Recipes with vanilla extract

After school bars are no-bake layered cracker treats with a buttery brown sugar coconut filling sandwiched between Club crackers and topped with sweet vanilla frosting. A retro lunchbox classic kids can't stop reaching for.

Milky Way candy bar brownies melted right into the batter for chewy chocolate-caramel squares. A clever Halloween candy stash bake with built-in nougat and caramel layers.

Light lemony cheesecake made with nonfat cream cheese and condensed milk on a graham cracker base. A lower-fat cheesecake topped with fresh fruit that still feels indulgent.

Two-tone sheet cake with a vanilla cream cheese batter and Hershey's chocolate syrup topping baked together for a marbled, fudgy finish using egg whites only.

Banana split sundae for one with homemade microwave hot fudge, ice cream, peanuts, and a quartered banana. Single-serving solo dessert ready in five minutes.

Chocolate hazelnut mousse blends bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, and Frangelico into a silky pudding-based mousse, topped with toasted hazelnuts. A lighter make-ahead dessert for dinner parties.

Banana French toast: a lighter take on the classic, dipped in egg substitute and topped with vanilla yogurt, caramelized banana slices, and maple syrup. A healthy weekend breakfast.

Soft drop cookies made with mashed cooked carrots and finished with a warm orange glaze. The vintage Depression-era cookie that still makes sense today.

Homemade cinnamon rolls with brown sugar, raisins, and nuts, topped with a sweet vanilla glaze. Soft, buttery yeast dough rolled jelly-roll style for a classic bakery-worthy batch.

Peanut butter shortbread: round pan-pressed shortbread with peanut butter in the dough and a peanut butter icing topped with melted white chocolate drizzle. Two pan-rounds.

Classic French silk pie with a deep chocolate filling whipped to silky-smooth texture, poured into a chocolate crumb crust, and chilled until set. The original 1950s diner-style chocolate pie.

Ann's chocolate pie with a buttery shortbread crust, airy egg white mousse filling swirled with melted chocolate, and whipped cream folded in. A no-bake chocolate mousse pie with a crumb topping.

Mock pavlova is a sugar-free Aussie meringue dessert using artificial sweetener. Crisp shell, marshmallow heart, and fresh kiwi slices, all under 100 calories per portion.

Blueberries in black pepper Syrah syrup soaks fresh berries in a reduced red-wine syrup laced with vanilla and freshly cracked black pepper. A sophisticated make-ahead dessert for dinner parties.

Old-fashioned prune cake with buttermilk, pecans, and warm spices soaked in a boiled buttermilk-butter sauce. Needs three days to cure for the richest, most intense flavor.

Old-fashioned prune cake with buttermilk, pecans, and warm spices soaked in a boiled buttermilk-butter sauce. Needs three days to cure for the richest, most intense flavor.