Dessert/9 recipes

Velvet cake is a flourless-style chocolate showpiece pooled over white chocolate and raspberry sauces. Dense, fudgy, and made with just six ingredients in the cake itself, it slices like a torte and tastes like ganache.

Ice cream cone cupcakes: chocolate cake batter baked right inside flat-bottom ice cream cones, then swirled with sweet almond buttercream and showered in sprinkles. The kid party showstopper.

Old-fashioned sandwich cookies with a choice of two homemade fillings: raisin with lemon, or chopped date with orange zest and nutmeg. Three dozen per batch.

No-bake caramel oatmeal cookies made on the stovetop with butterscotch pudding mix, evaporated milk, butter, and quick oats. Drop, cool, eat. No oven required.

Light, airy Vermont maple chiffon cake with walnuts, drizzled in reduced maple syrup glaze. Baked in an angel food pan and cooled upside down for a tall, tender crumb.

Pineapple ice box cake, a vintage no-bake dessert with lemon gelatin and whipped cream folded with crushed pineapple, layered between vanilla wafer crumbs. Chilled overnight for sliceable dessert.

Microwave oatmeal chews are no-bake bars with chewy oat base, melted chocolate chip top, and chopped nuts. Seven-ingredient bars made entirely in the microwave for fast snacking.

Date pudding cake with chopped dates and nuts in a light egg batter with barely any flour. Dense, sticky, and caramel-sweet, served warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Rhubarb meringue torte with three layers of crisp piped meringue shells stacked with tangy rhubarb sauce. A stunning make-ahead spring dessert that's naturally gluten-free.

Red, white, and blue ice cream pie with a blueberry muffin mix crust, French vanilla ice cream filling, and sugared strawberries on top. A Fourth of July dessert.

Christmas crackers are sweet honey-wheat holiday cookies stamped with cookie cutters and sprinkled with sugar. Makes 45 crispy-edged rectangles for gifting or dipping.

Two-layered Thai steamed coconut cups with a dark brown sugar coconut base and a creamy white coconut cream topping. A traditional vegetarian Thai dessert made with rice flour, naturally gluten-free.

Van's Faves are crisp lace-thin oat cookies scented with orange zest and finished with a chocolate drizzle. Eight ingredients, big crunch, and an old-fashioned tin-cookie feel.

Lemon poppy seed bundt cake that starts with yellow cake mix and gets a fresh lemon juice kick, crunchy poppy seeds, and a tangy glaze drizzle. A shortcut bakery cake that tastes from scratch.

Old-fashioned honey-sweetened oatmeal sandwich cookies filled with a homemade raisin, orange, and lemon fruit filling. A nostalgic farmhouse recipe that yields 4 dozen.

Reverse chocolate chunk cookies flip the classic: a deep, cocoa-rich chocolate dough studded with creamy white chocolate chunks. Fudgy, brownie-like cookies with a striking dark-and-white contrast.