Dessert/9 recipes

Cocoa meringue cake: two crisp cocoa-free meringue disks sandwiched with a mocha-chocolate filling and served in a pool of bright raspberry sauce. An elegant, low-fat dessert showpiece.

Mary Wilhelm of Sparta sent her signature cookie, which she said she has prepared for the Food Network, Warrens Cranfest and Taste of Home magazine. Two classic flavor pairings - brown sugar and cashews, and orange and cranberry - come together.

Blueberries with brown sugar cream is a 3-ingredient dessert: fresh blueberries, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of brown sugar that slowly melts into dark ribbons. Ready in 5 minutes.

Peanut pie with a shortbread cookie crust bound by peanut butter, packed with peanut butter cookies and roasted peanuts in a gooey brown sugar custard. Triple peanut, double cookie.

Old English yeasted Christmas cake spiced with cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, and caraway seeds. A buttery yeast-risen holiday loaf, closer to brioche than to fruitcake.

Peanut butter Bundt pound cake glazed with semi-sweet chocolate ganache. A dense buttery pound cake that bakes from a cold-oven start, then gets enrobed in glossy chocolate.

This rich, creamy and chocolaty cake is perfect for St. Patrick's Day, serve this delicious cake at the end of the dinner or party as a sweet ending!

Italian polenta cake with ground almonds, cornmeal, orange and lemon zest, and vanilla bean. Naturally gluten-free with a tender, grainy crumb and citrus perfume.

Baked apple halves stuffed with brandy-soaked dried cherries and drizzled with a maple caramel sauce. Served warm with vanilla frozen yogurt for an elegant fall dessert.

No-bake penuche drop cookies made with brown sugar, butter, oats, and chopped nuts. A stovetop candy-style treat ready in minutes with no oven needed.

A marbled banana Bundt cake with swirls of chocolate fudge rippled through a moist banana batter, finished with a cocoa drizzle. Lighter than it looks, made with skim milk and just 1/4 cup oil.

Cherry and almond Christmas cake: maraschino cherries, apricots, ginger, and almonds macerated in amaretto and brandy, baked into a lighter apple-puree batter, then soaked in more amaretto. A boozy, fruit-packed festive cake that keeps for a month.

A silky tofu cheesecake blending pureed silken tofu with cream cheese on an almond graham cracker crust. Lighter than traditional cheesecake but impossibly creamy after an overnight chill.

Peanut butter and milk chocolate jumbles loaded with chopped chocolate bar pieces. A chewy drop cookie with a rich peanut butter base and melty chocolate chunks.

Wholesome bars packed with oats, dried apricots, raisins, and sunflower seeds, sweetened with molasses and bound with orange juice.

Mother's Day baked apple-cinnamon French toast assembles overnight, then bakes into a puffed, custardy casserole with dried apples, raisins, and warm spices. Zero morning-of stress.