Dessert/7 recipes

Orange butter cakes are petite tartlet-tin cakes perfumed with Grand Marnier and candied orange peel, then dipped in orange liqueur glaze. Elegant 36-cake batch for gifts or a holiday tray.

Apple raisin meringue pie with a soft cooked apple-raisin custard filling and fluffy lemon-scented meringue topping. Old-fashioned alternative to classic apple pie.

From-scratch chocolate cake with melted unsweetened chocolate and buttermilk, topped with a boiled fudge frosting beaten over ice. Deep, dark, and intensely chocolatey.

Microwave Peanut Butter and Kisses Layer Pie recipe

The recipe was easy to follow, and my kids loved the cake. It only lasted a couple of hours. I know, they all have sweet teeth :)

Homemade Twinkle cake rolls with a fluffy vanilla cream filling made from butter, shortening, and evaporated milk. Bake in a sheet pan or potato tins, split, fill, and roll for a fun copycat treat.

Classic cut-out Christmas cookies with almond and vanilla extract, rolled thin and topped with colored powdered sugar frosting. A holiday cookie-decorating tradition.

Heart-shaped chocolate cookies loaded with chocolate chips, topped with melted white chocolate and candied pineapple. A Valentine's Day cookie that's rich, fudgy, and festive.

Mocha nut butter balls: tender, snowball-style shortbread cookies flavored with cocoa and instant coffee, packed with toasted walnuts or pecans, rolled in sugar.

Scotch shortbread balls dipped in fudgy chocolate frosting. Buttery, sandy crumb with a glossy chocolate cap. Holiday cookie tin essential.

Chocolate sweetheart sandwich cookies with cocoa dough puffed and crackled, filled with vanilla buttercream. Homemade Oreo-style cookies with a rich, creamy center.

Cocoa and coconut truffles spiked with amaretto and honey, baked then rolled into bite-sized balls dusted with powdered sugar. Dangerously easy to make, impossible to stop eating.

Polka-dot brownies made with melted semi-sweet chocolate, whipped eggs tripled in volume, and reduced-calorie margarine. Fudgy, lighter than classic brownies, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Peanut butter cookies made with sugar replacement for a lower-sugar treat. Classic creamed margarine and peanut butter base, criss-crossed with a floured glass and baked to tender-edged gold.

Melting moments cookies sandwich tender coconut shortbreads with orange buttercream and dip half in chocolate. Buttery, citrusy, and chocolate-finished sandwich cookies for tea or holiday plates.

Upgraded fudge cake mix recipe with whipped topping and butter flavoring for an extra-moist, tender crumb. Two layers of deep chocolate frosted all over for a showstopper with minimal effort.