Chocolate

Easy and elegant. A store-bought pie crust is filled with brownie mix that has been given a lift with peppermint extract. Offer mint chip ice cream alongside, if you like.

While not exactly diet food, this mousse allows chocoholics to indulge and spares them calories from yolks, butter and cream.

Serve over vanilla ice cream and top with whipped cream.

Pretty ice cream treats, decorated five different ways. Turn the freezer to the coldest setting for best results. Pack the left-over ice cream into a container and freeze it to enjoy after the bonbons are gone. Begin this recipe at least a day ahead (and you can start up to a week ahead). Once you¸ve mastered the technique here, create bonbons of your own using other homemade ice creams or your favorite purchased ones.

"The recipes here reflect my British roots, but not necessarily my family traditions," writes Mairi Morrison of London, England. "Although my mother is from Scotland and my father is from Northern Ireland, I grew up in Los Angeles, where our weeknight meals were typically American: spaghetti, tacos, and burgers. It wasn't until I moved to Europe that I became really interested in food. Here in London my social life is centered around the table. I really like this dish because it is typically British, and perfect for a rainy winter evening in London." Make these ahead if you like (they will keep for a week in the fridge) or make them on a whim, since the recipe is so easy. Lyle's Golden Syrup is a popular British sweetener with a flavor that's similar to mild honey.

The trick to this gorgeous dessert is to use imported white chocolate and to melt it carefully, since white chocolate is extremely heat sensitive. Let the terrine mixture get only warm enough to melt the white chocolate and butter.

Whole eggs, angel food cake, light cream cheese and light sour cream bring the calorie count of this Italian dessert way down.

This recipe was adapted from Richard Sax's ricotta Bavarian, in his book Classic Home Desserts. The pudding's flavor is similar to cannoli filling, but it has the lightness of Bavarian cream. It's important to use fine-quality candied fruit.*

For another food editor 'tis the season to make shortbread. She adapted the following recipe from Richard Sax's Cookie Lover's Cookie Book. These cookies are out of this world.

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.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

These delectable treats can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. They're great to have on hand for snacks or for serving to unexpected company.

Active time: 45 minutes Start to finish: 5 hours

We call for English-style bitter orange marmalade (made with Seville oranges and often called Dundee) because other types made the ice cream too sweet and too soft. It's available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets. This recipe makes about a dozen more florentines than you'll need for the sandwiches, but it's a good idea to have extra in case one or two break — and the cookies are delicious even without the ice cream. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 7 hr (includes freezing)