Dessert/7 recipes

Lemon thyme butter cookies with a tender, crumbly texture from cream of tartar and dried lemon thyme folded into the dough. Chill overnight and bake into fragrant, herby rounds.

Lemon poinsettia cookies decorate buttery lemon shortbread with cream cheese spread, sliced strawberries, and mint leaves arranged like holiday flowers.

Orange-berry bundt cake, a rich, moist citrus pound cake brightened with orange juice and lemon, made tender with heavy cream and extra egg yolks, then dusted with sugar and crowned with fresh raspberries.

No-churn mango cantaloupe sorbet sweetened with maple syrup and brightened with lime juice. A low-fat, dairy-free frozen dessert made entirely in a blender and freezer.

Cantaloupe balls and blueberries in a fresh mint sugar syrup served as a fruit salad or chilled dessert with whipped cream. A light, refreshing summer fruit dish.

Mango cream pie pulls together mango puree, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and optional rum into a gelatin-set filling poured over a baked crust. Whipped cream on top, mint to finish. A tropical no-cook treat.

Classic chocolate sheet cake with cinnamon and vinegar in the batter, topped with warm cocoa icing poured over the hot cake so it soaks into every prick-marked inch.

Honey nugget cookies are chewy, oat-packed drop cookies sweetened with honey and brown sugar, spiced with cinnamon. A vintage church-cookbook recipe that bakes up tender on the inside, lightly crisp at the edges.

Potato Cake is a classic chocolate sheet cake with mashed potatoes folded into the batter - creating a tender, moist crumb without any potato flavor. Walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Moist wholemeal zucchini cake topped with sliced apple, crunchy walnuts, and warm allspice. Baked in a ring tin, this one's brilliant warm or cold with a cuppa.

Apple spice custard cake: a doctored boxed cake mix loaded with fresh apples, then crowned with a tangy sweetened condensed milk and sour cream custard topping. Easy potluck dessert in under an hour.

Molasses elephant cookies are soft, spice-laced drop cookies with cinnamon, ginger, and a splash of cider vinegar, decorated with raisin or date faces. A vintage kids' cookie made for tiny artists.

Apple-nut cinnamon streusel cake is a sour cream coffee cake folded with chopped apples and toasted sunflower seeds, finished with a cinnamon brown sugar streusel topping. Brunch and breakfast worthy.

Berkshire apple pie with a dump-and-bake cake batter topping over cinnamon apples. No rolling pin needed for this rustic New England-style dessert.

Macadamia fudge torte with devil's food cake mix, pureed pears, chocolate chip filling, and warm butterscotch sauce. A layered springform pan dessert.

Blueberry crunch cake bakes a buttermilk cornmeal cake under a crown of fresh blueberries with a cinnamon-sugar crackle on top. Lighter than coffee cake, sweeter than cornbread. The Southern morning cake that disappears fast.