Heavenly Holiday Desserts

Recipe: Cherry-Spice Cake Trifle

Thaw Holiday Spice Cake layers and prepare the recipe through Step 3. Assemble trifle in the morning, and refrigerate. Remove 1 hour before serving.

Recipe: Praline Cream-Beignet Tower

Make the praline filling and dough up to two days ahead.

Recipe: Cranberry Dreamsicle Trifle

Effortless to pull off? Check. Tastes better the longer it sits? Check. Make this beauty up to one day before company arrives.

Recipe: Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake

Don't worry if your cheesecake cracks; the light and fluffy layer of whipped cream will cover it.

Recipe: Gingerbread Baked Alaska

The mixing bowl from a heavy-duty stand mixer makes a perfect mold for assembling the cake and ice cream. Be sure your plastic wrap extends well beyond your bowl to completely cover your cake and ice cream mixture.

Recipe: Triple Chocolate Brownie-Mousse Stacks

Allow plenty of time to make fillings, and immediately assemble stacks. You can chill the assembled stacks up to 24 hours ahead of time.

Recipe: Coconut-Macadamia Nut Pound Cake

Lightly toasting the macadamia nuts brings out their rich, buttery flavor.

Recipe: Pecan-Cranberry Shortbread

Making shortbread with melted butter skips the wait for it to soften.

Recipe: Pumpkin-Espresso Tiramisù

Make Ahead: Loosely wrap baked and cooked tiramisu in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe: Red Velvet Fudge

If you like red velvet cake, you'll love this fudge.

Recipe: White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream and Seven-Minute Frosting

Recipe: Ambrosia Streusel Bars with Shortbread Crust

Use the foil as a handle to remove the cooled batch from the pan for easy slicing.

Recipe: Gingerbread Cake with Buttermilk Frosting

Warm spices and molasses blend beautifully with tangy buttermilk frosting.

Recipe: Hidden Kiss Cookies

We love using mint kisses and candy cane kisses for the holidays.

Recipe: Coconut Pudding

Try unsweetened coconut flakes for a not-too-sweet topping.

Recipe: Cookie Press Sandwiches

Pick your favorite filling for this classic sandwich cookie: We tested with peppermint, orange, and lemon extracts and used food coloring to match each flavor.

Recipe: Milk Punch Tres Leches Cake

Bake this a day before serving so it soaks up the creamy syrup. Make mini cakes with a round cutter. Top with whipped cream and a grating of nutmeg.

Recipe: Wreath Macaroons

Use your fingers to make a small hole in the center of each cookie.

Recipe: White Cake with Cranberry Filling and Orange Buttercream

This cake will be the star of your holiday meal. Your guests will be begging for the recipe.

Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate Trifle

Top this rich trifle with a sprinkle of chocolate curls.

Recipe: Peppermint Meringue Cookies

Use food coloring gel in a squeeze bottle or a food-safe paintbrush to make lines in the piping bag. Once meringues are cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe: Mississippi Mud Medallions

You can substitute mini marshmallows for espresso beans.

Recipe: Mocha Balls

Coat in chocolate two at a time. Put these confections on the table and they'll be going, going, gone.

Watch: How To Make Mocha Balls

Recipe: Minted White Chocolate Balls

These festive nibbles are the perfect giftable treat.

Recipe: Layered Eggnog Blondies

These treats have a split personality: 1 part blondie, 1 part eggnog cheesecake. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container up to one week.

Recipe: Triple Gingersnappers

You can chill the dough for these gingersnappers up to three days before baking. 

Recipe: Peppermint-Pretzel Bark

Make even larger quantities for gifting this easy microwave treat by skipping the jelly-roll pan and covering your counter with parchment. It'll take longer to harden at room temperature, but you can make large batches without pans or the refrigerator.

Recipe: Pecan Linzer Cookies

Use your favorite jams to vary the flavor and color of these beauties.

Recipe: Red Velvet-White Chocolate Cheesecake

Whimsy meets elegance in all five layers of this red velvet-white chocolate wonder.

Watch: Assembling Our White Layer Cake

Recipe: Layered Eggnog Cream with Puff Pastry

Any seasonal berry works with this dessert.

Recipe: Banana Brownie Sticky Toffee Puddings

Any remaining sauce makes a great topping for ice cream.

Recipe: Red Velvet Marble Bundt Cake

The trick to creating looping swirls is to gently layer the batter around the Bundt pan with a small cookie scoop. No need to swirl with a knife; it will marble as it bakes. Finish it off with a Snowy White Vanilla Glaze.

Recipe: Gingerbread Soufflés

This impressive dessert isn't difficult, but do plan ahead. Preheat the oven, and just before sitting down to dinner, pop the soufflés in. When done, serve them all puffed up and gorgeous.

Recipe: Milk Punch Frozen Custards

For a formal fête, freeze the custards in elegant wine glasses or brandy snifters. For a casual gathering, use small milkshake glasses or punch cups.

Recipe: Charlotte Russe

Chill any remaining custard, and serve it with the remaining ladyfingers for dipping.

Recipe: Cherries Jubilee Cakes

Santa's secret: No one will ever guess these elegant little cakes came from a box of white cake mix and a can of cherries.

Recipe: Peppermint Ice-Cream Cake

This is a towering peppermint-lover's dream. Clear about 14 square inches of room in your freezer before you begin.

Recipe: Coconut Snowballs

If the melted white chocolate is too firm after it is heated, stir in about 1/4 tsp. coconut oil.

Recipe: Glazed Fruitcake Bars

These dense, chewy fruitcake bars are a fresh version of the kind passed around at holiday parties. We love raisins and dried cherries in this recipe, but use your favorite combinations.

