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

  • Leche Asada

    Leche Asada

    Call this an oven-baked flan. The rich, creamy texture of this leche asada comes from the addition of heavy cream to the recipe. Totally worth it! Leche asada…

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  • Sweet and Spicy Candied Ginger

    Tender ginger coated with sugar adds warm spice to baked goods or makes an occasional sweet snack. This recipe is food, not a treatment for nausea or motion…

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  • Salted Caramel Poke Cake

    Salted Caramel Poke Cake

    Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl. Ingredients 1 – 9×13 yellow cake, prepared (box mix or…

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  • Bacon-Cheddar Apple Tart

    Ingredients 4 slices bacon 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup shortening 5 tablespoons cold water 1/4 cup apple jelly 4 cups sliced, peeled cooking…

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  • Almond Sheet Cake

    Almond Sheet Cake

    The term sheet cake reminds me of grocery stores. It conjures up bakeries with fluorescent lighting and dry yellow cake with tooth-achingly sweet buttercream balloons piped on top.…

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  • Blackberry Crostata

    Blackberry Crostata

    Ingredients 1 Basic Pie Crust 6 cups blackberries 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 3 tablespoons…

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  • Summer Dessert Pizza

    Summer Dessert Pizza

    Ingredients 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4…

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  • Cherry Cream Cheese Bars

    Cherry Cream Cheese Bars

    Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon…

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  • Apple Strudel Turnovers

    Apple Strudel Turnovers

    The pastry chefs at Spago make fresh strudel dough, but we call for packaged phyllo here. For the breadcrumbs, finely grind crustless white sandwich bread in a processor,…

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  • Chocolate Angel Food Cake

    Chocolate Angel Food Cake

    Ingredients 1 1/2 cups sugar Scant 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising) 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, grated…

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