Carter Family Recipes

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Desserts

Dessert can be a slice of pie, a spoonful of custard, a crisp cookie, or a small confection. Cakes, fruit desserts, pastries, frozen preparations, and sauces give this collection its range of textures and serving styles. Browse by the kind of finish you want for the meal, then choose a recipe with the flavors and preparation you have in mind.

Browse the posts below, or choose a subcategory when available.

  • Brownies & Bars

    Brownies and bars gather a dessert into a bake that can be cut into portions. Pumpkin latte bars, blueberry squares, and coconut-cherry preparations offer different layers, fillings, and textures.

  • Cakes

    Cinnamon roll cake, hot fudge cake, and other bakes bring different crumb textures and finishes to this collection. Browse cakes for slicing, layering, or serving warm with a suitable accompaniment.

  • Candy

    Peanut brittle, chocolate truffles, and other candies turn sugar, chocolate, or nuts into small portions. Browse confections with different textures, from crisp pieces to a softer sweet center.

  • Cheesecakes

    Cheesecake can be served as a whole cake, a square, or part of another dessert. Bacon-bourbon caramel and salted caramel variations show different flavors within a creamy cheese-based preparation.

  • Chocolate

    Chocolate gives hot fudge sauce, cakes, and other desserts a common flavor while allowing very different textures. Browse this collection for a chocolate-focused component or a finished sweet dish.

  • Cobblers, Crisps & Crumbles

    Fruit, crumbs, and batter combine in different ways in cobblers, crisps, and crumbles. Apple crisp and cream cheese cobblers offer contrasting approaches to a dessert served in spooned or cut portions.

  • Cookies

    Lemon oatmeal cookies, biscotti, and savory pimiento cheese cookies show the variety of this collection. Browse for a cookie’s texture and flavor, whether you want a small sweet bake or a savory bite.

  • Dessert Pastries

    Apple fritters, cream puffs, and other dessert pastries bring dough and fillings together in different forms. Browse pastries for a crisp shell, a tender center, or a layered sweet serving.

  • Frozen Desserts

    Frozen desserts bring temperature into the texture of a sweet serving. Affogato, frozen yogurt, ice cream, and other preparations offer different bases and flavors for a chilled finish to the meal.

  • Fruit Desserts

    Fruit gives these desserts their flavor, moisture, or contrasting texture. Blueberry squares, cherry cream squares, and apple crisp offer different ways to bring fruit into a sweet serving.

  • Mousses, Possets & No-Bake Desserts

    Mousses, possets, and chilled desserts offer soft textures without relying on a baked cake structure. Lemon posset and chocolate mousse provide contrasting starting points for a spooned dessert.

  • Parfaits, Trifles & Layered Desserts

    A trifle or layered dessert combines several textures in one serving. Chocolate-peach trifle, coffee carlota, and pecan pie layers offer different arrangements of cream, fruit, and other components.

  • Pies & Tarts

    Apple squares, peach cream pie, and orange cream pie offer different fillings within the pie and tart collection. Pastry and crumb bases provide structure while fruit, cream, or other ingredients shape the finished slice.

  • Puddings & Custards

    Lemon posset, rice pudding, and bread pudding bring different ingredients into a soft dessert. These puddings and custards invite attention to the texture of a serving eaten with a spoon.

In this collection

  • Martha Stewart’s Pâte Brisée

    Pâte brisêe is the French version of classic pie or tart pastry. Pressing the dough into a disk rather than shaping it into a ball allows it to…

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  • Microwave Pecan Pie Pastry

    ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons pecan meal ¼ teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon shortening or lard 3 tablespoons ice water Dried beans In a small mixing bowl…

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  • Nut-Crumb Crust

    ⅔ cups graham cracker crumbs ¼ cup pecan mean 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 tablespoon sugar ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg Mix together all the ingredients.…

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  • Pate Sucree Shell

    2½ cups all-purpose flour 1 pinch salt (optional) 3 tablespoons sugar ½ pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter; cut into pieces 4 tablespoons ice water 2 large egg…

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  • Patsy Cunningham’s Pastry Crust

    3 cups flour 1¼ cups Crisco ½ teaspoon salt 5½ tablespoons water 1 teaspoon vinegar 1 egg In a medium bowl combine flour and salt. Using a pastry…

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  • Paula Deen’s Cream Cheese Crust

    8 tablespoons butter, cubed and softened 1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 cup all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 325ºF. In a large bowl, blend together the butter…

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  • Pecan Pastry Crust

    2 cups all-purpose flour; unsifted ½ cup  pecan pieces; very finely chopped 3 tablespoons granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon sea salt ⅔ cups vegetable shortening; chilled 4 tablespoons ice…

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  • Pie Shell for Pecan Pie

    1¼ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dough and surface 2 tablespoons powdered sugar ½ teaspoon sea salt 8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter; cut into ¼-inch pats 2…

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  • Rum Oat Crust

    ⅓ cup rolled oats ¾ cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ½ teaspoon sea salt 6 tablespoons Crisco; chilled 1 egg yolk; beaten 2 tablespoons dark rum…

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  • Sweet Pastry Crust

    3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup unsalted butter; cooled 1 pinch sea salt 1 large egg In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cooled…

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