1,637 vanilla extract recipes

Raisin and bran cookies bake up chewy with unprocessed bran, brown sugar, and warm cinnamon-nutmeg spice. Egg whites keep them lighter than the typical butter-yolk cookie.

Applesauce fudgy brownies use applesauce, egg whites, and a splash of Kahlua to slash the fat without losing the dense chew. Cocoa-forward, peanut butter accent, no oil.

Lighter honey vanilla cheesecake made with reduced-fat cream cheese, cottage cheese, and fat-free ricotta on a gingersnap crust. Sweetened with honey instead of sugar and baked with steam for a silky, crack-free top.

Amish friendship bread with hazelnuts and dried cherries: a cinnamon-scented sweet bread loaded with crunchy nuts and chewy fruit. Bakes 4 loaves built for sharing with friends.

Cottage cheese pie is an old-fashioned custard pie with a tangy curd filling lightened by beaten egg whites and warmed with vanilla. A simple, frugal dessert with a creamy texture between cheesecake and custard.

Low-fat cheesecake made with overnight-strained yogurt and blended cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. Dense, silky, and tangy on a graham cracker crust with no cream cheese at all.

Microwave rum cake with devil's food cake mix, rum-soaked layers, apricot preserves filling, and a glossy boiled frosting made from corn syrup and egg whites.

French-style apple pie with sauteed tart apples in a single pastry shell, layered with a cooked vanilla custard filling and finished with an apricot preserve glaze on the crust.

Port wine blueberry cake reduces ruby port into a syrupy concentrate, then folds it into a low-fat buttermilk cake studded with fresh berries. A sophisticated grown-up dessert.

Chocolate pecan cookie slices shaped into logs, baked, then cut on the diagonal and drizzled with white chocolate. A slice-and-bake method that yields 40 elegant cookies.

Low-fat carrot fig cake that replaces oil and butter with pureed dried figs for moisture. Loaded with grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and raisins, drizzled with a simple pineapple juice glaze.

This recipe, though fussy to make, is attractive and tasty. Cheryl Kaufenberg of Darien said it came from a very old Better Homes & Gardens magazine

[NOTE: for a no sugar variation, substitute same amount of white grape juice concentrate or apple juice concentrate for brown sugar.]

These cookies are buttery and delicious. You can find butterscotch morsels, white chocolate, and pecans in every bite.

COMMENT: What makes this dessert so irresistible? As it bakes, a pudding sauce forms beneath the cake layer. Cocoa-based and made without eggs, its an old-fashioned treat that should be served with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a big spoon.

I made all Hawaiian food and this was with it. I loved smelling this cooking throughout the house, and it was divine. I froze two of the loaves, because I was told do not give it away, save it. Oh well will have to make double next time.