Baking

Filled with the energy of oats and the antioxidants of blueberries, this is the mix for a kick-ass day. Keep it on hand and nothing can stop you. What’s nice is, it’s not too sweet, not too fatty, and really flavorful. It’s just right; and when you’re away from your family or what’s familiar to you, this kind of homemade love will soften the blow.

GINA You could easily order pizza for delivery, but why not have flat-bread instead, and cut it into little squares? You can just buy the dough from your local grocer (or your local pizzeria, if you ask nicely) and add in all the other ingredients. Ripe figs will turn your traditional pizza into an amazing party favorite. We absolutely love this dish: it’s hearty yet light, fruity, and flavorful. If you find the taste of blue cheese too strong, you can always substitute a mild goat cheese, which has a creamy tang that also goes well with the figs. We add the handfuls of fresh arugula to the flatbread while it’s still hot, to add a pop of bright peppery flavor and color.

GINA There’s something about the smell and taste of fresh lemon that livens a dish right up. I remember my great-great-grandmother always rolled lemons on the counter before slicing them, to get the full flavor and extract all the juices, so I do it, too. I’m having a moment just thinking about watching her. Lemon squares are easy to prepare, and give you an Old South flavor that takes you right back in time. And the confectioners’ sugar at the end doesn’t hurt one bit.

We like to refer to this dish as our sophisticated chicken potpie. Lord knows we love chicken, and when you add the sweetness of Vidalia onion, carrots, and celery, you are on your way to some classic Southern comfort food. And we all need a little bit of that sometimes, don’t we?

PAT I have a confession—when I was a kid, I would jump my grandmother’s neighbor’s fence and pluck peaches from Mr. Johnson’s trees. I figured that there were so many of those little darlings hanging from Mr. Johnson’s trees he surely wouldn’t miss a few. Looking back on it, you could say those peaches helped me develop an appreciation for the simple pleasures life has to offer. Over the years, we’ve grown fond of grilling sweet fruit. (Yes, we do “grill everything.”) When you add the smoky flavor from the grill to the sweetness of the apricots and peaches, well, you are talking about a different kind of dessert from the shortcake you’re used to. Ours also calls for biscuits (talk about a Neely spin on things!). And the turbinado sugar is just a fancy name for sugar in the raw . . . like me!

Memphis in May kicks off the barbecue season, but it also kicks off the summer season, so blueberry pie fits right in. We like to take this pie down to the river for the Sunset Symphony and slice it up for our neighbors among the picnic blankets.

When you’ve got your hands full with cleaning, you don’t have time for a full-on dessert stop. But these pecan bars will tempt you and “hit the spot,” in addition to making an incredible snack-pack treat when you’re on the go. Scrumptious brown sugar and chocolate are ooey, gooey, and satisfying, and they’re the perfect reward for a day of hard work.

How delicious is a banana cake with coconut frosting? Can you say, “Beat me down, this is so good”? This recipe is all about the bananas, so try and find the very-well-ripened bananas. They are sweeter and softer, and definitely add more banana taste to the cake. Of course, the real star of this cake is the coconut frosting. Once they eat this dessert, your family and guests will have found the golden egg, and you just might get a standing ovation. Happy Easter!

Angel biscuits are so easy to make that they’re often called “bride biscuits.” They have three different types of leavening, so they always rise up fluffy and tall.

GINA This is my absolute favorite cake. Tanya has been baking it for me since I was a little girl—which I was yesterday. . . . I can remember when my sister Kim made it for her boyfriend, Tony, who is now her husband. I watched her in that kitchen, baking with such love and care. I begged for a small piece and she said, “No, it’s Tony’s birthday.” So I sat on that stool and swung my feet and waited and waited. It got pretty dark, and Kim was no longer smiling—she’d gotten that evil look on her face that we all have had at one time or another. The wait went on, and then . . . ding-dong. He’d finally arrived, and Kim was all fired up to give him a piece of her mind for being so late. After some loud, angry whispering between Kim and Tony at the front door, Kim took my beautiful, coveted cake, went straight out the door, and threw it into the garbage can outside! I screamed and stood by that can in shock, but Tanya made me come in, and baked me another one just to shut me up. (Hence, you can see where my “spoiledness” comes from, and the reason Tanya knows it’s my favorite.) Now we all love this cake. I am a true chocolate lover, and adding more chocolate on top—really, what more can you say? But you know Pat—he likes to reach into the freezer and throw a big scoop of vanilla on top of his slice.

