Cookthink

Bumbleberry is an old term meaning mixed berries. Blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are used here, but blueberries or boysenberries can be added or substituted. This recipe can easily be doubled. Read more about this recipe in the Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook.

Maple-Glazed Pears With Pecans

Here's a simple glazing technique that can turn just about any fruit and nut into an elegant dessert. The combination of maple syrup, butter, and pecans is just . . . right. The same glaze would work well on the pecans alone, too.

Rustic Cherry Pie

Since the dough his hard to work with, if you want to double the recipe, you should make 2 6-inch pies. Read more about this recipe at Cook & Eat.

Ginger Wafers

The crystallized ginger adds bite and texture to these sweet, chewy wafers, which already have a delicate base note from the ground spice and touch of grated fresh ginger. This recipe is part of the Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology.

Easy Apple Tart With Bourbon Whipped Cream

My forte has never been baking desserts, so I always look for easy recipes that I can pull together at the last minute. Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry is a staple in my freezer and makes an elegant tart crust with minimal work. Read more about this recipe at Steamy Kitchen.

Fresh Raspberry Sauce

This simple fruit sauce could be adapted for any berry or mix of berries. It suits a number of desserts, including ice creams, brownies and crepes. It will keep refrigerated for a week, so if you find fresh berries on sale or have too many to use otherwise, this is a good way to use them. This recipe is part of the Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology.

Cranberry And Raspberry Hand Pies

For the pie crust, I took a short cut and used Dufour’s frozen puff pastry. You could just cranberries in the filling but I decided to make mine a touch sweeter with the addition of raspberries. Baking takes about 30 minutes, but that's most of the work required for these little treats. Read more about this recipe at Cook & Eat.

Stewed Rhubarb With Ricotta

This Italian-inspired dessert is adapted from one in the May 2008 issue of Saveur. I've never really thought about pairing sweet and sour rhubarb with earthy ricotta, but the match works beautifully. The stewed rhubarb is delicious with ice cream, too.

Mixed Berries With Lemon Verbena Syrup

The aroma of fresh lemon verbena does wonders for this sweet and tart fruit dish. If you can't find it, you can substitute lemon zest or kaffir lime leaves. The flavored berries are delicious on their own, or spooned over ice cream or oatmeal.

Apricot And Cherry Crumble

In her Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl wrote about a fresh apricot pie that is simplicity itself. Put halved apricots in a pie shell and top with a rich streusel topping. We like to skip the pie crust and add sugary cherries to the apricots so that every bite is a burst of sweet-tart fruit.

Chilled Strawberries With Warm Rhubarb Compote

Rhubarb compote recipes often overcompensate for the rhubarb's astringency by calling for too much sugar. We like a tart compote because we usually pair it with something sweet in its own right (or rich and meaty). So stew the rhubarb with the 3/4 cup of sugar and add more at the end if you need it.

Grilled Chipotle Flank Steak With Broiled Salsa

This is a great recipe to prepare ahead (you can make the salsa up to 3 days ahead and marinate the steak the morning of), and throw on the grill when guests arrive. Eat the steak and salsa alone, or pile both into tacos. For more recipes like this, visit hogwash.