Instead of using a rolling pin to make the flaky pastry for her delicate shortbread bars, Melissa McKinney relies on a grater. She chills the dough, grates it into a baking dish, then tops it lightly ...

Combine cake mix and oats; stir in melted butter until mixture is crumbly. Put 3 cups mixture in bottom of a 13-by-9-inch pan sprayed with vegetable spray and press firmly to create crust. Combine jam ...

Cardamom shines in these chewy, brown sugar blondies rippled with homemade raspberry jam. Pastry chef Meadow Ramsey’s “refrigerator jam” is meant to be kept cold, not canned, so you use it quickly, ...

Every summer, I travel back to my family’s summer home in Indiana. Everyone in California thinks I am crazy to leave this beautiful state, but Indiana has its own beauty and I feel most at home ...

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Spread the chopped pecans in a pie plate and toast for about 5 minutes, until ...

Chess bars are a Southern treat typically made with a cake base topped with a rich cream cheese filling that’s very, very sweet. Here, I heavily reduce the sugar and replace the flour-based cake ...

Skip the cookie scoop and make easy bar cookies to share. Just spread the dough, bake, and slice; it does not get much simpler than that. Great for parties, bake sales, or any time you need a quick ...

Karen DeMasco is the executive pastry chef of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants ABC Kitchen, ABC Cocina, and ABCV. She won the 2005 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef for her work at ...