Food & Cooking Baking Martha Stewart's Absolute Favorite Dessert Recipes By Lynn Andriani Lynn Andriani Lynn is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on June 18, 2013 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Bryan Gardner Over the course of her career, Martha has shared hundreds of recipes for meal-ending sweets-but which are her all-time favorites? When pressed, she narrowed it down to these 32 recipes. That might seem like an unwieldy number but taking a closer look at her picks for desserts greatest hits reveals certain themes. Martha's preferred treats often come in the form of cookies or bars, though she also loves a good layer cake. Of course, lemon makes a number of appearances. A good portion of Martha's round-up reads like a who's who of American classics, from chocolate chip cookies and brownies, to strawberry shortcake and apple pie (and surely these desserts would be on anyones list?). And her picks span all seasons, whether you've got a bounty of summer fruits (rhubarb, peaches, plums, nectarines, blueberries, apricots, you name it) or are looking for a warm and cozy treat on a chilly night. It's also a crash course in dessert fundamentals. Pick a recipe and you just might learn how to make pâte à choux (necessary for making Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream and Maple-Espresso Glaze-as well as profiteroles); or pâte brisée, the flaky pastry that makes Martha's apple pie so spectacular (well, three different kinds of apples-and lots of them-also contribute to its magnificence). There are also crepes, meringue-based seven-minute frosting, and other recipes that you'll use again and again, in myriad ways. Whether it's a birthday, a holiday, or just a regular Wednesday night, there's definitely a dessert on Martha's best-of list that'll fit the bill, deliciously so. 01 of 32 Alexis's Brown-Sugar Chocolate-Chip Cookies This beloved recipe comes from Martha's daughter, Alexis. The batter produces very flat and crisp chocolate-chip cookies. Use an ice-cream scoop to ensure even baking and uniform size and remember that they spread wide on the pan during baking. View Recipe 02 of 32 Old-Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies A classic lemony flavor; a chewy texture; and glistening, crackly tops created with a double sprinkling of sanding sugar-these large cookies have it all. View Recipe 03 of 32 Fireworks Cookies Martha likes the beautiful drawn icing decoration on these red, white, and blue cookies. View Recipe 04 of 32 Sable Cookies These delicate, crumbly cookies hail from the Normandy region of France and are delicious plain, dipped in dark chocolate, or sandwiched with jam. Once you have a handle on the basic recipe, try adding almonds, orange zest, or other flavorings. This recipe is adapted from Martha's book Entertaining . View Recipe 05 of 32 Fudgy Brownies Doesn't everyone love a brownie? And Martha likes hers fudgy rather than cakey. View Recipe 06 of 32 Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies This is a wonderful variaton on the blondie, the brown butter gives an extra-rich toffee flavor. We used card-suit cookie cutters to shape the blondies into hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades. View Recipe 07 of 32 Zesty Lemon Bars Light and brightly flavored, this classic bar cookie is one of Martha's all-time favorites. View Recipe 08 of 32 Basic Crepes This recipe can be used as the basis for any crepe creation. (The buckwheat variation has a heartier texture and a more robust flavor and is best paired with savory fillings.) View Recipe 09 of 32 Red Velvet Cupcakes With its distinctive look, this popular cupcake is a top contender for favorite flavor. View Recipe 10 of 32 Classic Cheesecake Jonny Valiant A crumbly graham-cracker crust and silky cream-cheese filling make this New York-style cheesecake a winner. Watch Martha make more cheesecakes. View Recipe 11 of 32 White Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling These light, tender layers, made from the ultimate white cake recipe, are interspersed with tart lemon curd and surrounded by fluffy clouds of meringue-based peaks of Seven-Minute Frosting. View Recipe 12 of 32 Coconut Layer Cake A towering creation of tender sour-cream cake, coconut filling, and piles of fluffy frosting, this dessert is the last word in coconut. View Recipe 13 of 32 Carrot Ginger Layer Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting Yossy Arefi More sophisticated than the average carrot cake, this tall layered confection is altogether irresistible. View Recipe 14 of 32 Edward Kostyra's Birthday Cake This orange-curd-filled cake topped with Mrs. Milman's chocolate frosting was Martha's father's favorite. Make it as a birthday treat for someone special in your life. View Recipe 15 of 32 Classic Angel Food Cake Martha's favorite angel food cake is served with an elderflower syrup. You'll