A pumpkin cake with maple-cream cheese frosting on a cake stand.CakesA pile of homemade caramel-coconut oreos and a glass of milkCookiesChocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes with Caramel-Butterscotch FrostingCupcakesA container of Pumpkin Meringue Pie Ice Cream with a scoop.Ice Cream & SorbetA pumpkin meringue pie in an orange stoneware pie plate, sitting on a cooling rack with a pie server.Pies, Tarts, CrispsA slab of dulce de leche brownies, with five brownies cut from the end.Brownies & Bars

Best Winter Desserts

Spiced Cider Doughnuts

These doughnuts are certain to conjure memories, real or imagined, of crisp autumns, roadside farmstands, and grease-stained paper bags full of similar piping hot beauties.

1 hr 35 mins

Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake

This lofty cake is so crammed full of chocolate and butter and air, there’s no room for flour–although we made sure to leave space for ample swoops of softly whipped cream.

1 hr 15 mins

Our Favorite Pies

more pies, tarts, and crisps

Dessert 101 FAQs

Dessert is often the highlight of a meal, particularly at a big holiday feast. It also often requires the most time and effort to prepare. Here are the answers to our most frequently asked questions on making and storing desserts, getting ahead of the game, and cooking for folks with dietary needs.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO STORE DESSERTS?

It depends on the type of dessert. If it’s made with dairy products, such as milk or cream, it should be stored in the refrigerator. Baked goods like cookies and bars can usually be stored in a sealed container at room temperature.

What types of desserts can BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?

Frozen desserts such as ice cream, or ice cream pie, can be made several days in advance and stored in the freezer until you are ready to serve. Cakes and cupcakes can also be made and frozen, undecorated, for up to 3 months. Other desserts, such as brownies, cookies, and pies, can usually be made 1 to 2 days before serving.

What’s the best way to freeze desserts?

If you are making a frozen dessert, such as ice cream, we recommend storing it in a freezer-safe airtight container to prevent freezer burn. Cakes and cupcakes should be cooled completely before freezing. They can be stored, unfrosted, in resealable bags, or wrapped well in plastic.

can you suggest some desserts for guests who have allergies?

For guests who need to avoid gluten, we recommend this dark chocolate mousse. If you need a dessert for vegan, egg-free, or dairy-free folks, try this simple apple sorbet, or these crispy oatmeal cookies.

A flourless chocolate cloud cake topped with billows of whipped cream on a metal platter.

Celebration-Worthy Cakes

all cakes

Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake

Pretty much guaranteed to be one of those desserts that makes people do face-plants onto their dessert plates. A David Leite original recipe.

2 hrs 30 mins

Red Eye Devil’s Food Cake

A classic chocolate cake on caffeine, this impressive yet easy to assemble stack of chocolatey elegance takes its rounded chocolatey-ness from a cup of joe and its ample fudgy-ness fro ganache.

2 hrs 30 mins

Brown Betty Bakery Coconut Cake

Dubbed Company’s Comin’ Coconut Cake, this beauty of a pound cake will have you dreaming up excuses to bake dessert. Even if for no other reason than you want it.

1 hr 20 mins

Thankful Butterscotch Cake

What’s with the thankfulness, you ask? For starters, this sleek, sophisticated, tender-crumbed cake smothered in butterscotch and stacked to the heavens.

2 hrs

All Desserts

Shortcut Pie Crust

This revolutionary shortcut pie crust recipe, made from just flour, butter, sugar, and salt, dispenses with kneading and rolling. It's ready in just 25 minutes. Easiest pie ever.

25 mins

Chocolate Muffins

Those of us who prefer a restrained sweetness and a more pronounced cocoa taste will adore these muffins. Nothing overtly sweet here. And we're okay with that.

1 hr

Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake

This lofty cake is so crammed full of chocolate and butter and air, there's no room for flour--although we made sure to leave space for ample swoops of softly whipped cream.

1 hr 15 mins

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Grab your spoons. Whether you crave sweetness or sustenance of a different sort, this simple childhood pleasure may at least bring you a little pleasure in the moment at hand.

15 mins

Chocolate Caramel Cake

For this stunning dessert, rich chocolate cake and salty-sweet caramel frosting collide to make a magnificent masterpiece.

6 hrs

Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting

Sometimes simpler is better. Proof? This classic chocolate frosting from the back of the tin of Hershey's cocoa. We dare you to not just eat it straight from the spoon.

10 mins

Cheese Danish with Fruit Filling

A startlingly spectacular made-from-scratch cheese Danish that is going to forever change your notion of what a cheese Danish ought to be.

1 hr

Coconut Cream Pie

A retro classic with a velvety coconut custard buried beneath billows of sweet, luscious, airy meringue and cushioned by a tender, flaky, buttery lard crust. You're welcome.

1 hr

Brownie Pie

Known in some parts as tar heel pie, this ridiculously rich chocolate brownie pie filling is impossibly fudgy, so much so it's simply too gooey to consume out of hand.

4 hrs

Food Processor Pie Crust

This flaky, tender, butter and shortening pie crust is a breeze to make, thanks to your food processor.

2 hrs 10 mins

Peppermint Brownies

They're rich, a little fudgy, and bursting with peppermint flavor. Say hello to your new favorite holiday brownie.

1 hr 20 mins

Scottish Shortbread

This tender, buttery, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth Scottish shortbread is as authentic as it gets.

1 hr 25 mins

Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

These easy-to-make icebox cookies are bejeweled with cranberries and pistachios to create a standout holiday cookie.

3 hrs 35 mins

Pecan Pie Cobbler

Want all the caramel-y crunch goodness of pecan pie without the effort? This easy cobbler delivers all that and more.

1 hr 45 mins

Caramel Apple Pie

Classic apple pie just went next level with the addition of sweet caramel on top.

5 hrs

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

There are pie crusts, and there's this crust--nutty, crisp, buttery, and oh-so-perfect for your favorite pie--sweet or savory.

1 hr 5 mins