Baking

A thick layer of poured chocolate ganache frosts the top of these wedge-shaped brownies. Sprinkle with tiny heart-shaped candies for your Valentine, change the garnish to suit other occasions, or simply present them unadorned.

Fans of fudgy brownies say this is the recipe of their dreams. In fact, it’s one of our all-time reader favorites. The brownies are versatile, too—they’re equally welcome packed into a picnic basket or stacked atop a cake stand and presented at the end of a dinner party.

Rugelach are traditionally hand formed into crescent shapes; here we’ve used the same ingredients to create easy-to-prepare bar cookies. The filling—a combination of chopped chocolate and dried fruit—is more traditional than the prune filling used for the rugelach on page 298.

Any sun-kissed berries will work atop the cream cheese filling in these mini chocolate cheesecake cookies.

These bite-size cookies resemble little lemon pies, with a sweet, short crust and a tart cheesecake filling.

While they’re warm, these tuiles are draped over a cannoli mold or a narrow rolling pin to give them their shape. To make edible bowls for serving scoops of ice cream or sorbet, shape the warm cookie rounds over inverted muffin tins or ramekins instead.

Bite-size pistachio cookies, sandwiched around a soft, chocolate filling, are dipped in bittersweet chocolate and garnished with a sprinkle of bright-green, slivered pistachios. They are extravagant enough for a special dinner party.

These creature-of-the-night creations sandwich a rich dulche de leche filling between chocolate cookies. You will need an aspic cutter to form the bat shapes.

Flaky cream cheese dough is filled with a rich dried-fruit filling, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and baked until golden brown to form these crescents. The prunes are soaked in brandy overnight for the filling, so plan ahead if you’re making them.

After they are sandwiched with rich chestnut filling, these cookies are partially dipped into melted chocolate. Crème de marron is chestnut puree sweetened with brown sugar and vanilla. It is available at large supermarkets.

This recipe is based on the famous Key lime pie from Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant in Miami Beach. If you can’t find Key limes, use fresh juice from regular limes. The bars are best garnished with whipped cream and lime immediately before serving.

These petite pastries feature the flavors and textures of pecan pie—tender, buttery crust, crunchy pecans, and brown sugar filling—all in one bite. Mascarpone, an Italian cream cheese, lends richness to the dough; look for it in the dairy section of large supermarkets, or at Italian specialty stores.

The key to success with these cookies is to bake no more than two to three on a sheet at one time. Shape them as quickly as possible after removing from the oven, because they begin to firm up as soon as they are lifted off the baking sheet. To avoid wasting cookies, try the shaping process with a circle of paper first.

Tuile (pronounced “tweel”) means “tile” in French. Once the cookies cool, their shape takes on the appearance of a curved roof tile.

The flavor of these dense bars is reminiscent of Black Forest cake, a classic German dessert that originated in the country’s southern Black Forest region, renowned for its sour cherries and kirsch (cherry brandy).

To achieve the most volume, whisk egg whites in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water until just warm to the touch. Toast the almond slices by placing them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and baking at 325°F, stirring occasionally until fragrant, about 10 minutes.

We spread apricot preserves between these meringues, but another filling, such as raspberry jam, would be delicious, too. The meringues should be baked no more than one day before sandwiching them.

This one’s from my co-author. Growin’ up in southeastern Pennsylvania around lots of fruit trees, she makes a mean crisp.

We’ve rolled two New Orleans classic pies into one to make a rich, deep, and satisfying dessert. It’s a real restaurant favorite that has been known to make visitors from the South go wild.