Cookbooks

A lattice crust is easily altered to replicate a number of artisanal basketweave designs, such as this striking six-point star pattern. The filling is also out of the ordinary—a blend of dried, not fresh, fruits is poached in a fragrant spiced syrup.

A thin double-crust slab, baked in a rimmed sheet pan, is perfect for pie lovers who prefer a high crust-to-filling ratio. The pâte brisée crust is peppered with polka-dot cutouts made with a round pastry tip; you can try this technique on a double-crust pie in any shape, size, or flavor. For easy unmolding, line the baking sheet with parchment paper with a one-inch overhang on long sides before baking the pie.

In Austria, where this handsome dessert originated, linzertorte is enjoyed all year long, but its festive red-and-gold palette makes it especially popular at holiday celebrations. The cookielike crust, rich with ground almonds, is layered with raspberry jam and crisscrossed into a windowpane pattern.

A familiar motif can inspire kitchen artistry: Here, a double-crust strawberry tart is adorned with a stylized bandanna pattern. Aspic cutters, available at baking-supply stores, are used to create the punched grid of tiny ovals and dots.

For this Scandinavian-inspired dessert, bittersweet-chocolate-enriched dough is pressed into the pan, and more is rolled into long ropes and pressed to form a herringbone pattern on top. Lingonberry jam is available at specialty stores or Scandinavian markets.

A winning combination of tart and sweet, this county-fair favorite is marked by a tightly woven lattice crust. Sour cherries enjoy a short season—typically a few weeks in late June and early July—so snap them up when you see them, and freeze any extras: Line a baking sheet with parchment and freeze pitted cherries in a single layer. Transfer frozen cherries to a resealable bag; they should keep in the freezer up to one year.

For this woven pie-dough pattern, the spacing of the strips is varied to create a seemingly complex geometric design that is actually no more difficult than a basic lattice. Rum-poached pineapple pieces peek out from beneath the open-weave crust.

This dessert is a specialty of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Chock-full of dark and golden raisins, and flavored with cinnamon, the pie has become a Martha Stewart Living reader favorite since the recipe was first published in the magazine.

In this pumpkin pie with Italian flavors, loosely arranged scraps of pasta frolla are draped over the filling to evoke a lattice design without any weaving. Pine nuts, clustered in groups of three, punctuate the grid.

The layered finish that tops this apple pie is created by shingling the leaves. Pastry cutouts in any shape can be arranged in this manner; here, a flurry of leaves accentuates the pie’s autumnal nature.

Rather than weaving strips of dough under and over one another, the latticelike design for this pie is formed by cutting squares from a round of rolled-out pâte brisée. The cutouts are arranged around the edge of the pie plate, in overlapping fashion, for a striking frame.

A cluster of grapes is cut from the top crust of this tart to suggest the fruit inside. Sweet, musky Concord grapes are first made into a jam, then sandwiched between the pastry rounds. You will need a nonreactive pan and a candy thermometer for the jam.

These fanciful tartlets are easy to construct with make-ahead components. The fresh figs can be roasted and then chilled, with the flavorful cooking syrup, for up to a week. The cream filling can be made a day ahead and refrigerated; the fluted pastry shells also can be baked the day before and held overnight at room temperature.

Swiss meringue is best for piping into shapes that will be baked until crisp. It can be kept at room temperature and rewhipped, if necessary.

In classic French cooking, a large dessert shell made entirely of meringue is called a vacherin, so called for its resemblance to a well-known cheese; it is usually layered with whipped cream and fruit. Here, small-scale meringue shells are filled with lime curd, whose bright color is especially striking in contrast with the crisp white shells.

With scalloped pastry edges and a fruit-streaked, creamy filling, these tarts are almost too pretty to eat, but they’re too delicious not to. The filling is similar to a British spoon dessert called fool, which consists of a fruit sauce (in this case, blackberry) folded into whipped cream; more sauce and fruit is spooned on top. Elderflower cordial, another English specialty, flavors the whipped cream; you can omit the liqueur from the recipe if you want. You could also use it to flavor homemade ice cream to serve alongside.

The secret to this filling’s silkiness and deep caramel flavor is sweetened condensed milk, which is very slowly simmered until thick and golden, then blended with a mixture of cream cheese and crème fraîche. The spicy-sweet graham-cracker crust incorporates ground ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper; persimmon slices adorn the tops.

Their subtle sweetness and affinity for spices make carrots a natural choice for other baked goods besides the more familiar cakes and muffins. Here, they provide an unexpected flavor for individual tarts with another surprise: pastry crusts coated in crushed gingersnaps.