12 Delicious Desserts

By Southern Living

Reading the recipes for these fantastic desserts is just like being handed the dessert menu at your favorite Southern restaurant. For a lot of us, dessert is our favorite comfort food, and these recipes will have you baking it, and making it, to make yourself feel good all the time. You will love the taste of our Classic Strawberry Shortcake almost as much as you’ll love getting stuck into the Mississippi Mud Brownies. Of course you can’t get much more Southern than peaches and pecans, so enjoy each of them, or both of them at the same time. We’ve got recipes for Mom’s Pecan Pie and Pecan-Peach Cobbler. You’ll say it’s time for dessert any time of the day with our All-Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies. That’s fine. Whether it’s pound cake, pie, cake, or cookies, dessert is simply the classic southern comfort food. Enjoy it. 

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Million Dollar Pound Cake

Southern Living

Just seven ingredients—and all of them common pantry staples—are all you need for this classic pound cake. Top with ice cream or seasonal fruits for a tasty combination.

Watch: How To Make Million Dollar Pound Cake
Recipe: Million Dollar Pound Cake

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All-Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: All-Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

If chocolate chip cookies are your favorite, whip up a batch of these all-time favorite cookies. They're the best of the best.

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Classic Chess Pie

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Classic Chess Pie

You can’t get more basic than chess pie. Remarkable for its simplicity and timeless appeal, chess pie is the ultimate Southern pantry pie.

Watch: How To Make Classic Chess Pie

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Best Carrot Cake

Tina Cornett

Recipe: Best Carrot Cake

Truly our best-ever carrot cake recipe, make this classic favorite for a crowd and you might not have any leftovers to bring home. Layers of delicious carrot cake are moistened with a Buttermilk Glaze and topped off with a sweet Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cooking Video: Best Carrot Cake Ever

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Pecan-Peach Cobbler

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Pecan-Peach Cobbler

Showcase two of the South’s most beloved products—peaches and pecans—in this old-fashioned peach cobbler recipe.

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Mom's Pecan Pie

Recipe: Mom's Pecan Pie

For a richer flavor, try using dark corn syrup. Both variations received high marks in our Test Kitchens.

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Summertime Peach Ice Cream

Recipe: Summertime Peach Ice Cream

Your family will ask for this chilly treat over and over again. Best of all, the six-ingredient mixture requires no cooking, just stirring.

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Heavenly Key Lime Pie

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Heavenly Key Lime Pie

This pie is wonderful with fresh or bottled Key lime juice.

Watch: Heavenly Key Lime Pie

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Chocolate-Red Velvet Layer Cake

Recipe: Chocolate-Red Velvet Layer Cake

This moist chocolate red velvet cake is filled with layer upon layer of sweet cream cheese frosting.

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Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Recipe: Classic Strawberry Shortcake

With juicy strawberries spooned over sweet and tender biscuits, old-fashioned strawberry shortcakes are the perfect dessert. If the berries are very sweet, decrease the sugar to suit your taste. Drop the dough easily by using a lightly greased 1/3-cup dry measure.

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Mississippi Mud Brownies

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Mississippi Mud Brownies

Fluffy marshmallows, chopped pecans and chocolate frosting—who knew mud could be so delicious?

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

Photo: J. Savage Gibson

Recipe: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

Starting with a boxed cake mix makes this cake both easy and delicious. Kids and adults alike will love the creamy peanut butter mousse between layers of chocolate cake. Garnish with chopped roasted peanuts and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

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