Electric Mixer

They look like the loaded chocolate-nut cookies of your youth, but a bite will reveal their luxurious upgrades: chewy sour cherries that play off the crunch of chopped pecans and the creamy sweetness of milk chocolate chunks. Your adult palate will appreciate the complexity.

Kids (and more than a few adults) will almost certainly shriek with joy at the sight of this fantasy dessert. Golden, buttery cake layers sandwich chocolate cookie crumbs and are topped with a custard frosting that calls to mind soft-serve ice cream. Crisp wafer cones are filled with batter and baked into their own little cupcakes, then crowned with swirls of ice-cream-style frosting.

Perfect for a Sunday-afternoon baking project, these light, crisp crackers take an hour to make (okay, maybe longer if you have a little helper).

This recipe was created by chef Geraldine Ferraro of the Four Swallows Restaurant on Bainbridge Island in Washington. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

This creamy semifreddo captures the heady flavor of ripe summer peaches. It's also a gorgeous showpiece that's perfect for entertaining, since it can be made well in advance of a dinner party.

This recipe makes lots of big cookies, but don't even think of saving half the dough for another day, because you won't want to stop eating them. Food editor Paul Grimes, who tested the recipe, has already slipped it into his personal recipe file. "Next time I need a peanut butter cookie," he says, "I'm turning to this." Happily, the recipe works with either conventional or natural creamy peanut butter.

These chewy oatmeal cookies are spicy with ginger and not too sweet. Look for candied ginger that's cut into cubes and is not dusted with sugar — it'll be more tender and easier to chop.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Dinner After Dark: Sexy, Sumptuous Supper Soirées by Colin Cowie. For more about Cowie, click here. I can't remember a Christmas back at home when we didn't sit around the family table and enjoy my sister Anne's wonderful tart at the end of the meal. It's heartwarming and incredibly convenient: It can be made days in advance and frozen, with no effect on the delicious result. For Christmastime, add 1/2 cup glacéed cherries to the batter; these holiday treats are the red and green cherries, preserved in jars.

Use one, two, or all three toppings.

This recipe was created by chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill restaurant in New York City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. For this Summer dessert, Chef Barber suggests experimenting with any seasonal berry.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from by Lauren Chattman. Here is a wonderful summer cheesecake, great after a Latin-themed barbecue. The bright and acidic Mango Sauce cuts the sweetness of the coconut and gives the cake some extra tropical flair. Be sure to stir up the cream of coconut before measuring it out, because it settles and separates in the can.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from < by Lauren Chattman. It's simple to doctor plain vanilla ice cream, transforming it into layers of fresh-tasting lemon and blueberry ice cream. Crushed creme-filled sugar wafer cookies add crunch. Dollops of softly whipped cream alongside each slice are a simple and pretty finish.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Icebox Desserts by Lauren Chattman. This cake has all of the components of a classic trifle, but because it is contained by a ring of ladyfingers it has a tailored, formal look. Be aware that the cake is very soft, and pieces will be a little messy-looking on serving plates. So give your guests a chance to admire your handiwork before you serve it up.

If strawberry shortcake hailed from the Middle East, it might taste like this. Toasting the almonds lets their essence permeate the cake, making it a lovely partner for strawberries that have been macerated in lemon juice and just a hint of rose water. A dollop of freshly beaten cream melds the two beautifully.

This recipe was created by Melissa Murphy of the Sweet Melissa Patisseries in Brooklyn, New York. To make the Lemon-Raspberry Wedding Cake, make this recipe three times. Use the first batch to make two 9-inch-diameter cakes. Use the second batch to make one 12-inch-diameter cake and one 6-inch-diameter cake. Use the third batch to make a second 12-inch-diameter cake and a second 6-inch-diameter cake.

This classic, heart-shaped dessert is basically a no-bake, crustless cheesecake. Coeur à la crème molds are perforated, heart-shaped, and available online at fantes.com. You can also rig up makeshift molds by cutting the sides of four 12-ounce paper cups to 3 inches high. With a toothpick, poke 12 holes in the bottom of each. Line with cheesecloth; fill as directed.

Serving the berries and cream on top is easier than splitting the biscuits, and it's a fun and pretty twist.

Either bittersweet or semisweet chocolate will give great results, but bittersweet will pack more intense chocolate flavor.

All over Switzerland, tiny macaroons in every color and flavor fill the bakery windows, like rows and rows of candy dots. Almond is one of the classic flavors of these sandwich cookies — and it's particularly nice with the poached apricots and zabaglione.

Silky zabaglione, warm from cooking but also imbued with deep heat from the wine, cloaks the vanilla-scented fruit with a heady richness. Though it's normally made with Marsala, this more subtle version gives the season's first apricots a chance to shine.