Dessert
3846 recipes found
Frosted Sugar Cookies
In 1994, Lofthouse Cookies hit American grocery store shelves like a frosted meteorite. If you grew up in the suburbs, then you may have had one: soft, cakey, melt-in-your-mouth. Unlike their clamshell counterparts, which contain margarine, these homemade versions are made with butter and cream cheese, both of which add wonderful flavor that margarine alone does not. Be sure to freeze your dough for the full 15 to 20 minutes: Not only does this chill the fat, helping the cookies maintain their shape in the oven later, but it also allows the flour to hydrate and the flavors to concentrate. A relic of childhood shored into the present, these cookies are not unlike the tops of vanilla cupcakes, devoid at last of their dry, frosting-less bottoms. Freeze-dried raspberries lend a welcome tartness to the buttercream, not to mention a plush, candy-pink hue. (Watch Eric Kim make his Frosted Sugar Cookies here.)
Chess Pie
With a sparkling bright lemon flavor, this classic Southern buttermilk chess pie filling is poured into a shortbread crust with hints of spice from freshly ground black pepper. The coarse cornmeal gives the beautiful custardy filling the slightest bit of texture once baked. Consider the baking time below as a guide: The pie is done when it jiggles slowly when moved back and forth. A sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar is enough as a garnish to top the pie, and you’d do well to serve each slice with a dollop of whipped heavy cream. It’ll help temper the pie’s vibrant sweetness.
Hummingbird Cake
This super-simple tropical cake contains a hefty amount of mashed bananas and crushed pineapple. Often associated with the American South, where it is believed to have adopted a cream cheese frosting, it most likely originated in Jamaica, where it was called a Doctor Bird Cake. (“Doctor bird” is the nickname of Jamaica’s national bird, the red-billed streamertail hummingbird.) Some say this cake is sweet enough to attract even hummingbirds, while others say the name derives from how bananas, a key ingredient in the cake, resemble the bird’s beak. The end result tastes similar to banana bread, but with the moistness and flavor of a spice-filled carrot cake.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
You may have memorized the foolproof gem on the back of the Toll House bag, given to the world by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s. But this may become your new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s a little more complicated, and you’ll have to plan ahead: After assembling the dough, you must chill it for at least 24 hours before baking it, and preferably up to 36. This allows the dry ingredients time to soak up the wet ones, which results in a firmer dough. It leads to a marvelously chewy, chocolate-rich cookie. Don’t skimp on good chocolate, and the sea salt is not an option — it’s the beacon at the top of this gorgeous treat. (You can certainly put this recipe together by hand, but a stand mixer makes it easy work. If you’re in the market for one, our colleagues at The Wirecutter have tested quite a few, and they've put together an excellent guide to the best.)
S’mores
The perfect campfire s’more is perfect because it’s a reflection of you: Maybe you reach for dark chocolate rather than stick to milky bars or swap in cookies or saltines for the graham crackers. But there are a few best practices, including tool and setup tips from the camp-cooking experts Megan McDuffie, Michael van Vliet and Kena Peay that ensure the marshmallow roasts to gooey, charred excellence and the chocolate surrenders to the heat of the marshmallow, melting but not liquifying. While delicious s’mores can be achieved indoors with a microwave, broiler, gas stovetop or even a candle with some fight in it, a campfire or fire pit imparts a nostalgic woodsy smokiness. Add-ons like jam, peanut butter, chile flakes or fresh berries are fun to try out. What’s nonnegotiable is that you enjoy s’mores with friends, fellow campers, grandchildren or whomever you love.
Strawberry Gingersnap Icebox Cake
Fluffy swirls of strawberry cream are layered with spicy gingersnaps in this summery, no-bake confection. The deep strawberry flavor comes through twice here: once in the mascarpone cream, which is whipped with berry purée, and in a scarlet topping spiked with lime zest and grated fresh ginger. We used Nabisco gingersnaps, but any brand should work, as could vanilla wafers. This cake is best made the day before you want to serve it, giving the gingersnaps a chance to soften into a luscious, soft cake.
Black Sesame Shortbread
Snappy and crumbly, these not-too-sweet cookies are the sort of treats that make you take a deep breath and slow down. Immediately loveable and layered with complex nutty, toasty and savory notes from black sesame, they’re great with tea. The slice-and-bake dough comes together entirely in a food processor (only one bowl to wash!) and can be refrigerated as a wrapped log for a few days before baking.
