterior and chewy center.