Dessert/4 recipes

Fun chocolate cookies with cocoa and chocolate chips, decorated with miniature bear-shaped cookies pressed around the edges. A kid-friendly baking project.

This ultra-rich chocolate bar poundcake melts milk chocolate into buttermilk batter for a dense, velvety crumb that practically dissolves on your tongue. A showstopper dusted with powdered sugar.

Jumbo cream cheese peanut butter cookie: one giant cookie-dough pizza slathered with fluffy peanut butter cream cheese frosting and chopped peanuts. A sliceable dessert for 12 in 45 minutes.

Vintage ribbon cake: plain vanilla and spiced molasses batters layered in stripes with a tart lemon-raisin filling between. An old-fashioned American cake worth reviving.

Chocolate snappers with unsweetened chocolate, cinnamon, and corn syrup rolled in sugar and baked until crackled. A chewy, crinkle-style chocolate cookie with a sugary crust.

Nutty tahini paste blended with fresh orange juice and zest creates a uniquely flavored Middle Eastern cake studded with walnuts and golden raisins.

Ice cream pie with a self-forming spice cake crust that collapses into a pie shell as it bakes. Filled with maple nut or cinnamon ice cream and frozen until firm.

Apple cheddar wontons deep fried until golden and coated in cinnamon brown sugar. Sharp cheddar melts into sweet apple inside a crispy wonton shell for an addictive snack.

Diabetic-friendly lemon meringue pie sweetened with fructose and sugar substitute. The classic citrus dessert with a glossy meringue, formulated for lower-impact glucose response.

Traditional Scotch shortbread with just butter, sugar, flour, and salt. Baked low and slow until pale and sandy with a pure butter crumble in every bite.

Georgia peaches-and-cream cake: a layer of juicy fresh peaches under a tender sour cream cake and a cinnamon-brown sugar crumb. Part cobbler, part coffee cake, all Southern summer comfort.

An elegant no-bake amaretto cheesecake on a baked hazelnut macaroon crust. A light, gelatin-set cream cheese filling spiked with almond liqueur over a nutty, chewy-crisp base.

Chocolate pecan shortbread cookies, food-processor easy. Cocoa-rich shortbread pressed thin and topped with crystal sugar and ground pecans for crunch.

Blueberry angel food cake with tender whipped egg whites, juicy blueberries folded through, and a bright lemon glaze drizzled over top. A fat-free springtime dessert that doesn't taste like health food.

Traditional New Mexican biscohos cookies spiced with cinnamon, star anise, and cloves, then dusted with cinnamon sugar while still warm from the oven. A cherished holiday cookie that fills the kitchen with the most intoxicating aroma.

Chocolate lover's cake with four thin layers of sour cream chocolate cake sandwiched with fudge frosting and topped with chopped pecans. Bare sides show off the dramatic layered interior.