181 pastry recipes

Russian torte: a yeast-leavened pastry layered with cinnamon-walnut filling and apricot preserves, then crowned with meringue and sugared nuts. The Old World dessert that disappears at every gathering.

Flaky whole wheat pasties stuffed with spiced vegetables and chickpeas. Portable, filling handheld pies with cumin, coriander, and garlic that bake up golden and crisp.

Philadelphia-style sour cream apple pie in a butter crust, topped with a brown sugar walnut streusel. The Pennsylvania classic that swaps lattice for custard and crunch.

Apple Danish bars layer cinnamon-spiced sliced apples between two flaky pastry sheets in a sheet pan, then drizzle with almond glaze. A sliceable Scandinavian-style coffee cake bar.

This legacy from my Hungarian grandmother links my children to their Old World heritage in a most pleasing way! No one can eat only one of these rich little crescents.

A classic French pear and frangipane tart: vanilla-poached pears arranged over almond pastry cream spiked with kirsch and crushed macaroons, finished with apricot glaze and pistachios.

Chocolate peanut pie with melted semi-sweet chocolate, corn syrup, and unsalted peanuts in a from-scratch butter crust. Like a pecan pie but with chocolate and peanuts.

Pumpkin empanadas fold brandy-tender pastry around cinnamon-spiced pumpkin filling, bake golden, and get dusted with cinnamon sugar. Mexican Thanksgiving and fall dessert hand pie.

Solothurner Nusstorte, a Swiss hazelnut torte with piped meringue-nut discs, a buttery sponge layer, and hazelnut buttercream. An elegant three-component European pastry.

Hungarian tarts with a cream cheese pastry shell and five filling options: almond, pecan, walnut, coconut, and farmer's cheese. A traditional holiday baking project.

Gluten-free brown rice pie crust made with just two ingredients: cooked brown rice and egg white. A simple, grain-based alternative to traditional pastry crusts.

Buttery shortbread crust topped with gooey pecan-coconut filling creates bar cookies that taste like pecan pie without the fussy pastry work.

Showstopper pecan pie with homemade toffee crunch, caramel sauce drizzle, and pastry-leaf crust decoration. A Thanksgiving centerpiece that earns every compliment.

Nut horns are Eastern European cream cheese pastries filled with a sweet walnut meringue filling. The dough chills overnight for a flaky, tender bite that melts in your mouth.

Whole wheat peanut butter muffins sweetened with molasses instead of sugar. No eggs, no refined flour. A hearty, nutty muffin with a deep caramel undertone in 25 minutes.

Traditional poppy seed kolache with a buttery almond dough and homemade filling of poppy seeds, honey, dates, and nuts. A Czech-style pastry that makes 60 pieces.