Lemon-Almond Butter Cake
This buttery almond cake with lemon curd baked inside is like the ultimate citrus tart, without the heartbreak of pie crust. It's fancy enough to be served as a dinner party dessert, yet substantial enough to be served with Sunday brunch. (Bonus: you'll have several tablespoons of lemon curd left over. It's delicious on toast or pancakes.)
Grasshopper Brownies
The classic grasshopper cocktail is made from equal parts crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and heavy cream. Its mint-chocolatey flavors translate perfectly to all sorts of desserts. These decadent layered bars start with a super fudgy brownie base, which is covered with crème de menthe infused buttercream, and a shell of rich chocolate ganache tops it all off. You could certainly substitute a bit more peppermint extract (about 2 teaspoons) and skip the alcohol in the crème de menthe if you’d like to keep these more family friendly. Peppermint extract varies quite a bit in intensity by brand, which is why a range is given, so taste as you go.
Almond and Goat Cheese Candy Bars
In today’s locavore, organic-minded, food-crazed culture, we get so wrapped up in the idea of seasonal fruits and vegetables that it can be easy to forget another important, deep vein of seasonal foodstuff opportunities. That is, candy. Because I wasn’t trying to make child-friendly crowd pleasers here, I had the freedom to pull out ingredients that would not normally appear in a candy bowl. And because these candy bars are savory-sweet, as opposed to cloying sweet, I can eat more of them before my teeth start to ache. It’s important to use a mild, soft goat cheese here. You want a slight tang but not an overwhelming barnyard flavor. And if you really dislike the funkiness of goat cheese, you can use cream cheese instead. The candy will be sweeter and not as complex tasting, but the recipe will still work.
New Classic Brownies
For a brownie almost as dark and dense as a chocolate truffle, there is Alice Medrich’s innovative method for New Classic Brownies: the pan goes directly from a high-heat oven to a bath of ice water, and the just-baked batter slumps, becoming concentrated and intense.
Evelyn Sharpe's French Chocolate Cake
Just as there will always be a place in the world for an understated but luxurious black dress, there will always be a place for flourless chocolate cake. This recipe from 1969 was one of the first published, long before the cake became fashionable. Today it may be a cliché, but it’s a swanky one. This cake is dense, but not the solid block of sweet that can make you wonder if you’re just eating chocolate ganache in cake form. Of course, since the recipe has so few ingredients, it is imperative to use truly delicious chocolate. The proportion of cacao, in case you’re wondering, should fall between 60 and 70 percent.
Rainbow Sprinkle Cake
In the 1990s, when home bakers started putting rainbow sprinkles in their cakes, as well as on their cakes, the Funfetti craze was born. Pillsbury introduced its Funfetti cake mix in 1989, and the idea was quickly adopted by home cooks for waffles, pancakes and cupcakes. Now, as seen on photo-friendly social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest, rainbow sprinkles are decorating everything from morning smoothie bowls to late-night martinis. But the Funfetti layer cake is still the most fun. You can buy premixed rainbow sprinkles, but professionals mix their own to get just the right color combination. (Coming up with a signature "house blend" is a good Saturday morning project for kids.) And though it may be tempting, do not use any sprinkles made with natural colorings in the cake -- they fade away, instead of leaving beautiful streaks of color.
Chocolate Caramel Tart
It is hard to believe in this day and age – when salted caramel ice cream is almost as ubiquitous as vanilla – that desserts in which salt plays a starring role was once a newfangled concept. This recipe, an adaptation of one attributed to the pastry chef Claudia Fleming, came to The Times in a 2000 article by Amanda Hesser about the development of that very trend, and it is a perfect example of how it's done right. Layers of silky caramel and dark chocolate ganache topped with a sprinkling of crunchy, snow-white fleur de sel make this an unforgettable combination of flavors and textures.
