28 pastel recipes

French-style apple crisp layered with fresh mint and cinnamon, baked until golden with a crumbly egg-based topping for a rustic dessert that's lighter than traditional pie.

This dessert is a favorite on the menus at many Houston, Mexican and South American restaurants.

Piña colada pie: a four-ingredient frozen graham-crust pie with piña colada yogurt, crushed pineapple, and whipped topping. The easiest tropical dessert in the freezer playbook.

Cute Easter egg cookies are tender cut-out cookies shaped with an egg cutter and decorated with smooth pastel icing. A fun Easter baking project for kids, made lighter with a sugar substitute in the dough.

Aunt Catherine's Italian Cookies: a heirloom cookie with almond extract, cinnamon, and chopped nuts, finished in pastel-colored powdered sugar icing. Stores for months in tins.

Fudgy chocolate brownie cookies topped with pastel-colored frosting and sugar crystals. Loaded with semisweet chocolate chips and finished with rainbow icing for a festive, party-ready treat.

Coconut cookie nests in pastel colors with a chocolate egg in each. A macaroon-style Easter cookie with crisp edges, chewy centers, and room for candy eggs on top.

Make some halloween cupcakes with your kids, so much fun!

Make this delicious cake for your Easter party, the fluffy, buttery and fruity flavor, and the cute decoration will impress your guests!

Chile garlic wet marinade paste, a blended rub of jalapeno, chipotle in adobo, garlic, scallion, and olive oil. Smoky, spicy, and garlicky, it tenderizes and flavors beef like flank steak before grilling.

Bold brisket marinade paste with Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, paprika, lemongrass oil, dry mustard, and red wine. Score the meat, rub it in, and marinate for several days for deep flavor penetration.

Rainbow trout Provencale with red bell pepper, fennel seeds, garlic, vermouth, and tomato paste. A light French-inspired fish dish cooked in minutes.

Italian lentils with sausage simmers fresh sausage in broth while earthy lentils cook with sage, soffritto, and tomato paste. A rustic Umbrian-style main or New Year lucky dish.

Italian veal rolls (involtini) stuffed with prosciutto and Grana Padano, browned in butter, and braised in white wine with tomato paste. A classic Northern Italian secondo.

Indian yogurt kabob sauce with cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and garlic-ginger paste. A tangy, spiced marinade for grilling meat, fish, or vegetables.

Pitlai is a South Indian lentil stew with bitter gourd (karela), chickpeas, tamarind, and a ground coconut-spice paste. A tangy, complex vegetarian curry with toor dal and jaggery.