Strawberries, Sour Cream & Brown Sugar

Well, we've showed you our best chocolate desserts from 2009, as well as our favorite baked treats. But what about all those other sweet things that aren't cake or cookies? Creamy ice cream, stewed plums with spices, apples stuffed with brown sugar, popsicles and dressed-up fruit — there are so many delicious ways to end a meal, and many of them are simpler and healthier than traditional desserts. Here's a look back at 25 desserts from 2009 that were a little different from the typical chocolate cake.

Photos above have captions with links to the pictured recipe.

Fruit Desserts
• Strawberries, Sour Cream & Brown Sugar
• Baked Apples with Cranberry Sauce
• Oatmeal-Brown Sugar Baked Apples
• Baked Persimmons
• Roasted Peaches with Dessert Wine
• Prunes Stewed in Port Wine
• How To Turn Watermelon Into a Full-Blown Dessert
• Poached Whole Plums with Brown Sugar Syrup
• How To Make Blood Orange Jelly Smiles

Ice Cream and Other Frozen Treats
• Brown Butter Ice Cream
• Balsamic Drizzled Ice Cream (Easiest Fanciest Dessert)
• Step-by-Step Instructions for One-Ingredient Ice Cream
• Herbed Ice Cream (In This Case, Rosemary, Served With Mulberries)
• Fresh Peach Frozen Yogurt with Only Four Ingredients
• Sour Cherry-Almond Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks
• Beer Float! With Hoppin' Frog Oatmeal-Imperial Stout
• Faloodeh (Persian Rose Water Ice)
• Strawberry-Yogurt Popsicles
• Cantaloupe Granita

Candy and Other Miscellaneous Sweets
• Caramel Popcorn
• Creamy Lime and Coconut Truffle Bites
• Candied Sweet Potato Marshmallows
• Che Dau Xanh (Vietnamese Dessert Soup With Mung Beans)
• The Best Waffle You'll Ever Eat: Gaufres de Liege
• Clean-Out-the-Freezer Strawberry Trifles

(Images: See linked posts for full image credits.)