Dessert/8 recipes

Sweet potato cheesecake on a buttery graham cracker crust with mashed sweet potatoes, cream cheese, cinnamon, and nutmeg, topped with a vanilla sour cream layer. The holiday dessert that outshines every pie on the table.

Lighter cranberry apple cookies made with egg whites and skim milk, loaded with fresh fruit, cinnamon, and orange zest. A guilt-free holiday cookie that yields 2 dozen.

Carrot square cake with walnuts, golden raisins, and a tangy orange-flavored cream cheese icing. A 9-inch square pan version of the classic carrot cake, perfect for small gatherings.

Theres just something about peanut butter and chocolate, here's another version of "Tiger Butter" with a butterscotch twist.

Two Southern legends in one pie: a creamy cheesecake layer on the bottom topped with classic pecan pie filling. The holiday dessert table just got a whole lot more interesting.

A buttery banana sour cream cake swirled with cinnamon-brown sugar, chopped walnuts, and chocolate chips. Part coffee cake, part banana bread, all comfort. Feeds 16 happy people.

Honey bear cookies sweeten oats with honey and brown sugar instead of just butter and white sugar. Chewy oatmeal cookies with cinnamon and your choice of chocolate, apples, or raisins.

Better Than Sex Cake is a rich Bundt cake made with yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, sour cream, chocolate chips, grated German chocolate, and pecans.

Linda's fruitcake: brandy-soaked dates, citrus peel, raisins, almonds, and cherries folded into a spiced batter with a pineapple jam layer. Wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth to age.

Reese's cookies loaded with peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips in a soft, chewy drop cookie. That classic peanut butter-chocolate combo in every bite.

Traditional English Banbury cake made with yeasted dough, currants, and warm spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and mace. A rich, buttery spiced cake from Oxfordshire.

Chocolate chip walnut pie with a gooey corn syrup and egg filling loaded with semi-sweet chocolate and walnuts. Like pecan pie's chocolate-studded cousin, baked low and slow.

Apple harvest cake baked in a fluted bundt pan with a half-whole-wheat batter, two cups of chopped apples, and toasted walnuts. Brown sugar and cinnamon drive the flavor, finished with a thin powdered sugar glaze.

Layered apple cake with a buttery crust, tangy cream cheese filling, sliced apples, and silky custard topping crowned with pecans. A showstopper baked in a springform pan.

Low-fat apple oat crisp with applesauce in the filling and a whole wheat oat topping with just a tablespoon of margarine. Only 85 calories per serving.

Reese's peanut butter cup cheesecake on a chocolate cookie crust with chunks of candy folded into the filling and a sour cream topping. Make-ahead dessert for any crowd.