Stand Mixer

This family favorite holiday cookie pairs the winning combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

More like a brownie than a cookie, these fudgy, densely chocolaty Christmas cookies pack Dutch cocoa powder and chocolate chips into every bite. They keep their chew once they cool, but we prefer them while still warm and gooey.

Pistachios are my favorite; I can very easily work my way through a whole bag, leaving a trail of broken shells as evidence, so naturally this is a cake that I make quite often.

This subtly spiced, sweet potato-based marvel borrows from the Basque cheesecake tradition. It's baked until its exterior is a deep copper, with a pale interior.

I am always in search of the best brownie, and I figure if you can’t find it, make it. So here it is: a triple chocolate brownie, with a layer of toasted chopped nuts encased in dulce de leche, then topped with a zesty cheesecake mixture and baked again. I rest my case.

Developed for baking in the mountains, this flavorful pound cake is a winner, especially when topped with creamy homemade chocolate icing.

Bacon and sea salt make this big, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie sweet and salty. Serve it with a few scoops of vanilla bean ice cream.

These shortcakes have a touch of fresh basil for an herbal dimension and some cornmeal to the shortcake for texture. Both additions keep the dessert from getting too sweet and pull the classic dish in an unexpected, modern direction.

This yeasty, coarse-textured breakfast loaf makes the best toast ever. Slather it with jam or turn it into an egg sandwich.

My parents lived in Florida for decades and they vacationed there for decades before that. I don’t think there was ever a time when we kids were young that they didn’t come back with boxes of chocolate-coated coconut patties. I’m sure the coconut filling was supposed to be soft and chewy, as in a Mounds bar, but it was always a little dry (sorry to tell you now, Mom). Yet the candies still hold a sweet spot in my memory, and I thought of them when I started to make a Key lime pie.

These superlative oatmeal cookies skip the raisins and use Medjool dates instead. Once chopped, become nearly indistinguishable from the buttery, caramel-rich flavor of the chewy cookie.

This cake has the fluffy, so-light-it-could-float texture of angel food cake, with a touch of egg yolk for richness. Tahini brings pure sesame flavor and a lining of sesame seeds adds a bonus level of crunch.

Carrot cake, but with beets—and the dreamiest frosting of all.

These mini cakes are dressed in a variety of glazes for a simple—yet sophisticated—springtime snack. Including sweet rice flour and rich sour cream means they’re plush, tender, and wonderfully moist.

These chocolaty pastries have the attributes of a gloriously flaky croissant on the top, a sticky bun on the bottom, and a rich chocolate-studded brioche in the middle.

An easy press-in Nilla wafer crust cradles a silky layer of fresh banana cheesecake, which gets topped with a light and fluffy sour cream whip.

These are a very delicate take on a classic English sandwich cookie, and quite fragile too, which is why you need the piping bag. They are pure edible nostalgia.

Time, rather than years of experience, is what you really need when making your own brioche. Along with a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Fortnum’s chefs have been using this particular recipe for over 32 years. The reason? It works like a dream, every single time.

This very stable Italian meringue is incredibly versatile—it makes magnificent billowy white peaks to brown as you wish. It is a large recipe—6 egg whites—so that you have an abundance of this great meringue. Of course, you can easily halve this recipe.

This no-knead loaf is made with a combination of whole grain rye and bread flours. Molasses and dark beer add warm notes that enhance the rich flavor of the rye.