Easy Dessert Recipes

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Prep time: 20 min.
Cook time: 40 min.
Makes 24 servings

Ingredients:
- sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened 2
- packed brown sugar 1 cup
- granulated sugar 6 tablespoons
- large eggs 2 vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons
- baking soda 1/2 teaspoon
- salt 1/2 teaspoon
- all-purpose flour 1 cup
- old-fashioned oats 2 1/4 cups
- packaged finely shredded unsweetened coconut 1 1/2 cups
- semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups) 12 oz
- almonds with skins (4 oz), toasted, cooled, and chopped 3/4 cup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat together butter and sugars in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until just blended, then beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and mix at low speed until just blended. Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.

Arrange 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough about 3 inches apart on 2 lightly buttered large baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position and rotating pans halfway through baking, until golden, 15 to 18 minutes total.

Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer with a spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies in same manner. Cooks' notes: You can substitute packaged chocolate chunks instead of cutting up chocolate yourself. Toast nuts in a shallow baking pan in a 350 degrees F oven until golden, 5 to 10 minutes. Makes about 24 large cookies.

Active time: 20 min
Start to finish: 1 hr

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Chocolate Raspberry Icebox Cake

Prep time: 15 min.
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:
- chilled heavy cream 1/3 cup
- sugar 1/2 teaspoon
- vanilla 1/8 teaspoon
- chocolate wafers such as Nabisco Famous 5
- fresh raspberries 1/3 cup
- Garnish: grated bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

Beat cream with sugar and vanilla in a small deep bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Spread 1 heaping teaspoon cream onto each of 4 wafers. Arrange enough raspberries side by side (as close together as possible) on 1 cream-topped wafer to form an even layer. Stack 2 cream-topped wafers on a plate (cream sides up) and top with berry wafer, then carefully spread another teaspoon cream over berries. Top with last cream wafer and cover cream with remaining plain wafer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining cream.

Cover with an inverted bowl and chill at least 4 hours. Serve cake with remaining berries.

Cooks' note: Cake can chill up to 1 day.

Active time: 15 min
Start to finish: 4 hr. 15 min. (includes chilling)

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Two-Berry Shortcakes

Prep time: 20 min.
Cook time: 15 min.
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients for biscuits:
- all-purpose flour 2 cups
- baking powder 2 teaspoons
- baking soda 1/2 teaspoon
- salt 1/2 teaspoon
- sugar 2 tablespoons
- cold unsalted butter, cut into bits 5 tablespoons
- well-shaken buttermilk 1 cup

Ingredients for filling:
- raspberries (about 3 cups) 12 oz
- blackberries (about 1 1/2 cups) 6 oz
- sugar 2 tablespoons
- well-chilled heavy cream 1 cup
- sugar 1 tablespoon

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir just until a soft, sticky dough forms.

Drop dough in 6 mounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes.

While biscuits bake, gently mash half of berries with 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl, then stir in remaining berries. Beat cream together with sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.

Carefully cut biscuits in half horizontally and arrange 1 bottom half, split side up, on each of 6 plates. Top each with berries, whipped cream, and other half of biscuit.

Active time: 20 min
Start to finish: 35 min

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Fresh Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Prep time: 20 min.
Cook time: 1 hr. 25 min.
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients for topping:
- stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 1
- packed light brown sugar 3/4 cup
- small (2- to 2 1/4-inch) fresh apricots (1 1/4 lb), halved lengthwise and pitted 10 or 11

Ingredients for cake:
- all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups
- baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons
- baking soda 1/2 teaspoon
- salt 1/2 teaspoon
- stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1
- granulated sugar 3/4 cup
- vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons
- almond extract 1/4 teaspoon
- large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes 2
- well-shaken buttermilk 3/4 cup

Special equipment: a 10-inchwell-seasoned cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet (at least 2 inches deep)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Make topping: Heat butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter, then cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all of sugar will be melted). Remove skillet from heat and arrange apricot halves, cut sides down, close together on top of brown sugar.

