Dessert/4 recipes

Raisin-spice cookies made with oatmeal cookie mix, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, raisins, and chopped nuts. A quick drop cookie with warm holiday spices that makes four dozen in under 30 minutes.

Low-calorie blueberry parfaits layered with vanilla frozen yogurt, warm blueberry-apricot sauce, and slivered almonds. Four ingredients, 15 minutes, and gorgeous in a glass.

Chocolate Pecan Shortbread with Chocolate Glaze recipe

Hand-shaped vanilla almond cookies baked low and slow for a tender, shortbread-like crumb. Simple butter cookie dough with finely chopped almonds throughout.

Crunchy apple pie with chopped pecans, brown sugar, and a foamy egg white batter baked in a single crust. Open-faced with a crisp, golden top.

Deep-fried choux pastry bites with pecans and maple extract, tossed in powdered sugar. A crispy, nutty treat using classic pate a choux dough ready in 15 minutes.

Amaretto cookies fold flaked coconut, chopped almonds, and amaretto liqueur into a stiff egg white meringue base. Crisp-outside, chewy-inside macaroon-style drops with a grown-up almond-liqueur backbone.

Poppy seed ravioli cookies filled with a blended almond-poppy seed-honey filling, folded like tiny ravioli, and brushed with honey after baking. A unique holiday cookie project.

Spiced sheet cake with brown sugar and warm spices gets topped with walnut meringue frosting that bakes on for a crunchy, marshmallow-like finish.

Flourless-style chocolate almond cake made with toasted ground almonds, melted dark chocolate, and just a quarter cup of flour. Light, fudgy, and lifted by whipped egg whites for a fallen souffle texture.

Little fruit cake squares packed with chopped dates, candied cherries, and pecans, baked in a 9-inch pan and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite-sized holiday treats.

Pecan fingers with a buttery shortbread base and a chewy brown sugar pecan topping, dusted with powdered sugar. Two-layer bar cookies made entirely in the microwave.

Three-layer walnut carrot cake with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves frosted with buttercream. A spiced, oil-based cake with a moist crumb and crunchy walnut-lined pans.

Quick-fix cookies turn store-bought refrigerated cookie dough into two bakery-style treats: chocolate-drizzled chocolate chip sticks and orange-cinnamon sugar leaves. Two batches, twenty minutes of work.

Pumpkin cheesecake pie made entirely in the microwave with a graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, and pecan topping. Lemon and orange zest brighten the rich pumpkin custard.

Santa's Whiskers are festive slice-and-bake cookies with candied cherries and pecans in a buttery dough, rolled in flaked coconut for a snowy, whiskery edge.