Dessert/7 recipes

Reduced-sugar oatmeal cake with rolled oats, raisins, molasses, and warming cinnamon and nutmeg. Egg whites and a sugar substitute keep things lean. The lighter take on a Southern church-supper classic.

Caramel-glazed apple cake with overlapping apple slices on a buttery batter base, topped with cinnamon sugar and melted butter. A rustic sheet cake that caramelizes beautifully in the oven.

Chocolate zucchini cake with grated zucchini and buttermilk for an unbelievably moist crumb, warmed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a whisper of orange zest. The garden surplus dessert that hides its vegetables.

A surprising double-crust pie filled with sliced carrots, apples, raisins, and orange zest, lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Old-fashioned, sweet, and unlike any pie you've tried.

Easy one-bowl apple brunch cake with cinnamon, brown sugar, and loads of diced apples stirred right into the batter. A dense, moist cake that comes together with minimal effort and no mixer needed.

Holiday sugar cookies rolled and cut into shapes, dusted with colored sprinkles, and baked tender with a quiet hint of cinnamon. The classic Christmas cookie tin staple.

Fresh blueberry cake baked in a springform pan with a buttery batter shell, juicy berry center, and cinnamon crumb topping. A rustic German-style kuchen ready in 40 minutes.

Persimmon orange cookies made with persimmon pulp, orange juice, orange zest, warm spices, nuts, and raisins. Bake as drop cookies or cut into brownie-style bar squares.

No-bake apple cheesecake set with gelatin, scented with cinnamon and nutmeg, topped with brown-sugar applesauce and toasted peanuts. A creamy autumn dessert with no oven required.

Lime fluff pie folds whipped chilled evaporated milk into a hot applesauce-and-lime gelatin base for a cloud-light no-bake filling. A retro mid-century freezer pie that makes two.

No-bake cheesecake with graham cracker walnut crust, applesauce-swirled filling, and warm spiced apple topping. Mix filling uses box convenience with fresh flavor from lemon and homemade sauce.

Low fat fudge brownie sundae cake is made with cocoa powder, low-fat milk and applesauce.

It's light, fast, and a perfect complement to pies, puddings, and fruit compotes.

Wheat-free applesauce cake made with ground oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. A moist, spiced cake with no wheat flour that improves after resting overnight.

Maple macadamia biscotti made with real maple syrup, maple extract, applesauce, and chopped macadamia nuts. Twice-baked to a crisp, dry crunch for dunking in coffee.

No-oil spice cake using a box cake mix with applesauce replacing the oil and cinnamon for warm spice. A 5-ingredient, lower-fat cake hack that stays moist.