Dessert/2 recipes

Experimentation led Mary Ann Zarczynski of Franklin to create this recipe, which she described as "very rich and delicious."

Lemon cream and nut cookies, buttery shortbread ovals spread with homemade lemon curd and crowned with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, prunes, rum-soaked raisins, and candied orange. A jewel-box holiday cookie.

Toffee crunch chocolate chip cookies with oats, chopped toffee candy bars, pecans, and semi-sweet chocolate. Made in a food processor for fast, even mixing and chewy-crisp texture.

Twice-baked Italian almond cookies studded with bright maraschino cherries, spiked with kirsch and Grand Marnier. Perfect holiday gift.

Classic Alsatian apple charlotte with milk-soaked bread, cinnamon-spiced apples, chopped almonds, and a splash of kirsch. Baked in a bundt pan until golden, this rustic French dessert is pure comfort.

Passover sponge cake with pineapple juice concentrate, almonds, lemon and orange zest, made with potato starch and cake meal. Light, airy, and flour-free.

Honey queen kisses drop cookies with a full cup of honey, butterscotch chips, flaked coconut, and crisp rice cereal for crunch. A chewy, crunchy, golden cookie with no refined sugar.

Peanut butter dreams are no-bake chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls with crisp rice cereal for crunch. Vintage church-cookbook candy that yields 48 freezer-friendly bites and disappears at every bake sale.

Microwave bundt cake spiked with creme de cocoa and orange juice, swirled with chocolate syrup. Rich, boozy, and ready in 25 minutes flat.

Three-layer chocolate pudding cake with rich chocolate custard between cocoa sponge layers, baked in a water bath and served with a Grand Marnier bittersweet chocolate sauce.

Let your bread machine make this hazelnut bread for you.

Oat bran raisin cookies with rolled oats, brown sugar, walnuts, and the option to swap raisins for chocolate chips. A hearty, fiber-rich drop cookie with a chewy texture.

Chocolate-coconut layer cake with tender buttermilk chocolate layers, flaked coconut folded through, and a rich walnut-chocolate filling between whipped cream layers.

Halloween chocolate cookie mice with pinched noses, chocolate chip eyes, and licorice tails. A spooky-cute kids' baking project that turns one chocolate shortbread dough into a tray of edible critters.

Master cheesecake filling formula with cream cheese, powdered sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Learn the ratios for dense, fluffy, chocolate, fruit, or liqueur-spiked variations.

Flaky Asian pear and lychee strudel with phyllo dough, crystallized ginger, toasted coconut, walnuts, and Chinese five spice. A showstopping fusion dessert dusted with powdered sugar.