Dessert/5 recipes

Chocolate thumbprint cookies bake a cocoa-walnut shortbread base, then fill the wells with vanilla cream and ruby cherry pie filling. Holiday cookie tray showstopper.

Peachy cinnamon coffee cake uses a cinnamon muffin mix, canned peaches, and the included swirl packet for a fast-from-scratch-tasting cake baked in about 30 minutes. A weekend brunch shortcut.

Hidden treasure chocolate chip cookies made with graham cracker crumbs, coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and semi-sweet chips. Tastes like a magic bar in cookie form.

Peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar with a chocolate piece pressed into the center mid-bake. Chewy, nutty, and studded with melty chocolate.

Christmas pudding steams grated carrot and potato with raisins, currants, suet, and warm spice blend into a moist holiday dessert. Serve with brown sugar sauce or custard.

Mincemeat bars with a buttery oat-walnut crust sandwiching a thickened mincemeat filling. Old-fashioned holiday dessert squares that store beautifully in a tin.

Microwave chocolate cherry upside-down cake bakes in 12 minutes flat. A dairy-free wacky cake batter swirled with cherry pie filling, inverted onto a plate for a glossy ruby topping.

Flourless raspberry truffle cake made with a full pound of melted chocolate, whipped egg whites, and butter. Topped with sweetened cream, fresh raspberries, and chocolate curls.

Chocolate chip sandwich cookies with a marshmallow cream and powdered sugar filling. Three ingredients, refrigerated cookie dough shortcut, and you're done in under an hour. A kid-friendly bake-sale winner.

Oatmeal orange cookies with rolled oats, cinnamon, and chopped orange pamelas (pomelo) mixed into brown sugar cookie dough. Chewy citrus-spiced drop cookies.

Silken tofu replaces eggs and dairy in a tender, biscuit-style shortcake that's completely vegan yet still delivers the classic strawberry shortcake experience.

Fallen chocolate souffle cake: a dense, fudgy flourless-style cake of bittersweet chocolate, almond, and egg whites that puffs then collapses into a crackled top. An elegant, almost gluten-free dessert.

Traditional Passover apple pie made with matzo meal crust instead of flour. Unique dough from soaked matzos, hard-boiled egg yolks, and butter.

French silk chocolate pie with whipped butter-sugar-chocolate filling and a buttery Oreo cookie crust. Classic no-bake filling that sets into a silky mousse-like slice in the fridge.

Chocolate zucchini bread with melted unsweetened chocolate, grated zucchini, cinnamon, and chopped nuts baked into a rich, moist loaf. Uses the garden glut deliciously.

A classic and healthful comfort food dessert dish. Using brown rice retains all the goodness of the bran for leaps and bounds added health factors. Sweeten only with apple juice concentrate the recipe stears you clear of refined sugars.