Dessert/7 recipes

Mock cherry pie made from halved cranberries and raisins simmered with sugar, vanilla, and butter. The Depression-era trick gives you a tart-sweet ruby filling that fools nearly anyone hunting for the real thing.

Fresh pineapple fruit salad served in hollowed-out pineapple shells with a Grand Marnier lemon syrup. A stunning presentation with seasonal fruit, sliced apples, and fresh cream.

Scotch shortbread with just five ingredients: butter, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. A classic, buttery, sandy-textured cookie that melts on the tongue.

Vanilla pecan slice-and-bake cookies from a make-ahead dough that chills into logs and freezes for up to 3 months. Crisp, buttery icebox cookies baked from frozen in 12 minutes.

Pan di Spagna, the classic Italian sponge cake with eggs whipped to a ribbon, cake flour and cornstarch folded gently to preserve air. The foundation for tiramisu, zuppa inglese, and fruit-layered tortes.

Dense, fudgy chocolate pecan cake spiked with Irish cream liqueur and espresso, crowned with a glossy chocolate glaze and chocolate-dipped pecans. A showstopper for 10.

Orange poppy seed layer cake soaked in fresh orange syrup and frosted with vanilla cream cheese frosting. A stunning two-layer celebration cake with citrus flavor in every bite.

Traditional German Dampfnudeln: soft steamed yeast dumplings stuffed with prunes, drizzled with buttery poppy seed sauce. A cozy Bavarian dessert that's surprisingly simple to make.

Apple cinnamon cake loaded with 6 fresh apples and chopped almonds in an oil-based batter with a full tablespoon of cinnamon. Dense, moist, and best served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Honey crunch baked apples stuffed with granola, dates, and almonds, drizzled with a honey-butter apple juice sauce. Old-fashioned autumn dessert you can feel good about.

Lemon Lassie cookies, a Christmas classic with cinnamon-molasses dough wrapped around a tangy lemon-coconut curd filling, then sliced into bars before baking.

Cold water chocolate cake with melted unsweetened chocolate, butter, and a splash of cold water for an exceptionally tender, light crumb. A heritage two-layer cake recipe.

Amaretto cookies fold flaked coconut, chopped almonds, and amaretto liqueur into a stiff egg white meringue base. Crisp-outside, chewy-inside macaroon-style drops with a grown-up almond-liqueur backbone.

This moist apple cake is absolutely delicious. Raspberry jam, fresh apples and lemon juice make the cake taste refreshing and fruity, the almond-sour cream topping adds nuttiness and tanginess, and the lemon glaze gives the cake extra citrus and sweetness.

Three layers of genoise sponge brushed with espresso-rum syrup, filled and frosted with silky mascarpone cream, dusted with cocoa, and wrapped in chocolate shavings.

Classic Southern sweet potato pie with a spiced, custard-like filling made from fresh sweet potatoes, brown sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla in a flaky crust. A holiday staple.