Make cake batter: Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt into a small bowl. Beat together butter, sugar, and extracts in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 3 to 4 minutes with a handheld. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then beat until mixture is creamy and doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and beat just until combined. Gently spoon batter over apricots and spread evenly.

Bake cake: If your skillet isn't ovenproof, wrap handle with heavy-duty foil (or a double layer of regular foil) before baking. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Wearing oven mitts, immediately invert a large plate over skillet and, keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together, invert cake onto plate. Carefully lift skillet off cake and, if necessary, replace any fruit that is stuck to bottom of skillet. Cool to warm or room temperature.

Active time: 20 min
Start to finish: 1 hr. 45 min.

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Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep time 25 min.
Cook time 50 min.
Makes 12 cupcakes (or 4 servings)

Ingredients:
- water 1/3 cup
- pitted dates, coarsely chopped 1/3 cup
- unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 1/4 cup
- fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped 1 oz
- packed light brown sugar 3 tablespoons
- large egg 1
- vanilla 1/4 teaspoon
- baking soda 1/4 teaspoon
- all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- confectioners sugar for dusting 1 teaspoon

Special equipment: a mini-muffin pan with 12 (1/8-cup) muffin cups, preferably nonstick

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bring water and dates just to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then transfer mixture to a food processor and add cocoa powder and chocolate, pulsing once to combine. Let cool 2 minutes, then add brown sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and a pinch of salt, then puree until smooth. Add flour and pulse just until incorporated. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. (If pan is not nonstick, line sprayed bottoms with rounds of wax paper, then spray paper.)

Spoon batter into cups, dividing it evenly, and bake in middle of oven until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack (remove wax paper, if using) and cool completely, right side up. Just before serving, sprinkle tops lightly with confectioners sugar.

Cooks' note: Cupcakes can be made and cooled (but not dusted with sugar) 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Each serving (3 cupcakes) contains about 177 calories and 4 grams fat.

Active time: 25 min
Start to finish: 1 hr. 15 min.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding

25 min. Prep time: 25 min.
Cook time: 50 min.
Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
- sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing pan 2
- self-rising cake flour plus additional for flouring pan 1 cup
- pitted dates (5 oz), finely chopped 1 cup
- packed dark brown sugar 1 1/4 cups
- large egg 1

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8- by 2-inch round cake pan. Simmer dates in 1 cup water in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, covered, until soft, about 5 minutes. Let stand, covered, off heat 5 minutes.

Beat together 1 stick butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in egg until combined. Add flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt and mix at low speed until just combined. Add dates and mix until just combined well. Pour batter into pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining stick butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in remaining cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup water, and a pinch of salt. Boil over moderately high heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and sauce is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, 2 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Transfer pudding in pan to a rack and poke all over at 1-inch intervals with a chopstick. Gradually pour half of warm sauce evenly over hot pudding. Let stand until almost all of sauce is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan. Invert a plate over pudding and invert pudding onto plate. Pour remaining warm sauce over pudding and serve immediately.

Cooks' note: Pudding, soaked with half of sauce, can stand at room temperature up to 2 hours. Reheat in pan in a 300 degrees F oven 10 minutes. Warm remaining sauce before pouring over pudding.

Active time: 25 min
Start to finish: 1 hr. 15 min.

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Pomegranate Gelato

Prep time: 15 min.
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:
- heavy cream 1 1/2 cups
- whole milk 1/2 cup
- sugar 3/4 cup
- cornstarch 1 1/2 tablespoons
- salt 1/8 teaspoon
- bottled pomegranate juice 1 1/4 cups
- pomegranate liqueur such as PAMA 1/3 cup
- fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon
- Garnish: pomegranate seeds

Special equipment: an ice cream maker

Whisk together cream, milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking occasionally, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients. Transfer to a bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Freeze in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours. Soften gelato slightly in refrigerator, about 20 minutes, before serving.

Cook's notes: Cream mixture (before churning) can be chilled, covered, up to 1 day ahead. Gelato keeps 1 week.

Active time: 15 min
Start to finish: 3 hr. 30 min.

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