Sweets for an American dinner

I baked (mostly) typically American goodies for the holiday (all these recipe tests are for the upcoming "Boston Globe Cookbook").

I began with carrot cake. I forgot how much I like this confection and how easy it is to put together. I use to make it for birthday parties and shape a little bunch of almond-paste orange-colored carrots for decoration. This one was plain, but very good.

Then Greek wedding cookies, which are essentially shortbread generously dusted with confectioners' sugar. There's a great version of these at Esperia Grill, a Greek Cheap Eats restaurant in Brighton Center, made by co-owner Georgia Athanasiadis. Those were followed by brownies studded with chocolate chips (not great beauties, but divine).

Finally, old-fashioned hermits. These are chewy, sweet with raisins, very spicy. I was raised on hermits, which New England sailors took to sea because they lasted so long in tins. Ours did not. They went to various neighbors, who cheer when they see me at my front door, arms loaded with foil packets.