Chocolate

A dusting of powdered sugar dresses this up.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr (includes freezing)

Hazelnut butter gives the cookies a deep, rich flavor. Look for it in natural foods stores. Before measuring the hazelnut butter, stir gently with a fork to mix in any oil that has separated from the butter.

"On the last night of a holiday in Costa Rica, my sweetheart and I had a candlelit dinner at Café Mundo in downtown San José," writes Elizabeth Florence of New York City. "We dined on the front porch of a Victorian house surrounded by tropical flowers. The chocolate cake we had that evening was just incredible. Would chef and owner Ray Johnson part with his recipe?" Serve this with coffee ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. Beaten eggs make this cake lighter in texture than most other flourless chocolate cakes.

Begin making this cake one day in advance.

A classic chocolate layer cake with a new-fashioned, thick, and rich frosting. This treat can be made up to two days ahead.

A layer of white chocolate-peppermint icing is sandwiched between the chewy brownie cake and a thick chocolate ganache glaze. To make this treat, you'll need an eight-inch square metal cake pan and parchment paper, sold at cookware stores and well-stocked supermarkets. For convenience, prepare the dessert a day ahead.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 35 min

The recipe for this bread pudding was created by the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania's Central Bar & Grill's former pastry chef, Alison Barshak. She is now the executive chef at Striped Bass in Philadelphia.

A quick one-bowl cake perfect for a last-minute birthday celebration or part dessert. Use the Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting recipe that follows or your favorite purchased one.

These cakes are slightly underbaked so that the chocolate center oozes when cut into.

These delicious chocolate chip cookies are worth the calorie splurge.

By using a microwave to melt the chocolate, you can whip up a batch of these sophisticated truffles in no time. The ground espresso beans add great coffee flavor. Serve the truffles directly from the refrigerator because they soften quickly at room temperature.

Meriel MacDonald of London, England, writes: "Having grown up at Kinloch Lodge, my family's hotel on the Isle of Skye, I truly understand what it means to be too busy to cook. There were always guests to attend to, telephones ringing, and other interruptions. Still, my mother found the time to cook while overseeing the hotel's day-to-day business. Today, she continues to run Kinloch Lodge, and over the years she has shared with me many of her recipes and cooking tips, which have helped me in my job as catering manager for a large advertising agency. For work events, I often rely on family recipes, because they're dependable and delicious. I also use many of those same recipes for simple home suppers during the workweek." This pudding is really more like a warm chocolate soufflé cake.