We’re huge fans of these tartlets; while everyone else is sharing a box of chocolates (nice, but dull), we’re putting ours in a box you can eat! These tartlets are delicious and beautiful, with a pleasant hint of nuttiness when you add hazelnut liqueur. Topped with chocolate shavings and a dollop of whipped cream, they make a perfect Valentine confection. (We like to make a couple of extra tartlets for the girls—plus, they make great midnight snacks!)

GINA Can you imagine life without these two amazing ingredients? Who would want that? It would be like having fabulous shoes without a great handbag. Having chocolate and peanut butter is heaven on earth. If you think I talk a lot, give me chocolate and peanut butter and you won’t hear another word out of me!

Here we go back to New Orleans again, with Bourbon Street flair. Southern bourbon-soaked brioche bread makes a hearty Creole-style dessert.

You can’t have collard greens without corn bread, and these bite-sized corncob-shaped sticks are a cute way to serve them. You can also bake the batter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet—just cook the vegetables in the same skillet you’d like to bake the bread in.

They say that pumpkin pie is one of the scents that men react to most strongly. I’m not sure if I agree, but I think that by combining a smooth pumpkin filling with a chocolate crust, you have a good chance of getting your guests’ attention. I roast the pumpkin in the oven to ensure the filling isn’t watery. It’s really not possible to overcook the pumpkin; in fact, the longer you cook it, the more the flavors become concentrated. If you can’t find a sugar pumpkin, butternut squash or another hard-skinned fall squash would make a fine substitute. You can roast the pumpkin and bake the crusts at the same time, speeding the process along.

I love how Italians use nuts in desserts, from almond cake to pine nut tarts. Here, those same pine nuts transform the humble cookie into something truly special. Crumbly, yes, but not too sweet—just delicate and fabulous. For a variation, try filling the thumbprints with homemade jam. Rhubarb would be delicious, making each cookie taste a little like PB&J.

If the combination of olive oil and dessert falls outside your comfort zone, I guarantee this cake will make you a total convert. This luscious specimen has the richness of a traditional pound cake but a more complex texture, all complemented by the haunting fruitiness of extra-virgin olive oil. Almond meal, or almonds ground until fine, gives it a delicate nuttiness. Completely addictive on its own, this cake is even better dressed up with fresh spring cherries scented with fresh bay and a tangy dollop of crème fraîche. These pretty, yellow- and pink-hued cherries are more commonly known as Rainiers, but I like this moniker better because one of the restaurants sits perched atop Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill. It’s essential to use fresh bay leaves in this recipe. Dried bay is too strong and will give the cherries an almost medicinal taste, not a quality I look for in a dessert.

Cardamom is used everywhere from India to Scandinavia, and I love what the fragrant spice does for these classic French shortbread cookies. Though not traditional, the addition of cornstarch guarantees the delicate, crumbly texture for which the cookies are named (sablé translates as “sand”). Because sablés need time to chill before being baked, they make wonderful icebox cookies and are easy to keep in the fridge or the freezer and you can slice and bake as needed. They make an easy but distinctive finish to a meal, and are a nice accessory for a lonely scoop of ice cream or sorbet. If you like, instead of forming the dough into logs, roll out the dough after chilling and cut out rounds, then baked as directed. Cardamom loses its fragrance quickly, so make sure your ground cardamom is fresh.

If you have a mom or grandmother who baked when you were a kid, this not-too-sweet dessert should ring the bells of nostalgia for you. A cookie designed to emulate those cinnamon-and-sugared scraps of leftover pie dough, these pretty pinwheels can cozy up quite happily to a cup of tea, or would make a welcome finishing touch to an evening espresso.

Southerners love a good red velvet cake the way they love good, juicy gossip. That’s because there’s inherent drama in a towering white cake that, beneath swaths of innocent cream cheese frosting, possesses a shockingly crimson interior. Of course, they also love red velvet cake for its twangy buttermilk and cocoa–infused flavor and exceptionally smooth, supple crumb.