Desserts

If you're a novice in the kitchen, you know how helpful it can be to have pictures that accompany the recipe to let you see what the final product is supposed to look like. Without pictures, you don't really know if you have everything exactly the way it should be, especially when it comes to dessert recipes. With pictures to guide you through, you can feel confident enough to serve your dish with pride.

Pull out a tray of cupcakes and you'll probably be met with broadening smiles no matter what the situation. The sweet individual dessert cakes are a proven crowd pleaser and can also be a satisfying private indulgence. While simple vanilla and chocolate cupcakes can always delight, we've assembled some cupcake recipes that can help turn everyday occasions into a memorable special event. Sophisticated, fun and funky, these cupcake recipes can be served anytime. As an afternoon snack, party platter or after-dinner encore these cupcakes are sure to attract plenty of attention, and create plenty of smiles.

Ahhh, pie.

It's a classic dessert often featured at holiday celebrations and special occasions that can also serve as a relaxing mid-day snack or bedtime bribe. No matter what the reason, a slice of pie can melt away your worries and help to bring a smile to all that partake. That's what helps make pie the perfect treat anytime the family is gathered around the dinner table. A good pie recipe is like an elixir of happiness.

Fall means cooler weather, shorter days and apples -- lots of apples. Although apples are available in supermarkets year-round these days, there's still an abundance of apples in many regions every fall, and a bag of crisp apples can be had for a bargain price. What to do with all those apples? The old-fashioned apple crisp, which skips the once time-consuming step of making and rolling out the pastry for an apple pie, still makes a perfect fall dessert -- and, with ingredients like oats, nuts and/or berries, it can be one of the healthier apple recipes.

Any of these apple crisps can be served hot, warm or cold; with milk, vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt; or plan and simple in a bowl.

You know fall is just around the corner when you start to see pumpkins in the produce section of your supermarket. While pumpkins are most popularly used to make Halloween jack-o-lanterns, you may be surprised to learn what a versatile ingredient pumpkin can be after checking out these pumpkin recipes.

Perhaps best known as a dessert ingredient, pumpkin can be added to many dessert recipes to give them fall flavor. You may already have a favorite pumpkin pie recipe, but if you're a fan of this dessert, you'll want to try the Bourbon Pumpkin Pie recipe from KitchenDaily. Using store-bought pie dough for its crust, this pie has a filling made with sour cream, pumpkin pie puree, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and bourbon. Topped with maple syrup-glazed pumpkin seeds, the bourbon in this pumpkin pie recipe gives it depth, making it a special pumpkin recipe.