Recipes with vanilla extract

Surprise the kids after dinner with this scrumptious chocolate cake that doesn't take much to make.

Chocolate cinnamon angel food cake made from scratch with egg whites, cocoa powder, and cinnamon. A light, fat-free cake with warm spice and delicate chocolate flavor.

Chocolate apple bread with chopped apples, chocolate chips, and walnuts in a buttery buttermilk batter, topped with a cinnamon-walnut streusel. A rich, bakery-style quick bread that makes two loaves.

Rhubarb meringue pie with a from-scratch shortening crust, tangy rhubarb-orange filling cooked on the stovetop, and a golden vanilla meringue topping. Three layers, all homemade.

Carrot pecan cookies with cardamom, cinnamon, grated carrots, raisins, and chopped pecans baked into a soft, spiced drop cookie. Like carrot cake in cookie form.

Mini pumpkin pie cookie cups with a cream cheese pastry shell, spiced pumpkin filling with rum and vanilla, and a crunchy pecan-brown sugar topping.

Berkshire apple pie with a dump-and-bake cake batter topping over cinnamon apples. No rolling pin needed for this rustic New England-style dessert.

Chocolate sour cream frosting with melted unsweetened chocolate, powdered sugar, and vanilla. A tangy, fudgy no-butter frosting that spreads smoothly over sheet cakes and layer cakes.

Double-rich chocolate cookies with cocoa powder in the dough and semi-sweet chocolate chips throughout. Baked low and slow for a fudgy, intensely chocolate cookie with soft centers.

Peanut butter blossom cookies rolled in sugar and topped with a chocolate kiss while still warm. Soft, chewy centers with a crackly sugar coating and melty chocolate on top.

Miniature cream cheese tassies filled with apricot fruit filling, nuts, and vanilla in a buttery pastry cup. Bite-sized holiday cookies baked in mini muffin tins.

Chocolate syrup brownies topped with a glossy cooked fudge icing that sets to a thin, snappy shell. A 9x13 pan that feeds a crowd and freezes well.

Turtles cheesecake with chopped caramel-pecan chocolates folded into a brown sugar cream cheese filling on a buttery pecan crust. Rich, indulgent, and topped with whole Turtles.

Classic two-layer butter cake with separated eggs and folded whites for height. Topped with a tangy lemon-buttercream frosting (or chocolate variation). The American birthday cake.

Mini chess cake tarts in cream cheese pastry shells with a choice of pecan brown sugar filling or coconut filling. Bite-sized Southern tea-tray classics.

Mini chess cake tarts in cream cheese pastry shells with a choice of pecan brown sugar filling or coconut filling. Bite-sized Southern tea-tray classics.