Sweeten your July 4 gathering with some tasty treats

For the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse the processor until the mixture resembles fine sand. Remove the lid and add the ice water to the mixture. Run the processor just until the mixture rolls itself into a little ball. If the mixture is a bit dry, add more ice water by the tablespoonful until it comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. With a bench scraper or knife, divide the mixture evenly in half. Shape each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

Cook's note: At this point you can keep the wrapped dough in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for later use.

For the filling: In a saucepan, combine the pitted cherries and 1 cup water over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Using a whisk, swirl the ingredients together, making sure that there aren't any lumps in the cornstarch. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and lemon zest to the cherries. Cook the cherry mixture until it comes to a rolling boil. Cook 1 minute more, until thickened. Allow the cherry filling to cool slightly while you prepare the crust.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 24 cup mini muffin tin or 2 (12 cup) mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

Roll the dough disks out into 10-inch rounds on a well-floured work surface. With a 1 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, edge lightly dipped in flour, cut 24 rounds from the first rolled out disk. With a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, edge lightly dipped in flour, cut 24 rounds from the second rolled out disk. You should have a total of 24 (1 1/2-inch) rounds and 24 (2-inch) rounds for matching top and bottom crusts.

Gently fit the 2-inch dough rounds into the bottom of the prepared mini muffin tin. Make sure to pat down the bottom and the excess coming up the sides. Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon cooled pie filling into each crust-lined cup. Fit the top of each mini pie with a 1 1/2-inch dough round, pushing down gently and sealing the bottom crust and top crust by crimping the edges together with a fork. With a sharp paring knife, make 3 small incisions on the top crust, to allow the steam to escape.

Bake until the edges are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 12 minutes.

Allow to cool on a wire rack, and then remove from the muffin tin.

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking sheet (otherwise known as a quarter sheet pan) with some cooking spray.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or you can use a food processor), cream your butter with the sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy. Whisk the flour and salt in a small bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Turn the mixer speed to low, add the flour into your butter and mix until just incorporated. (Make sure not to over-mix.) Turn the dough onto the baking sheet, flour your hands and press it out evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Pop in the fridge for an hour (or overnight) to chill.

Pop the crust in the oven and bake until a light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the filling: While the crust is cooling, make your filling. Crack your eggs into a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour. Whisk until combined. Pour into the crust and spread evenly. Put back in the oven and bake until the filling is completely set, about 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Dust with confectioners' sugar and then cut into 20 to 24 squares to serve. Garnish with raspberries, if desired.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil. You want to leave about 4 inches of overhang on the 2 opposite sides. These are going to serve as your handles to remove the bars from the pan in 1 piece, so make sure that there is enough of the overhang for you to have a solid grip. Grease the foil well with the softened butter.

In your food processor, grind the graham crackers into a fine meal (you need 2 cups). In a large bowl, combine your crumbs with the sugar, sea salt and melted butter. The mixture should look and feel like wet sand. Set aside a heaping 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping. Evenly press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom the foil-lined pan. Pop your crust into the oven and bake until it is golden brown and your kitchen smells of graham crackers, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack or on a dishtowel on your counter.

Melt the milk chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously until fully melted. Do not turn up the heat to hurry this process, you must keep it on low. Alternately, you can microwave the chocolate on low power, stirring after 2 minutes. Once the chocolate is fully melted, it's time to add the chipotle pepper powder, if using, and stir it in completely.

Preheat the broiler. Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled graham cracker crust. Spread the chocolate evenly over the crust with a butter knife. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate and press them lightly into the chocolate. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over and in between the marshmallows so that you cannot see the chocolate peaking through the marshmallows. Broil the bars 6 inches from the flame until the marshmallows are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

Refrigerate the bars until the chocolate is hard, 2 hours or so. Grab the ends of the foil liner and lift the bars out of the pan in 1 piece. Move to a cutting board and cut into 24 squares.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until it gets lighter in color. (You could also beat the butter by hand.) Slowly add in the sugars and keep beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add your egg and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture using the low speed, then mix in the chocolate chips and caramel candies.

Drop the dough onto your baking sheets using a 1 1/2-inch (1/2-ounce) ice cream scoop. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press down on the dough balls to flatten them to about 3 inches around. Pop in the oven and bake until golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes, and then let cool completely on wire racks.

Now to make the ice cream sandwiches. Line baking sheets with foil. Use a 2 1/2-inch ice cream scoop to drop the ice cream onto the flat half of half your cookies. Cover the ice cream with the remaining cookies. Get the ice cream oozed out to the edges of the cookies by pressing them together gently. Roll the sides of the ice cream sandwiches in the crushed pretzels, making sure the pretzels stick. Place on the prepared baking sheets lined and freeze until ready to serve, at least a half hour.