Food & Cooking Baking Martha's 29 All-Time Favorite Dessert Recipes Out of thousands of desserts, these are the ones Martha adores most. By Lynn Andriani Lynn Andriani Lynn Andriani is a New York City-based writer with 24 years of experience working in professional publishing and communication roles in addition to being a food writer for six years with MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 20, 2024 Close Photo: Bryan Gardner Over the course of her career, Martha has shared hundreds of recipes for meal-ending sweets, but which are her all-time favorites? When pressed, she narrowed it down to these dessert recipes. Martha's preferred treats often come in the form of cookies or bars, though she also loves a good layer cake. Of course, lemon makes a number of appearances. A good portion of Martha's favorites reads like a who's who of American classics, from chocolate chip cookies and brownies, to strawberry shortcake and apple pie. It's also a crash course in dessert fundamentals: You just might learn how to make pâte à choux or pâte brisée. Whether it's a birthday, a holiday, or just a regular Wednesday night, there's definitely a dessert on Martha's best-of list that'll fit the bill, deliciously. 8 of Martha's All-Time Best Baking Tips, According to Our Readers 01 of 29 Alexis's Brown-Sugar Chocolate-Chip Cookies This beloved recipe comes from Martha's daughter, Alexis. The batter produces very flat and crisp chocolate-chip cookies. Use an ice-cream scoop to ensure even baking and uniform size and remember that they spread wide on the pan during baking. View Recipe 02 of 29 Old-Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies A classic lemony flavor; a chewy texture; and glistening, crackly tops created with a double sprinkling of sanding sugar-these large cookies have it all. View Recipe 03 of 29 Fireworks Cookies Martha likes the beautiful drawn icing decoration on these red, white, and blue cookies. View Recipe 04 of 29 Sable Cookies These delicate, crumbly cookies hail from the Normandy region of France and are delicious plain, dipped in dark chocolate, or sandwiched with jam. Once you have a handle on the basic recipe, try adding almonds, orange zest, or other flavorings. This recipe is adapted from Martha's book Entertaining. . View Recipe 05 of 29 Fudgy Brownies Doesn't everyone love a brownie? And Martha likes hers fudgy rather than cakey. View Recipe 06 of 29 Brown-Butter Toffee Blondies This is a wonderful variaton on the blondie, the brown butter gives an extra-rich toffee flavor. We used card-suit cookie cutters to shape the blondies into hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades. View Recipe 07 of 29 Creamy Lemon Bars Light and brightly flavored, this classic bar cookie is one of Martha's all-time favorites. View Recipe 08 of 29 Classic Crepes This recipe can be used as the basis for any crepe creation. (The buckwheat variation has a heartier texture and a more robust flavor and is best paired with savory fillings.) View Recipe 09 of 29 Red Velvet Cupcakes With its distinctive look, this popular cupcake is a top contender for favorite flavor. View Recipe 10 of 29 Classic Cheesecake Jonny Valiant A crumbly graham-cracker crust and silky cream-cheese filling make this New York-style cheesecake a winner. View Recipe 11 of 29 White Layer Cake With Lemon Curd Filling These light, tender layers, made from the ultimate white cake recipe, are interspersed with tart lemon curd and surrounded by fluffy clouds of meringue-based peaks of Seven-Minute Frosting. View Recipe 12 of 29 Coconut Layer Cake A towering creation of tender sour-cream cake, coconut filling, and piles of fluffy frosting, this dessert is the last word in coconut. View Recipe 13 of 29 Carrot-Ginger Layer Cake With Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting Yossy Arefi More sophisticated than the average carrot cake, this tall layered confection is altogether irresistible. View Recipe 14 of 29 Edward Kostyra's Birthday Cake This orange-curd-filled cake topped with Mrs. Milman's chocolate frosting was Martha's father's favorite. Make it as a birthday treat for someone special in your life. View Recipe 15 of 29 Classic Angel Food Cake Martha's favorite angel food cake is served with an elderflower syrup. You'll need to plan ahead to make it: Allow at least two days for the elderflower syrup to sit at room temperature before starting the cake. View Recipe 16 of 29 Devil's Food Cake With Milk Chocolate Frosting This devilishly delicious all-occasion cake recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, and the frosting recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis of Baked. View Recipe 17 of 29 Cream Cheese Pound Cake Bryan Gardner It is delicious unembellished, but you could also try this pound cake dusted with confectioners' sugar and topped with a berry compote or poached peaches and whipped cream. Chef David Waltuck shared the recipe for this rich cake with Martha. View Recipe 18 of 29 Mile-High Apple Pie Kate Mathis Flaky pâte brisée pastry encases three different kinds of apples in this favorite pie. Martha says this dessert tastes even better the day after it has been baked. View Recipe 19 of 29 Mile-High Lemon Pie A whimsical pie that sets the bar high for taste and appearance: It has a zesty lemon filling, a flaky pâte brisée base, and a glossy Swiss meringue crown. View Recipe 20 of 29 New York Crumb Cake Martha got this recipe for New York Crumb Cake from her friend Sara Foster, owner of Foster's Market in Durham, North Carolina. View Recipe 21 of 29 Peach-Blueberry Cobbler Fresh peaches and blueberries are baked beneath a fluffy layer of vanilla-cream biscuits. The tops are brushed with heavy cream and sprinkled with sanding sugar for a crispy-sweet crunch. View Recipe 22 of 29 Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake The crumb "topping" on this beautiful cake actually ends up on the bottom. Each bite has a surprisingly crunchy texture. View Recipe 23 of 29 Pear Brown Bettys A Betty is a spiced fruit dessert with buttered breadcrumbs or a cake-crumb topping that turns golden brown as it cooks. Martha's individual Bettys have two layers of Bartlett pears. In between and on top is a blend of torn sourdough bread, butter, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a splash of apple cider. View Recipe 24 of 29 Blueberry Crumble Bryan Gardner A crumble is a blend of berries or other fruit with a textured sugary topping. The blueberry filling gets thick from added cornstarch. This is perfect with vanilla ice cream, the ultimate summer dessert. View Recipe 25 of 29 Martha's Peach Buckle Mike Krautter A buckle is a decadent dessert hybrid of cake and cobbler together. Thin peach slices are covered with a soft dough that bakes into a delicious crust. Serve with whipped cream. View Recipe 26 of 29 Apple Pandowdy Bryan Gardner Usually sweetened with brown sugar or molasses, a pandowdy is a fruit dessert that's closely related to a pie though without the bottom crust. In this version, the pie crust is cut up (rather than broken partway through) and arranged over the apples for baking. View Recipe 27 of 29 Berry Grunt A classic grunt is a dumpling-topped fruit dessert that's cooked on the stove; it is often called a slump. Martha's grunt has blackberries and raspberries that are simmered together. Then dollops of ginger-spiked dumpling batter are added to the pan, to steam in berry juice. Give everyone a dumpling and a splash of heavy cream. View Recipe 28 of 29 Strawberry Shortcake Stefan Anderson Like most of us, Martha adores strawberry shortcake. The combination of sugared fresh fruit, sweet biscuit, and whipped cream makes for a delightful jumble of contrasting tastes, textures, and flavors in every spoonful. View Recipe 29 of 29 Sour-Cherry Pistachio Crisp Dana Gallagher A crisp is a baked concoction of sweetened fruit with a crumbly topping. This favorite version from Martha has more than a pound and a half of pitted sour cherries. The topping includes oats, pistachios, and the traditional brown sugar, butter, and flour. The result is a fruit dessert that's tangy, sugary, and has lots of crunch. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit