Desserts

Boston cream pie is one of the greatest desserts ever conceived. Sponge cake. Pastry cream. Chocolate glaze. Three perfect elements working in complete harmony. The only problem with Boston cream pie is that you need a fork to eat it, which significantly limits where and how you can enjoy it. Boston Cream Pie Cookies solve that problem entirely and then improve upon the original. I made these for the first time when someone requested Boston cream pie for a party where a full cake felt impractical. Eighteen individual sandwich cookies later, nobody missed the cake. Several people argued these were actually better. …

Read more

Servings: 8 cones  |  Prep Time: 25 minutes  |  Cook Time: 15 minutes  |  Total Time: 40 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) Okay, so picture this — a crispy waffle cone, loaded with velvety cheesecake filling, topped with gooey cinnamon peach cobbler. Yes, that is a real thing. And yes, you absolutely need it in your life right now. I stumbled upon the idea of Peach Cobbler Cheesecake Cones at a summer cookout, and honestly, it changed me. Someone handed me one and I stood there in silence for a solid 30 seconds. That kind of silence only happens when …

Read more

Peach pie alone is a beautiful thing. Raspberry pie alone is a beautiful thing. Put them together in an all-butter double crust and you get something that is genuinely greater than the sum of its parts. The sweet honey-like depth of ripe peaches and the bright, slightly tart punch of raspberries create a filling that keeps every slice interesting from the first forkful to the last crumb. I made my first Peach Raspberry Pie at the height of peach season when I had too many ripe peaches, a punnet of raspberries that needed using, and a pie crust recipe I trusted. The …

Read more

Prep Time: 10 minutes  |  Freeze Time: 0 minutes (serve immediately)  |  Total Time: 10 minutes  |  Servings: 4 servings Disney Called — You Can Recreate the Magic at Home If you have ever stood in a theme park on a hot afternoon holding a swirl of cold, creamy, fruity Dole Whip and thought — why can I not make this at home? — great news. You absolutely can. And it takes about ten minutes. Frozen Strawberry Dole Whip Delight is a smooth, frozen soft-serve style treat made from just a few simple ingredients that blends together into something that …

Read more

Apple fritters are wonderful. Banana bread is wonderful. Someone smarter than both of us figured out how to combine the spirit of an apple fritter — the warm spices, the tender apple pieces, the sweet glaze — into a quick bread loaf you can bake in your oven without a deep fryer in sight. The result is Spiced Apple Fritter Bread, and it genuinely lives up to every expectation that name creates. I made this for the first time on a rainy October Saturday with a bag of apples that needed using and a genuine craving for something that would make …

Read more

Picture this: a warm, pillowy square of fried dough, so light it practically floats off the plate, buried under a blizzard of powdered sugar. That is a beignet — and it is one of the most joyful things you can eat. I tried my first one in New Orleans and immediately thought, “Why does anyone eat anything else?” The good news is you do not need a plane ticket to experience that magic. These Fluffy Buttermilk Beignets bring the whole New Orleans coffee-shop experience straight to your kitchen. The buttermilk is the secret weapon here — it adds a gentle tang, activates …

Read more

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes + cooling | Servings: 12 slices There are cakes you make because you need dessert, and then there are cakes you make because you want people to stop mid-conversation and stare. Strawberry Glaze Cake falls firmly in the second category. A light, fluffy vanilla cake base, fresh strawberry filling, and a glossy pink glaze that drips down the sides like something out of a bakery window. I made this for my sister’s birthday last spring and she actually photographed it before cutting it. High praise. What …

Read more

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 24 twists You know that smell that hits you at a theme park or mall food court and makes you forget every responsible decision you’ve ever made? That’s cinnamon twists. And now you can make them at home in 30 minutes flat. I started making these on lazy weekend mornings and honestly, my family now expects them. No pressure. What Are Cinnamon Twists, Exactly? Cinnamon Twists are light, crispy, deep-fried pasta snacks coated in cinnamon sugar. They puff up dramatically when they hit hot …

Read more

Prep Time: 40 minutes | Bake Time: 60 minutes | Chill Time: 6 hours | Servings: 12 slices If you’ve ever stood in a bakery sniffing cinnamon rolls like a cartoon character floating toward a pie, this recipe is basically your destiny. We’re talking Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake — creamy, swirled, spiced, and completely over-the-top in the best way. I made this for a Sunday brunch last fall and people literally stopped mid-conversation. That’s the power we’re working with here. What Even Is Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake? It’s exactly what it sounds like. You get a buttery cinnamon graham cracker crust, a …

Read more

Prep: 20 min Chill: 30 min Dip: 10 min Total: ~60 min Servings: 24 balls Difficulty: Easy Some recipes exist purely to make life better. Peanut Butter Cheesecake Balls are exactly that. They taste like someone took the best part of a peanut butter cheesecake — the creamy, rich, slightly tangy filling — rolled it into a perfect sphere, and dipped it in chocolate. No oven. No fuss. Maximum payoff. I first made these for a holiday dessert tray when I needed something impressive that I could prep the night before. They disappeared faster than anything else on the table, including the things I actually baked. I have …

Read more