We may love the dazzling caramel cages, gold leaf, and apricot coulis of restaurant desserts, but when we"re in our own kitchens, a blueberry pie is more likely to fill the bill. For birthdays, a tall devil"s food cake is still just the right thing. And during those precious weeks when fresh strawberries are available, who wants anything fancier than strawberry shortcake? Gingerbread cheers a friend home with the flu, and creamy rice pudding soothes the soul after a hard week at work. Here are more than 100 truly great American recipes that no home baker should be without: chocolate layer cakes and blueberry pie, cherry cobbler and apple pandowdy, lemon meringue and chocolate cream pie, baked custard and Indian pudding, chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread men, butterscotch pudding and baked apple dumplings. Enhanced with delightful anecdotes and historical tidbits culled from three centuries of cookery and housekeeping books, MOM"S BEST DESSERTS is a cookbook collector"s dream.