Bar Cookie

Similar in texture to lemon bars, these have a shortbread cookie base and a delightful tropical fruit filling.

"My parents and I recently celebrated my mom's birthday at a local restaurant called The Farmhouse," writes Karen Eschenbach of Emmaus, Pennsylvania. "We ended a wonderful meal with an even better dessert—chocolate-peanut butter 'beggars' purses.'" Each elegant phyllo "purse" contains a flourless brownie topped with peanut butter and chocolate ganache.

Peanut butter chips and chopped salted peanuts take brownies to a new level. Offer fresh fruit alongside.

A bowl of fresh fruit and some mixed nuts would be very nice go-withs here.

Chocolate lovers will be in heaven when they taste these ultra-moist treats. The marbled topping works on most bar cookies.

"On our way to and from the Washington coast, we often stop at a small restaurant in Montesano called Savory Faire," says Thelma Laird of Fox Island, Washington. "They serve outstanding cinnamon rolls and imaginative sandwiches, but the recipe I'd most like to have is the one for pecan squares."

Espresso and a selection of favorite liqueurs are good with the brownies.

Much richer than the average cookie, these treats start with a brownie crust, which gets filled with a luxurious mocha cheesecake mixture. The whole thing is finished off with a sour cream topping and then cut into bars. Be sure to bake the crust and filling a day before serving the bars.

Although they are baked, these intensely chocolaty bar cookies resemble fudge more than brownies. To retain the creamy texture, keep them in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to a week. If the bars are refrigerated, their texture will become more dense.

"When I lived in South Africa, rum and raisin chocolate bars were a special treat," says Beth Peterson of Phoenix, Arizona. "I created this brownie recipe based on that combination of flavors, and perfected it with the help of friends and colleagues who sampled the brownies at each stage of development. These have a grown-up taste with the right balance of sweetness and rum." Try these warm with vanilla ice cream.

A tender shortbread crust with a fruit preserves filling and a chewy nut topping.

These irresistible treats are filled with dried apricots, figs and cherries as well as dates and walnuts, and are topped with a cream cheese frosting.

The prepared poppy seed filling is available in the kosher food section of most supermarkets across the country.