need to plan ahead to make it: Allow at least two days for the elderflower syrup to sit at room temperature before starting the cake. View Recipe 16 of 32 Devil's Food Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting This devilishly delicious all-occasion cake recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook , and the frosting recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis of Baked. View Recipe 17 of 32 Cream Cheese Pound Cake Bryan Gardner It is delicious unembellished, but you could also try this pound cake dusted with confectioners' sugar and topped with a berry compote or poached peaches and whipped cream. Chef David Waltuck shared the recipe for this rich cake with Martha. View Recipe 18 of 32 Sour Lemon Cake Rob Tannenbaum A tart treat from Martha Stewart's Christmas that makes a thoughtful food gift-that is if you can resist eating it yourself. View Recipe 19 of 32 Mile-High Apple Pie Kate Mathis Flaky pâte brisée pastry encases three different kinds of apples in this favorite pie. Martha says this dessert tastes even better the day after it has been baked. Watch Martha make Mile-High Apple Pie. View Recipe 20 of 32 Mile-High Lemon Pie A whimsical pie that sets the bar high for taste and appearance: It has a zesty lemon filling-Martha's favorite-a flaky pâte brisée base, and a glossy Swiss meringue crown. View Recipe 21 of 32 New York Crumb Cake Martha got this recipe for New York Crumb Cake from her friend Sara Foster, owner of Foster's Market in Durham, North Carolina. View Recipe 22 of 32 Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream and Maple-Espresso Glaze Fill these puffs with pastry cream and top with a maple-espresso glaze-or use the shells to make larger versions of our delicious profiteroles dessert. Watch Martha make pâte à choux. View Recipe 23 of 32 Peach-Blueberry Cobbler Fresh peaches and blueberries are baked beneath a fluffy layer of vanilla-cream biscuits. The tops are brushed with heavy cream and sprinkled with sanding sugar for a crispy-sweet crunch. View Recipe 24 of 32 Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake The crumb "topping" on this beautiful cake actually ends up on the bottom. Each bite has a surprisingly crunchy texture. View Recipe 25 of 32 Pear Brown Bettys A Betty is a spiced fruit dessert with buttered breadcrumbs or a cake-crumb topping that turns golden brown as it cooks. Martha's individual Bettys have two layers of Bartlett pears. In between and on top is a blend of torn sourdough bread, butter, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a splash of apple cider. View Recipe 26 of 32 Apricot-Almond Cobbler A classic cobbler is a fruit dessert with a thick top layer of crust. In Martha's favorite version, spiced apricot wedges are arranged atop a toasted-almond batter. Baking puffs up the cake, so only bits of fruit peek through. View Recipe 27 of 32 Rhubarb-Berry Crumbles This dessert has British origins: a crumble is a blend of berries or other fruit with a textured sugary topping, often with oats, the result is all but synonymous with a crisp. Martha's individual crumbles include rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries nestled under an oatless blend of butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, and grated orange zest. View Recipe 28 of 32 Plum-Nectarine Buckle A buckle is a decadent dessert hybrid: cakelike cobbler with a crumble topping. View Recipe 29 of 32 Apple-Raisin Pandowdy Dana Gallagher Usually sweetened with brown sugar or molasses, a pandowdy is a fruit dessert that's closely related to a pie though without the bottom crust. Its pastry top is broken with a spoon halfway through cooking so the collapsed bits soak up the juices and soften. For ours, we used brown sugar and apples and raisins laced with cardamom and allspice. View Recipe 30 of 32 Berry Grunt A classic grunt is a dumpling-topped fruit dessert that's cooked on the stove; it is often called a slump. Martha's grunt has blackberries and raspberries that are simmered together. Then dollops of ginger-spiked dumpling batter are added to the pan, to steam in berry juice. Give everyone a dumpling and a splash of heavy cream. View Recipe 31 of 32 Strawberry Shortcake Stefan Anderson Like most of us, Martha adores strawberry shortcake. The combination of sugared fresh fruit, sweet biscuit, and whipped cream makes for a delightful jumble of contrasting tastes, textures, and flavors in every spoonful. View Recipe 32 of 32 Sour-Cherry Pistachio Crisp Dana Gallagher A crisp is a baked concoction of sweetened fruit with a crumbly topping. This favorite version from Martha has more than a pound and a half of pitted sour cherries. The topping includes oats, pistachios, and the traditional brown sugar, butter, and flour. The result is a fruit dessert that's tangy, sugary, and has lots of crunch. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit