Party Dessert Recipes

Want to learn how to make macarons? We've taken the guesswork out of making these patisserie beauties, so you can prepare them at home. Our foolproof macarons recipe calls for making your own almond flour (it's so much easier than it seems), then adding just four other ingredients: powdered sugar, egg whites, white sugar, and any filling you please.

New York Crumb Cake is quite a popular dessert at Foster's Markets in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Owner Sara Foster estimates that her shops sell three to four pounds of crumb cake every day, mostly to transplanted New Yorkers.

The creamy lemon squares of your dreams take just 15 minutes of prep: Stir together a mere three ingredients to create a sunny, puckery filling for the buttery shortbread crust in this dessert.

This classic, moist Bundt cake will fill your home with the scent of comfort food.

This colorful, whimsical vanilla cake has sprinkles inside and out, and just may be the ultimate birthday cake. This recipe is adapted from the book, "Baked Occasions" by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Martha prepared this cake on Martha Bakes, episode 504.

This blueberry crisp has a loose and juicy filling. If you would prefer a thicker filling, add an extra teaspoon of cornstarch.

Enjoy a slice of this classic cake on its own or topped with berries and whipped cream.

Applesauce makes this cake exceptionally moist. It's delicious on its own or served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you decide to use store-bought applesauce, choose one with a chunky texture.

Serve these raspberry scones at breakfast or with tea for an afternoon snack.

It's hard to improve upon a giant -- and downright delicious -- chocolate chip cookie, but we've found a way: Stuff it with caramel! The secret to this recipe is freezing the balls of dough for just 15 minutes before baking. That way, the center cooks more slowly, and you achieve that blissful balance of melted, gooey interiors and crispy edges.

Store-bought ice cream is ramped up with almonds, ground coffee beans, and a little flaky salt,and then sandwiched between coffee-swirled meringues to form this coffee meringue-ice cream cake. It's a cappuccino lover's dream.

The most popular flavor at the celebrated New York City bakery is vanilla for a reason! With a moist, tender crumb and rich buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are a true classic. This recipe comes from "More from Magnolia: Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen."

This is a great cake to make if you have extra apples in the house. If you don't have any apples, you can substitute peaches or plums.From the book "Mad Hungry," by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan Books).

Pumpkin's not just for pies. Mix up these cupcakes with canned pumpkin and lots of spice, then top them with tangy cream cheese frosting and the cutest mini marzipan pumpkins.

This light, flavorful dessert, filled and topped with seven-minute frosting and coconut, is a little slice of heaven.

Who doesn't buy extra Halloween candy? Our chewy and fudgy brownies, which are made with a combination of bittersweet chocolate chips and cocoa powder, are topped with peppermint patties and candy eyes for a bite that will make you say boo!

This sweet and simple sheet cake marries two great flavors that just plain belong together: rich and tender chocolate cake, and creamy peanut-butter frosting. For maximum fluff, go for a classic smooth variety of peanut butter, and plug in your mixer—manpower alone won't be enough. Scatter chopped peanuts along the edges for any crunchy fans in the house.

These decadent bars are inspired by Hello Dollies, a popular Southern dessert.

These soft cookies are like mini pumpkin cakes—and you're guaranteed to get a bit of sweet, brown-butter-flecked icing in every bite. A combination of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger flavor the moist pumpkin batter.

The recipe for the "glass" is essentially one for caramel. The trick is to cook it for a shorter amount of time than usual so it stays clear.

A buttery-vanilla batter is the base of a cake that brims with a pound of strawberries. We promise that you'll want to eat this berry dessert all summer long.

These cookies are crispy at the edges, chewy in the center, and loaded with 2 kinds of chocolate. Feel free to add 2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans to the dough.

Buttermilk gives the chocolate cookies a subtle tanginess that offsets the rich buttercream filling beautifully. Martha made this recipe on episode 708 of Martha Bakes.