Dessert/9 recipes

Sugar-free fruit cookies with raisins, currants, nutmeg, and hot apple juice instead of sugar. A big-batch drop cookie sweetened naturally by dried fruit.

Raspberry dream bars with a buttery shortbread base, a layer of raspberry jam, and a coconut-egg topping that bakes golden and chewy. Three layers of flavor in every bite.

Kahlua orange nut cake is a moist tube cake with a buttery walnut crumb crust, fragrant orange-Kahlua batter, and a coffee liqueur glaze. Coffee, citrus, and toasted walnut in every bite.

Tender rum-soaked bundt cake made with vanilla pudding mix and toasted walnuts. The rum-butter glaze seeps into every crevice for boozy, buttery bliss at potlucks.

Gluten-free cherry crisp with sour cherries, almond extract, and an oat-walnut crumble topping. Easy dessert, no flour required, ready in under an hour.

Anise biscotti (mandel bread) with lemon zest, anisette liqueur, and star anise baked twice for a crisp, crunchy dunk-worthy cookie. An Italian-Jewish crossover recipe with optional hazelnuts or sliced almonds.

Fudge cakes with melted unsweetened chocolate, butter, and chopped nuts in a light batter lifted with stiffly beaten egg whites. Somewhere between a brownie and a cake, frosted and cut into bars.

Rich, individual molten chocolate lava cakes made with Valrhona bittersweet chocolate and real butter. Crisp edges give way to a warm, gooey center. Served with vanilla ice cream.

Old-fashioned coconut oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, wheat germ, and brown sugar. A chewy, textured drop cookie with oats, coconut, and a boost of nutrition from wheat germ.

Peanut butter thumbprint cookies with a chewy raisin-date filling in the center. Nostalgic, tender, and less sweet than the jam-filled version. Makes 60 cookies.

Wonderful fruit cookies are lightly sweetened raisin and currant drop cookies made with hot apple juice and nutmeg. A diabetic-friendly, low-sugar cookie with real fruit flavor.

Orange macadamia nut cookies are buttery shortbread diamonds with chopped macadamias and bright orange zest. Just five ingredients, no eggs, rolled and cut for a tea-tray cookie that bakes up tender and crisp.

Sicilian sesame seed cookies with a tender, crumbly interior coated in nutty toasted sesame. These Italian bakery favorites make 6 dozen and disappear twice as fast as you'd expect.

Wow, this cake was so moist and delicious. My family really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Old fashioned gingerbread cake made with a surprising secret: tomato soup replaces the liquid in gingerbread mix for an incredibly moist, spiced cake with raisins and walnuts.

Old-fashioned raisin pie with brown sugar, walnuts, and a hit of orange drink mix in the filling. The double-crust country dessert often called funeral pie for its long shelf life.