Dessert recipes

In our extended family this version of pumpkin pie has earned the title!

Czech Christmas cookies rolled paper-thin, packed with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg, sweetened with molasses and brown sugar. Crisp, spicy, and not too sweet.

Gingerbread men cookies with deep molasses, warm ginger and cinnamon, and currant eyes. The classic Christmas cutout cookie with a soft chewy center perfect for kids' decorating projects.

Fresh peach ice cream with ripe summer peaches blended into a cornstarch-thickened evaporated milk base. No eggs to temper, no custard to fuss with, just churn and freeze.

Texas-style sheet cake brownies bake a thin chocolate cake-style brownie in a 9x13 pan, then crown with warm walnut chocolate buttermilk frosting poured over the hot pan. Yields 36 squares.

Mom's baklava layers buttery phyllo with a blend of ground almonds and walnuts, soaked in cinnamon-lemon honey syrup. The cool-syrup-over-hot-pastry trick keeps every flaky layer crisp.

Fudge-pecan pie with bittersweet chocolate melted into a buttery corn syrup filling and loaded with chopped pecans. A holiday-table classic that splits the difference between Southern pecan pie and dense chocolate fudge.

Lemon crinkle cookies made with a boxed cake mix, eggs, oil, and a snowy powdered sugar coating. Four ingredients, ready in 30 minutes, with a chewy center and that signature crackled top.

So chocolaty and delicious. This was our dessert after dinner yesterday, in order to feel less guilty, I modified the recipe and made a healthier chocolate pudding cake (see the linked recipe below). It was such an enjoyable and decadent dessert that we really loved.

James Beard's brownies sweetened with maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. Just seven ingredients, one bowl, ready in 40 minutes. No butter or oil added.

Chocolate rum raisin ice cream made with melted chocolate-covered raisins folded into a creamy custard with rum extract. Five-ingredient homemade ice cream churned the easy way.

Enjoy the taste of pumpkins with this scrumptious cookie that is perfect for a snack in between meals.

First place chocolate chip cookies baked low and slow for thick, chewy centers with golden crisp edges. Dark brown sugar and extra vanilla make these rich and caramelly.

Rubber stamp gingerbread cookies bake up firm enough to hold cutter shapes and decorate, with a pinch of cayenne hiding behind the molasses, ginger, and cloves for unexpected warmth.

No-cook strawberry freezer jam made with fresh crushed berries, pectin, and corn syrup. Tastes like summer straight from the jar with no canning equipment needed.

Chocolate syrup nut brownies built with bottled chocolate syrup, butter, eggs, and chopped nuts. A pantry-staple brownie with a cakey crumb, finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.