Dessert/7 recipes

Lemon butter cookies are crisp rolled-and-cut cookies scented with lemon extract, perfect for decorating with colored sugar. A no-fuss eight-dozen batch for cookie trays and bake sales.

To see a very similar dessert I made this summer, check out my Grilled Peaches with Coconut Milk Ice Cream recipe.

Christmas carrot pudding steams grated carrots and potatoes with breadcrumbs, raisins, suet and warm spices into a moist British holiday pudding served with brown sugar sauce.

A show-stopping zebra cheesecake with swirled dark and white chocolate batters on a chocolate wafer crust, finished with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache glaze. Pure drama on a plate.

Chewy orange granola cookies loaded with oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, and honey. Flavored with orange juice concentrate, cinnamon, and cloves for a spiced citrus twist.

Nana Keele's carrot cake with crushed pineapple, cinnamon, and nuts, topped with a hot buttermilk syrup that soaks right into the warm cake. A family heirloom recipe.

Oven baked sweet plantains slice ripe plantains on the bias and roast in a hot oven until golden, caramelized, and candy-sweet. A two-ingredient, no-fry side.

Holiday fruit cake bakes candied pineapple, red and green cherries, golden and dark raisins, pecans, and oats into a nutmeg-mace spiced loaf. Wraps and keeps for weeks.

Fresh pineapple pie with dried apricots, macadamia nuts, and a splash of rum in a flaky double crust. A tropical twist on classic fruit pie with Hawaiian accents.

Coconut custard pie with freshly grated coconut, beaten egg whites folded in for a light filling, and a dusting of nutmeg on top. Southern-style and old-fashioned.

Cornflake macaroons made with whipped egg whites, coconut, pecans, and crispy corn flakes. Light, crunchy, and naturally gluten-free with no flour at all.

Chocolate dessert cups shaped over balloons and filled with airy raspberry mousse. No molds needed, just melted semisweet chocolate and a clever balloon trick for an edible Valentine's showstopper.

Pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting, they're so good it's hard to eat just one. Great to make in a advance and freeze.

Swedish apple pie with no bottom crust, just a self-forming buttery cake-like topping over diced apples and nuts. One-bowl dessert ready in under an hour.

Oreo mud pie with layered chocolate and coffee ice cream on a chocolate wafer crust, topped with whipped cream, fudge, and toasted walnuts. The 1970s diner classic frozen dessert.

No-bake strawberry-shaped cookies made with dates, coconut, Rice Krispies, and nuts cooked in a skillet then rolled in red sugar. A fun, creative treat.