Electric Mixer

Dulce de leche literally translates to “candy of milk.” In layman’s terms, it’s a caramel-like concoction made from boiling sweetened condensed milk until it becomes . . . well, pretty much an eighth deadly sin. What I love most about dulce de leche is that it has the beautiful color and deep flavor of caramel, but not the chewiness . . . so you don’t have to expend needless energy flexing your jaw muscles.

Two warnings about these cookies: Don’t give them to young children before bedtime and don’t leave them lying around, if you want any left for yourself. These cookies are crisp on the edges and have a chewy middle strewn with pockets of soft chocolate. The espresso powder, as Kelsey (The Naptime Chef) noted, amplifies the chocolate, but not the sweetness, making it a grown-up cookie. When making any cookies, make sure to cream the butter really well—this aerates the cookies and integrates the sugar—but be conservative with your mixing once the dry ingredients are added.

Spell out holiday cheer on your favorite platter or cookie plate with these wintery snow-capped cookies.

Making these glittering treats is easy enough for elves of all ages and skill levels.

Earthy, nutrient-rich whole grain flours add personality to this breakfast- or dessert-ready banana loaf.

The trick of making an espresso extract to add to the dough is a good one to know. If you want to use it for other things—a spoonful is good in brownies, chocolate sauces or even in chocolate chip cookies—make more than you need now and keep it in the refrigerator, where it will be fine for months. Of course these are good with coffee and coffee drinks, but they’re surprisingly nice with milk and not at all bad with cognac.

This recipe makes decadent chocolate cake and delicious chocolate cupcakes. Don't skip the silky frosting, it's the best part!

Who doesn’t love banana bread? This one is just sweet enough, with fabulous crunch if you add walnuts and coconut, as I always do. There’s no better solution for over-the-hill bananas, and the batter comes together in less than 10 minutes. I’ve been making this recipe — created by my late dear friend Sherry — for almost fifty years; it’s incredibly reliable.

Set out a plate of these sweetly spiced cookies and watch them vanish fast.

I’m sort of a snob when it comes to trying new recipes. I just seem to like my old tried and true ones best, and it takes a lot for something new to grab my attention. I had to have the recipe for this dip after I tried it on Super Bowl Sunday 2006. Garth is a die-hard Steelers fan, so it was an exciting day. Everybody always brings something for the party, and this was my friend Kim’s contribution. Being a good southern girl, I love anything with black-eyed peas in it, but for you folks who are right now turning up your noses at the idea of eating black-eyed peas, all I can say is just try it. In fact, maybe I should name it something else for those skeptics. How about Pea Dippy?

The classic cheesecake features a nutty base of crushed graham crackers and a rich and fluffy cake.

This pecan-studded chocolate spice-cake is filled with a luscious chocolate buttercream, drenched in a rich espresso-infused ganache and then decorated with edible dark and white chocolate ribbons for an impressive presentation.

These thinly-rolled pastries are made with both orange zest and juice for a full burst of sweet citrus flavor.

Buttery pat-in-pan shortbread takes the place of mass-produced cookies and gets smothered in from-scratch caramel and silken chocolate in this jumbo version of a classic Halloween candy.

Speculoos cookies in "butter" form add a spicy complexity to pumpkin purée for a new spin on the classic fall dessert.

White chocolate adds a rich, creamy sweetness to this quick pumpkin mousse. Be careful to keep the white chocolate and pumpkin mixtures warm as you mix them; otherwise, the white chocolate can set as it mixes into the pumpkin. If this happens, simply return the mixture to the microwave and gently reheat. Serve it alone or as part of our Build-Your-Own Thanksgiving Pie Bar.

Can’t get enough of pumpkin pie spice? With this easy whipped cream, you can add it to everything: our awesome Build-Your-Own Thanksgiving Pie Bar, the ultimate autumn icebox cake, and, yes, even your next latte.

Every October as kids, we loved to go pumpkin picking and buy fresh pumpkins. Our grandmother would take the pumpkin flesh and bake it in the oven with a little cinnamon and sugar, and then we’d stick it in the blender, puree it, and use it for baking. We’d bake pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, and pumpkin pie, and we would also roast the pumpkin seeds in the oven. Really, she used every single part of that pumpkin! The thing we loved the most was our grandmother’s pumpkin cake. It was more of a cake-bread hybrid: very dense and savory yet sweet. It smelled amazing coming out of the oven. We would sometimes just eat it without any icing, hot from the oven. We’d burn our tongues because we wouldn’t even wait for it to cool!

Fold whipped cream into canned pumpkin purée and then layer with buttery pound cake and airy chocolate mousse for this easy-to-assemble fall dessert.

This delicious cake is different from other good chocolate pound cakes. It uses chocolate instead of the more usual cocoa, and the cake is baked in a bain-marie, or water bath.