Fruit Dessert

The colonists planted around 150 varieties of apples in New England, many of which can still be found today. Apples show up most often in a double-crust pie, but the crisp is also a superb showcase. Nothing more than fruit baked with crumbly nut, flour, sugar and butter topping, it's as simple to make as it is delicious.

A sweet summer treat that comes together quickly (nectarines rarely need peeling). You may want to serve ice cream alongside, but some softly whipped cream is also delicious.

This dessert looks like a cobbler or pie, but it has the texture of a cake. Top it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Making one large shortcake is impressive and lot of fun — especially when chocolate is added to the basic combination.

Peaches are accented with honey in this fabulous home-style dessert. It's delicate, so slide a ten-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or the bottom of a ten-inch-diameter springform pan under the free-form tart to support it and make it easy to transfer.

Old-fashioned upside-down cake was everywhere last year, modernized with a variety of fruit and spice combinations.

If you don't have tartlet pans, you can make one large shortcake in an eight-inch-diameter pan and then cut the cake into wedges.

Sugar cookies are the perfect accompaniment to this colorful finale.

If making more than 2 pies, do not double this recipe but make multiple batches.

Definitely not Ye Olde English Classic, but very delicious and very contemporary. Using store-bought sponge cake (ask for it at your supermarket bakery) or pound cakes simplifies assembly.

If you don't have individual soufflé dishes, this can be prepared in a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish, in which case the crisp will need to bake for about 55 minutes.

This quick dessert is like a crustless apple tart. It's a terrific way to use the fruit of the season and a perfect finish for the pork chops

Among the pear varieties, we prefer the silky, juicy flesh and slightly winy flavor of Comice pears for eating, and they are exceptionally good in this crisp. (For poaching and in tarts, good Bosc pears have the right texture and body.)