Dessert/5 recipes

Rugelach with fruit jam are traditional Jewish crescent cookies rolled with cream cheese pastry around apricot or raspberry jam, cinnamon sugar, raisins, and walnuts. A Hanukkah favorite.

Chocolate snickerdoodles rolled in a cocoa-cinnamon-sugar coating. Chewy oat cookies with a crackly crust and deep chocolate flavor that beats the classic version.

Gelo di Mellone, a traditional Sicilian watermelon pudding thickened with cornstarch, studded with pistachios, chocolate, and candied citron, finished with cinnamon.

Apple snack cake mix shortcut: stir cake mix, egg, and milk right in the baking pan, press sugared apple slices into the top, and bake. A single-pan dessert ready in 40 minutes.

Fresh pineapple pie with dried apricots, macadamia nuts, and a splash of rum in a flaky double crust. A tropical twist on classic fruit pie with Hawaiian accents.

Easy sour cream coffee cake built on a doctored cake mix with a cinnamon-brown-sugar swirl running through a tender bundt. Vanilla and a whisper of lemon extract keep every slice moist and bright.

Mocha cheesecake with a chocolate wafer crust, cocoa-cream cheese filling, and instant coffee for real coffeehouse depth. Rich, dense, and built on the classic cheesecake frame.

Lemon cinnamon cookies are crisp rolled shortbread-style cutouts scented with fresh lemon zest and warm cinnamon, glazed with egg wash and sparkling sugar. Old-world cookies leavened with baking ammonia for a shatter-crisp snap.

Moist chocolate zucchini bundt cake with cream cheese frosting hides two cups of shredded zucchini in every tender, cocoa-rich slice.

Layered apple cake with cinnamon-sugar apple slices tucked between three tiers of orange juice-brightened batter. A dramatic tube pan cake that reveals a stripe of fruit in every slice.

Old-fashioned Southern cream cookies made with sour cream, walnuts, and pressed flat with a cinnamon-sugar glass. Soft, cakey drop cookies that yield six dozen from one batch.

Vinson's pecan pie is a classic Southern double-batch recipe with whole pecans, Karo corn syrup heated to blend smooth, eggs, and vanilla. Makes 2 pies for holiday tables.

Carolina Dream frosting with bourbon-spiked egg yolk custard, candied cherries, pecans, raisins, and coconut. The Southern fruitcake topping that's almost a layer in itself.

Elegant apple dessert bars with flaky pastry base, apricot jam layer, and Brazil nut-raisin topping served warm with whipped cream for special occasions.

Praline pumpkin pie with a candied brown sugar pecan layer baked into the bottom of a flaky homemade crust, plus a bourbon-spiked spiced pumpkin custard. Holiday pie at its richest.

Three-layer praline creme pumpkin pie with a spiced pumpkin custard, brown sugar pecan streusel topping, and an orange-scented cream cheese whipped topping. A holiday showstopper.