Dessert/7 recipes

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.

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.