5 Favorite Dessert Recipes To Bake

Food is my love language. It brings me joy to be able to cook and bake for people. My family and my husband’s family spent the weekend in Chicago, and I was thrilled to be able to bake for the occasion. Many people have been asking for the recipes (including my sister), and I wanted to put them in one easy post to reference. These are my five favorite desserts to bake on repeat.

5 Favorite Dessert Recipes to Bake

Lemon Cake Recipe

I love all the coffee shops in Paris that offer different sweet options, including lemon loaf and banana bread. Lately, with the beginning of warm weather and hints of spring, I have been craving lemon. I tried a few different recipes before settling on this lemon cake recipe.

We loved it so much that I made it three times in a very short period. I accidentally added whole milk and yogurt when I originally made this recipe. The mistake resulted in a delicious, moist cake that became a big hit. I made it again without the milk, and I liked it better with it! Just a splash of whole milk should do the trick with the original recipe.

My Dad’s Favorite Biscotti

I started making this recipe during the pandemic, and my dad loved it! My father-in-law loved it so much, too, that I regularly sent them care packages. I add dark chocolate chips to the recipe, making them even better! After the weekend, My sister texted me that she couldn’t get enough of them and needed the recipe. This is from the NYT, and I hope the gift article works.

The Best Brownie Recipe

One of my favorite desserts is a good chocolate brownie with walnuts. Not everyone is on team nut, so I typically bake half with nuts and the other half without. This Love and Lemons recipe is my go-to. Be careful not to overbake them. They will continue to cook and set after being out of the oven.

Auntie Cookies

Auntie cookies are Dorie Greenspan’s Vanilla Sablé recipe with sprinkles. I started making these for my niece and nephew years ago, and the name stuck as Auntie Cookies. They refer to me as Auntie, and they love these cookies. I love hearing from readers who are aunties or becoming aunties and plan to bake these for their nieces and nephews.

The trick is to roll the sprinkles on a baking pan before they go into the fridge. Sprinkles can go everywhere; keep them somewhat contained for easy clean-up. The best part is that these are slice-and-bake cookies so you can make fresh cookies a little at a time. I will freeze them for my sister in a log, and she can slice them for the kids once I am gone.

Part of the fun is changing up the sprinkle color depending on the year. Around Valentine’s Day, they are red and pink, rainbow year-round, and red and green at the holidays.

French Madeleines Recipe

These are so easy to make with just six ingredients. I play around with the flavors, adding vanilla bean, fruit (blueberries and raspberries), chocolate chips, and lemon. You can break the batter into tiny bowls and add different flavors. For the lemon, add lemon zest to taste. Around the holidays, I play around with chocolate-dipped madeleines with sprinkles. I use the recipe from La Cuisine Paris.