Dessert/9 recipes

Pineapple upside-down cake made in the slow cooker with pineapple rings, maraschino cherries, and brown sugar caramel base. No-oven retro dessert for warm-weather entertaining.

Savory cheese cookies with sharp cheddar, butter, and crisp rice cereal. Rolled into balls and fork-pressed flat. A crunchy, cheesy appetizer or snack that bakes in 10 minutes.

Authentic Pad Thai with chicken, shrimp, fried tofu, rice noodles, and tamarind-fish sauce dressing. Topped with crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, lime, and cilantro.

Sweet potato pie with nutmeg and margarine in a simple 5-ingredient filling. A no-fuss Southern classic that comes together fast with boiled sweet potatoes.

Rum raisin bundt cake made with ripe bananas, dark rum, walnuts, and allspice. A moist, no-fuss batter baked in a fluted tube pan and dusted with powdered sugar.

Cantaloupe fruit salad with fresh pineapple, apple, raisins, coconut, and walnuts served with low-fat yogurt. A tropical no-cook fruit bowl with crunch from nuts and chewiness from coconut.

Cinnamon apple bundt cake made with whole wheat flour, fresh apple slices, walnuts, and apple juice. A lighter oil-based cake dusted with powdered sugar, best served warm.

Chocolate PB jeebies, intensely fudgy chocolate cookies loaded with chocolate and peanut butter chips, served with a warm chocolate ganache for dunking. A double-chocolate-peanut-butter treat made for dipping.

Diabetic-friendly chocolate peanut butter pie with a cooked custard filling using skim evaporated milk and minimal sugar. Thick, creamy, and lower in sugar.

Decadent chocolate cake spiked with jalapeños and Kahlua creates a molten-centered Mexican dessert with subtle heat and deep mocha flavor for adventurous bakers.

A no-bake chocolate hazelnut cheesecake: a buttery cookie crumb base under a creamy, gelatin-set filling swirled with choc-hazelnut spread and cookie pieces, dusted with cocoa. No oven required, just chill and serve.

Chocolate fudge bundt cake coated with sliced almonds and drizzled with glossy chocolate glaze creates an impressive centerpiece dessert that's easier than it looks.

Strawberry cheesecake pie layers a tangy lemon-cream cheese filling in a flaky crust, piled with fresh strawberries and topped with a glossy cooked strawberry glaze. Part cheesecake, part strawberry pie, all chilled.

No-bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies with coconut. Boil the sugar mixture for one minute, stir everything together, and drop on wax paper to set.

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with chopped dates, coconut, and walnuts or pecans. Brown sugar and orange juice add a caramel sweetness with bright citrus notes.

Mexican chocolate chiffon pie with Kahlua coffee liqueur, whipped cream, and toasted almonds in a baked pie shell. A silky, no-bake gelatin-set filling chilled overnight.