Dessert/5 recipes

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.

Classic skillet pineapple upside-down cake with caramelized brown sugar topping, juicy pineapple rings, and cherries. Simple cake mix recipe baked in cast iron for golden edges.

White chocolate ricotta-filled cookies: crisp baked wonton skins sandwich a white chocolate, ricotta, and orange zest filling, with toasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate baked into the shell. A fusion dessert with serious restaurant flair.

An elegant French strawberry chibouste-style dessert: pastry cream lightened with Italian meringue, set with gelatin, molded against fresh strawberries over a thin genoise base. A patisserie classic at home.

Crisp baked sue gow wonton wrapper sandwich cookies layered with toasted hazelnuts, chocolate, and a creamy white-chocolate ricotta filling brightened with orange zest. An elegant fusion dessert.

Quick to make and too delicious for your own good!

The tartness of the lemons is great with the sweet crust and meringue topping. Perfect in summer.

Chocolate sandwich cookies filled with melted Andes mint candies. Crisp chocolate wafers rolled in sugar with a creamy mint center, perfect for holiday cookie tins and gift platters.

No-bake lime cheesecake with a honey-graham crust, fat-free cream cheese, evaporated skim milk, and fresh lime juice. Light, low-fat dessert that chills until firm.

Fig Star Cookies feature a maple-scented shortening dough wrapped around a homemade dried fig filling with lemon and nuts. A vintage holiday cookie worth the effort.

Easy strawberry pie with fresh berries in a glossy cornstarch glaze, poured into a pre-baked pie shell and chilled. No-bake filling, minimal ingredients.