Bar Cookie

These scrumptious bar cookies are dense with plenty of cashew chunks, toffee bits, and butterscotch chips.

John Barricelli, a longtime friend of Martha Stewart Living and a very accomplished baker, created the recipe for these irresistible cookies. We’ve tried lots of pecan bars over the years, but John’s are the absolute best.

A thick layer of poured chocolate ganache frosts the top of these wedge-shaped brownies. Sprinkle with tiny heart-shaped candies for your Valentine, change the garnish to suit other occasions, or simply present them unadorned.

Fans of fudgy brownies say this is the recipe of their dreams. In fact, it’s one of our all-time reader favorites. The brownies are versatile, too—they’re equally welcome packed into a picnic basket or stacked atop a cake stand and presented at the end of a dinner party.

This recipe is based on the famous Key lime pie from Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant in Miami Beach. If you can’t find Key limes, use fresh juice from regular limes. The bars are best garnished with whipped cream and lime immediately before serving.

The flavor of these dense bars is reminiscent of Black Forest cake, a classic German dessert that originated in the country’s southern Black Forest region, renowned for its sour cherries and kirsch (cherry brandy).

I love these brownies plain, but Garth likes them frosted, so I usually make some Coconut Frosting (page 172) on the side just for him. The unsweetened baking chocolate keeps the brownies from being too sweet. I know, sweets are supposed to be sweet, but trust me, these are just right!

The mint element of these brownies is incorporated differently from the way the peanut butter was in the previous recipe. Mint extract is added to the base brownie batter and then an additional mint cream layer is made, using a batter similar to cheesecake. The cream cheese layer requires the brownies to be cooked for longer at a lower temperature. The resulting dessert has a rich texture but a somewhat less intense chocolate flavor than the other brownie recipes. The sour tang of the cream cheese also tempers the sweetness of this treat.

Baking sweet peanut butter icing into the top layer of the brownies brings more depth to both flavors and is another way to highlight the ever-popular peanut butter and chocolate combination. These rich treats are a resounding hit at tailgate parties and make a comforting get-well gift for a peanut butter–loving friend.

With their tart flavor and sunny color, these lemon bars are sure to become a favorite year-round treat. Use a serrated knife to cut into bars, wiping the blade with a damp towel after each slice.

When lining the baking pan, press the foil neatly into the corners, and smooth the bottom and sides. If necessary, brush sides of pan with butter to help foil stay in place.

THE KEY TO THESE SWEET AND CHUNKY apricot bars is using the highest-quality apricot preserves possible. Look for the word preserves on the label rather than jam or jelly; preserves have more fruit chunks. (Artificial colors are sometimes added to apricot jams, jelly, and preserves, so check the list of ingredients on the label.) These are a great dessert for a picnic or a bake sale because they’re easy to transport and stay fresh for days.

MORE RHUBARB IS GROWN IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST than in any other region of the country, meaning you’ll often see rhubarb on dessert menus in local restaurants from April through September. Although rhubarb is technically a vegetable, its tart flavor lends itself to being treated like a fruit. Adding sugar and cooking the thick stalks softens the flavor. Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic combination, and they’re even better accented with a little orange zest. These bars are a perfect portable dessert for lunchboxes and picnic baskets.

If you choose to bake only one cookie from this collection, make it these bites. The crisp cookie base provides the perfect contrasting setup to the luscious caramel-flavored dulce de leche—caramelized milk—hidden under the creamiest cheesecake layer. The final snazzy drizzle of dulce de leche is not essential, we know, but it makes the bites downright irresistible.

This recipe evolved quite by accident in the restaurant kitchen on a particularly harried day. The baker had put a pan of blond brownies in the oven, and in the rush had left them in too long. When I looked at them, and then at her, our faces fell—the brownies were burned. But we had to have that dessert. “Don’t worry,” I told her, “I’ll think of something.” I knew I had to act quickly to get the desserts to the table. So I cut the brownies into pieces and carefully trimmed off the burned edges. I crumbled up the good part, sprinkled it with sherry, covered it with chocolate pudding and topped it with fresh whipped cream—and our Chocolate Trifle was born. Today it is one of our most requested desserts. Hope y’all enjoy. Oh, by the way, you really don’t have to go to the trouble of burning the brownies!

When you’ve got your hands full with cleaning, you don’t have time for a full-on dessert stop. But these pecan bars will tempt you and “hit the spot,” in addition to making an incredible snack-pack treat when you’re on the go. Scrumptious brown sugar and chocolate are ooey, gooey, and satisfying, and they’re the perfect reward for a day of hard work.

GINA Can you imagine life without these two amazing ingredients? Who would want that? It would be like having fabulous shoes without a great handbag. Having chocolate and peanut butter is heaven on earth. If you think I talk a lot, give me chocolate and peanut butter and you won’t hear another word out of me!