Dessert

We tried all kinds of gingersnaps to make this easy crust. Our favorite? Anna’s Ginger Thins.

Pastry chef Kierin Baldwin’s pie dough method is special in a couple of ways. First, she uses a combination of butter, which lends rich flavor, and shortening, which makes the flakiest crusts. The best of both worlds. Her technique of repeatedly flattening and stacking the dough coats the flour with fat, which helps make the crust tender in this pear pie recipe.

A coffee cake with chocolate and hazelnuts that you could eat for both breakfast and dessert

Layers of buttered and sugared phyllo pastry are molded in muffin tins to form the crisp crusts for these mini apple croustades.

Forget the boxed version you grew up with. This yellow cake recipe gets a rich dark-chocolate frosting with a touch of tang thanks to sour cream. For the best presentation, it’s important to cut the cake layers evenly. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

This cake is perfect for beginners—it’s moist, forgiving, and easy. Jif creamy peanut butter is our favorite for the decadent frosting.

10 easy cookie recipes that you can make quickly or make ahead, slice, and bake.

Expert advice on gathering your friends together for a big-time pie party

If you like, serve this chocolate-cinnamon recipe with whipped cream or an extra dollop of yogurt—or, of course, a cup of coffee.

In this gâteau breton aux pommes, or apple cake, apples are caramelized before being baked in buttery batter. Why stop there? Salted caramel sauce lets guests indulge even further.

Put the evening over the top by setting out these easy, impressive caramels after dessert. Or set out wax-paper bags so friends can take them home for the next day.

These old-fashioned marshmallows look beautiful in apothecary jars. Find one at a flea market, Williams-Sonoma, or on etsy.com/>.

Consider this sweet and crunchy dessert a free-form fruit crisp. Be warned: The nutty oat topping is addictive.

Peggy Loftus, a contributor to Food52, devised these stellar custards.

It may look like a giant lunch-box treat, but an ultra-smooth ganache and a final flourish of crunchy sea salt make this one elegant cake.

For this granita, sweet honeydew melon is flecked with floral pink peppercorns and mint. Remember: One of the great things about making granita is that no ice cream maker is needed.

From the Kookerists at Bake at 350 comes delightfully daffy dude food: the fried-chicken cookie

It's this Buttermilk Cake with Sour Milk Jam and Gin-Poached Cherries, from Alma, the Best New Restaurant in America

Lime zest is a fresh addition to macaroons, and a Microplane is our zesting tool of choice. If you can’t find unsweetened coconut chips, use two 7-oz. bags of sweetened shredded coconut and reduce the sugar to 1 Tbsp.

This complexly flavored pudding owes its smooth texture to a quick spin in the blender.

The late Richard Sax, celebrated cookbook author and champion of home cooks the world over, inspired this flourless chocolate cake—a riff on his iconic chocolate cloud cake.

This simple, moist banana bread recipe can also be baked in three small (5¾x3¼”) loaf pans, which is how you’ll find them at Julia’s stand; cooking time will be 40–50 minutes. For the deepest flavor, use ripe bananas with lots of freckles.

Using frozen berries in desserts is a clever way to add flavor and vibrant color in colder months. Choose a mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom, to let the fruits shine.