Recipe: Ambrosia Coconut Cake

Make the Ambrosia Filling and Vanilla Buttercream frosting up to 2 days ahead. Then, build the cake, and chill up to 24 hours.

Recipe: Red Berry Pavlova Tower

Layer and fill this meringue turret up to one hour before serving for the best contrast of crunchy, chewy, and creamy textures. The irresistable Cheesecake Icing sets this over the top.

Recipe: Caramel Cream Cake

This three-layer butter cake has a pecan-pie filling in between the cake layers, a rich cream cheese frosting, and a topping of sweet coconut and chopped pecans. It's a great dessert for holiday entertaining.

Recipe: Pecan Squares

If you like the taste of pecan pie, you'll love this easy alternative. Serve the squares with vanilla ice cream for an over-the-top dessert.

Recipe: Double Coffee Tiramisù

For festive holiday flair, prepare these individual desserts in mugs or ramekins. This chilled dessert recipe makes three servings, so plan to enjoy the two extra servings the next day.

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

Chocoholics are sure to love this ultra-rich cheesecake, which features traditional cheesecake filling sandwiched between a chocolate-pecan brownie base and a thick, homemade chocolate glaze.

Recipe: Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies

Start with refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make these adorable reindeer cookies. Kids can help place Rudolph's eyes, mouth, and antlers. 

Step-by-Step: How To Make Reindeer Cookies

Recipe: Chocolate-Mint Cake

This rich holiday cake is a show-stopper that will become a family holiday classic recipe. Don't be tempted to substitute peppermint extract for the peppermint oil used in this recipe. Peppermint oil, available from cake-supply stores, has an intense, highly concentrated flavor like that found in chocolate-covered peppermint patties.

Recipe: Fig Cake

A delicious twist on our favorite Hummingbird Cake, this recipe is so simple to make you won't believe you started from scratch. This recipe can be made with fresh figs or with good quality preserves. Sweet cream cheese frosting covers the cake and is a nice balance to the spicy fall flavors.

Recipe: Chocolate-Citrus Cake With Candied Oranges

A rich Whipped Ganache Filling is the happy surprise when you slice into this decadent chocolate layer cake. Frost with a Seven-Minute Frosting and decorate with festive Candied Oranges, citrus leaves and cranberries.

Recipe: Double Citrus Tart

Easy as icebox pie, this party-pretty tart pairs the bright fresh flavors of lemon and orange with a crisp gingersnap crust. It's just the right finish for a rich holiday meal, and freezes beautifully.

Recipe: Raspberry Tiramisù Bites

There are crisp Italian cookies also called ladyfingers, but be sure to use soft ones in this recipe. Look for them in the bakery or produce section of your supermarket.

Recipe: Chocolate Velvet Cake With Coconut-Pecan Frosting

A lavish amount of melted chocolate and sour cream gives these moist cake layers a tender, velvet-textured crumb. You'll find lots of imaginative ways to bake and frost the cake layers listed with the recipe for the batter.

Recipe: Bread Pudding With Vanilla Sauce

A New Orleans specialty, this simple but ethereal dessert is nothing short of spectacular. It takes just minutes to put together, and bakes while everyone enjoys the main meal.

Recipe: White Chocolate-Cranberry Crème Brûlée

A burst of sweet-tart cranberry sauce lies at the bottom of these creamy, double-rich custards. Prepare the custards a day ahead, and chill. Crisp, paper-thin crusts of caramelized sugar are added just before serving—all it takes is a few minutes under the broiler. For the best flavor and texture, choose a quality white chocolate with cocoa butter listed as the primary ingredient.

Recipe: Banana Pudding Trifle

This classic English layered pudding dessert goes Southern with banana pudding and bourbon-soaked vanilla wafers.

Recipe: Noel Pound Cake Loaf

Still warm from the oven or tucked away to season in a secret hiding place, golden-crusted pound cakes are loved by everyone. We serve them any time of day or night, and have even been known to butter and toast a slice or two for breakfast. A colorful confetti of red and green maraschino cherries makes this merry little cake a hit with all ages.

Recipe: Pumpkin-Spiced Profiteroles With Warm Cranberry Compote

A star-tipped pastry bag makes quick work of piping these festive little cream puffs, but you can also shape small dollops of dough with a pair of teaspoons. Bake them up to a month ahead; cool completely, and freeze in zip-top plastic bags. We chose vanilla bean ice cream as a filling, but butter-pecan or dulce-de-leche are also a great match for the compote. Or, change the flavor combination and use coffee ice cream and caramel sauce to create a fun twist on the popular pumpkin spiced latté.

Recipe: White Chocolate-Almond Cake

A decadent trio of dark chocolate cake layers is the delicious surprise inside this festive package. There's no need to worry about picture-perfect swirls of frosting—just spread it on. Then decorate like a pro simply by pressing finely chopped white chocolate and almonds into the top and sides of the cake. Tie on a ribbon, and you have a stunning dessert that tastes every bit as good as it looks.

Recipe: Triple Mint Sundaes  

Three mints combine to create a top-notch ice cream sundae. Drizzle on our Hot Fudge Sauce and garnish with your favorite toppings to make it a "just for you" treat. Serve in mint julep cups.

Recipe: Mindi's Doughnuts and Easy Raspberry Sauce

Doughnuts are a true passion for Mindi–she even asks for them instead of birthday cake. "This recipe is an awesome sweet to add to your brunch menus too," says Mindi.

Recipe: Sweet Potato-Buttermilk Pie

Top with whipped cream and this sweet potato pie is sure to be a hit.

Recipe: Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes

Make these mini chocolate cakes by starting with a devils' food cake mix and baking in muffin pans. The festive holly garnish is simply red cinnamon candies and fresh bay leaves. Top with a super-easy Winter White Glaze.