Dessert/2 recipes

Maria's Ischli cookies are Austrian sandwich cookies with ground hazelnuts or almonds, filled with raspberry jam and topped with chocolate icing. A classic European holiday cookie.

Chocolate-almond sandwich cookies with ground almond cocoa wafers and whipped white chocolate ganache filling. An elegant, slice-and-bake cookie that keeps for a week.

Golden color and rich flavor is achieved by the caramelization of the sugar, and the addition of orange rind.

Fresh blueberry pie with a sour cream custard filling, vanilla, and a pecan streusel topping. Creamy, fruity, and crunchy in every slice.

Homemade oatmeal citrus face scrub with dried lemon and orange peels, oats, and blanched almonds ground into a fine exfoliating powder. All-natural, 3 ingredients, stores for months.

British-style ripe banana loaf with sultanas, cherries, almonds, honey, and mixed spice. A fruited tea loaf that slices thin, spreads with butter, and improves over days.

Caramel pecan apple pie with a double crust, drizzled with caramel ice cream topping and sprinkled with chopped pecans right out of the oven. A simple twist on classic apple pie.

Pecan thumbprint cookies, the classic shortbread-style holiday cookie. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth dough rolled in finely chopped pecans with a thumbprint well ready for jam, chocolate, or icing.

Strawberry lemon trifle with homemade genoise cake, lemon curd cream filling, kirsch-strawberry syrup, toasted almonds, and piped whipped cream. A showpiece French-style layered dessert.

Giant almond Florentines bake whole 8-inch caramel-almond rounds in foil pie pans, then finish with a chocolate-coated bottom. Crisp, lacy, and dramatic. The classic European cookie scaled up to plate-size.

Chewy pecan date squares with brown sugar and vanilla, baked low and slow then dusted with powdered sugar. No butter needed, the dates keep them moist.

Beverwyks are old Dutch spiced cookies with cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and chopped raisins rolled and cut into shapes. A traditional holiday cookie from New York's Dutch heritage.

Dried fruits taste sweeter than candy and also provide fiber and potassium.

Cranberry honey pecan crunch pie with a tart cranberry-orange puree filling and a caramelized honey-pecan topping. A stunning holiday pie with bright fruit and buttery crunch.

Baci di Dama are Italian "lady's kisses": delicate ground almond cookies with candied orange peel, sandwiched together with melted chocolate. Gluten-light, flourless-forward, and elegant enough for gifting.

Jan Hagels are crisp Dutch shortbread cookies spiced with cinnamon and ginger, brushed with egg white, and topped with chopped pecans or walnuts. Sliced into rectangular bars while warm.