Mango Royale
For the chef Isa Fabro of IsaMADE in Los Angeles, the use of super-ripe Manila mangoes (native to the Philippines) is central to this no-bake dessert, as the fruit has a unique deep honey taste, a creamy texture with virtually no fibers, and a heavy aroma. If using Kent or Haden mangoes, remove any excess fiber and add lime; the extra acid complements their flavor, but will compete with the Manila mangoes. As long as the mangoes are super-ripe, even over-ripe, the dish will be fine. If not, the mango flavor will become dulled and lost in the cold of the freezer. If ripe mangoes aren’t available, frozen ones can be used once defrosted.
Pistachio-Lemon Bars
These delightful and easy lemon bars have everything the traditional ones do – tang, sweetness and a buttery base – plus the added benefit of pistachios folded into the filling and the crust.
Crisp Toffee Bars
The original recipe for these buttery, basic toffee bars belongs to Maida Heatter, the great American dessert maven of the 20th century. It was adapted for a cast-iron skillet by Charlotte Druckman, who wrote a book on cast-iron baking in 2016. “You can caramelize a crust in cast iron in a way that would never happen in a sheet pan,” she said. Make sure to bake the bars until very well browned across the top; that is the sign that the desired level of crisp chewiness has been achieved. The recipe calls for adding either nuts or chocolate to dough; you can add both if you like, but in that case use a larger cast-iron skillet (or use a plain old 9-by-13-inch baking pan).
Chocolate Soufflé
Some of the most experienced home cooks are afraid of soufflés. They’ll never rise, they’ll immediately fall, they’re difficult to make, they’re temperamental. Yet people do want to make soufflés — or want them made for them. Hence this recipe, which is not only not scary, it’s also easy. It can be made ahead of time, it’s rich and light, it will dazzle your significant other (or anyone else), and it requires no more effort than it takes to beat a few eggs.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
These chocolate peanut butter cups are dangerously simple to make, with just a few ingredients that you probably have in the pantry right now. They come together faster than a trip to the convenience store. And they are completely customizable. Once you’ve gotten your fill of the standard peanut butter cup, try honey-sweetened cashew butter cups. Or cinnamon-spiked almond butter cups. Drizzle the finished cups with a bit of white or milk chocolate, some flaky sea salt or a sprinkle of finely chopped nuts for an upgraded presentation. Or sneak a tiny dollop of raspberry jam underneath the peanut butter layer for another delightfully classic pairing. The possibilities are endless.
Devil’s Food Cake With Black Pepper Buttercream
Like all the best devil’s food cakes, this six-layer beauty has a deeply fudgy flavor and a light and feathery texture. In between the tender cake layers, a black pepper and vanilla buttercream creates a soft and creamy contrast to the dense fudge frosting on the top and sides. With six layers and two frostings, this cake is definitely a project, but one well worth making if you want to impress. And you can make it in stages. The frostings can be made up to a week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring them to room temperature and briefly beat with an electric mixer before assembling the cake. The cake layers themselves can be baked a day ahead. Store them, well-wrapped, at room temperature.
Cranberry-Pear Crumble Bars
Sweet pears and tart cranberries pair perfectly in these treats, which are part bar cookie, and part fruit crisp. Here, both crust and crumble topping are made from the same almond flour-rolled oat mixture mixture, giving it a nutty flavor. Precooking the filling allows the fruit to soften and release some juices ahead of time so the bottom crust stays nice and crisp. The result is a chewy, fruity cookie that just as easily a perfect afternoon snack as it is a paired with some ice cream for dessert. Choose pears that are on the firm side of ripe: Comice and Anjou both work great.
Strawberry Eton Mess
Eton mess is a classic British dessert made of a mixture of fresh fruit, cream and crushed baked meringue. It’s deliciously simple and perfect for lazy summer days when berries are in season and the less time spent in the kitchen the better. Of course, you could make meringue cookies from scratch, but if you choose to buy them, there will be very little work to do. A little lime zest and juice gives this simple dessert an essential sweet-tart edge, though lemon would do the trick as well.
Dark Chocolate-Cherry Ganache Bars
Homemade ganache is just about the easiest chocolate recipe out there, a dead-simple mixture of melted chocolate and hot cream, whisked until smooth, then chilled until fudgy.
Fudgy Nutella Brownies
Generous swirls of chocolate-hazelnut spread put these super decadent brownies straight over the top. Take care to fold the flour in gently and bake them until they are just set for the richest, fudgiest texture.