Espresso

This cool Italian dessert is the perfect conclusion to a pasta dinner.

Using stencils to add powdered sugar designs is a great way to dress up the treats.

Christmas cookie baking starts Thanksgiving weekend for one food editor. Together with her mother, she makes family favorites like the buttery balls below.

Waffles put on their black-tie best in a treat that is both elegant and homey.

"During parents' weekend at Bowdoin College here in Brunswick, a group of us went to Rachel's Wood Grill, a restaurant in nearby Portland," says Jennifer Buechner of Brunswick, Maine. "Dinner was great, but the tiramisù we had for dessert was out of this world. I'd love to serve it for a graduation dinner." A perfect do-ahead dessert for a party.

We've given a range on the amount of instant-espresso powder in this recipe: If you like a pronounced coffee flavor, use 2 teaspoons espresso powder; for a taste that's more subtle, go with 1 1/2 teaspoons.

These individual soft-centered cakes are baked and served in ovenproof mugs. (As an alternative, eight-ounce ramekins or soufflé dishes can be used.)

Because they contain so little flour, these cookies have a chewy, brownie-like texture.

In 1897, the Sears catalog offered its customers a treat called brownies. No one seems to remember whether they were bar cookies or a chocolate confection named after a popular cartoon character. No matter; by the 1900s the brownie as we now know it had arrived. The recipe for these dense, moist brownies is from Heather Ho, pastry chef at Boulevard in San Francisco.

A simplified version of the classic Italian dessert, this looks lovely served in parfait glasses for a change. The recipe features pound cake and cream cheese instead of the traditional (but harder-to-find) ladyfingers and mascarpone cheese.

"My cousin and I had a delicious chocolate cake at Watershed, a restaurant in nearby Decatur," writes Joyce Jue of Atlanta, Georgia. "I'd appreciate your getting the recipe so I can learn to make it."

Purchased coffee ice cream is topped with a cinnamon-scented chocolate sauce that can be made three days ahead.

You might be tempted to bake 2 sheets of bars at a time in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Don't give in to this urge—they must go in the middle of the oven to cook through and brown evenly.

Dark chocolate, light chocolate and coffee fillings alternate with nut meringue layers, and dark chocolate ganache covers the whole torte. This is an irresistible version of the traditional Parisian dessert.

Cocoa, espresso and orange add a sophisticated note to a classic pecan pie.

(GELATO AL CAFFE) This gelato is an all-time favorite.