Desserts You Cannot Screw Up
No need to cross your fingers and hope for the best as you close the oven door—these sweets are totally foolproof.
By Lynn Andriani
Photo: This Is a Cookbook
A Pie That Actually Turns Out Just Like the One in the Picture
There is nothing perfect-looking about this insanely good chocolate-peanut butter pie from
This Is a Cookbook: Recipes for Real Life—which is why we love it so much. The crust is just crushed graham crackers. The filling is peanut butter and cream cheese. The top: chocolate sauce and salted peanuts. You're welcome.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
A Dessert for When You Really Want to Wow Them
You can make Jell-O...or you can make Cheesecake Mousse with Blood Orange Gelee. No, really, it's that basic: these individual ramekins filled with creamy cheesecake, an orange slice and blood orange gelatin make for a stunning presentation, but they aren't complicated. And you can make them up to three days before serving.
Get the recipe: Cheesecake Mousse with Blood Orange Gelee
The Five-Ingredient Frozen Chocolate Pop
We've already discovered how easy it is to make
fresh fruit ice pops—and it turns out chocolate fudgesicles are even simpler (no fruit to puree!). Daphne Oz, cohost of
The Chew and author of the new book
Relish, makes them with just five ingredients and swears they taste better than the kind you pull out of your grocery store freezer.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Fudge Pops
Apple Pie for Crust-o-Phobes
If you've mastered the art of warming up a cup of coffee in the microwave, then this crustless apple pie should be no sweat. You can make it with whatever spices you'd like, from cinnamon to allspice to nutmeg or coriander. Top the softened, spiced fruit with fresh or frozen yogurt for a cool counterpoint.
Get the recipe: "Baked" Apples
The No-Oven-Required Dessert You Can Make Tonight
This no-bake recipe proves that it's a snap to turn everyday ingredients (corn flakes, chocolate, butter, powdered sugar) into an impressive dessert. Be sure to use salted butter for these rich and crunchy bites from the new book
From Paris to Provence: Childhood Memories of Food & France—it's a perfect complement to the dark chocolate.
Get the recipe: Roses des Sables (Chocolate Cornflake Treats)
Striped Cookies That Don't Take All Day
If you've ever seen a recipe for cookies that consisted of shades of different colored dough but wrote it off as way too complicated, check out Shirley Fan's variation. The author of the new book
The Flying Brownie says these beautiful treats are a snap: divide dough into thirds, dye each piece with food coloring, and stack rounds on top of each other. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters—and there you have it: each cookie has stripes of different-colored dough.
Get the recipe: Tricolored Peppermint-Striped Cookies
Next: 9 cakes that are (almost) too adorable to eat
Published 06/07/2013
