From cake pops to cookies to chocolate-dipped Oreos, these simple recipes are garuanteed to impress. Perfect for get-togethers, potlucks, or just a midnight snack 🙂
Easy Dessert Recipes & Ideas
Some of these treats are quicker than others, but they’re all easy, and the prep time is minimal. From cake pops and cookie bars to caramel lasagna, all of these desserts can be made with helpful store-bought shortcuts, like pre-made pie crusts and instant pudding. You might be looking for something simple to take along to a playdate or just something for a midweek sugar craving. Either way, this list of 32 easy desserts has plenty to choose from.
1. Easy Dark Chocolate Billionaires
Making bite-sized candies is a lovely way to serve up something sweet without having to create extra dishes. Served in mini-cupcake liners, they just need a nice plate or platter, and your guests can have as many as they like. Combining melted caramels with Rice Krispies and pecans makes for a sweet and crunchy filling. After dipping in chocolate, try sprinkling a little sea salt on top.
2. Easy Homemade Caramel Corn
You may have made caramel in the past and wondered how that thick liquid gold could cover caramel without making a mess. The trick is to use baking soda toward the end of cooking. The caramel will bubble up as it aerates and will be so much easier to mix through the caramel. Spread your caramel popcorn on a Silpat mat to cool and store in an air-tight container in a cool place.Â
3. Quick and Easy Baklava Squares
If you’ve ever made Baklava, you know it can be messy and time-consuming. There are fewer layers with this simplified version, and you don’t need to worry about making sugar syrups. Simply butter your pastry and fill it with a nut and honey mixture for all the same flavors with half of the work.
4. Chocolate Icebox Cookies
I almost always have some kind of cookie dough in the freezer. It’s great for those late-night cravings! This recipe is super easy, using pantry staples you no doubt have at home already. When the dough is made, bake off the cookies you need and roll the rest. Wrap and freeze for up to three months. When the mood strikes, pull your cookie dough log out and slice off a few cookies to bake right from frozen!
5. Reese’s Heavenly Peanut Butter Trifle Recipe
Trifle might not come to mind when thinking of easy desserts. With layers of fruit, custard, sponge, and jelly, it’s quite the show-stopper. Well, this recipe is still super impressive and delicious. It just uses a few nice little short cuts. Boxed brownies, instant pudding, and Cool Whip are used to cut your prep time down to just 20 minutes. When the brownie pieces and peanut butter pudding get layered with peanut butter cups and topped with Cool Whip, your dish will look like it took hours to make.
6. Cake Mix Cookie Bars
Using cake mix as a shortcut is my favorite little cheat, even when I’m not in a rush. It contains everything you would need anyway and makes for super moist cookie bars. They’re great for a mid-week snack, served warm after dinner with ice cream, or just when you need something sweet in a pinch. From start to finish, they take less than 30 minutes!
7. Pink Lemonade Popsicles
With just four ingredients, you can make up a batch of these sweet and refreshing popsicles. Using a simple syrup of water and sugar will help cut through the sour notes from the raspberries and lemon, but you can cut that back a little if you like the tartness. These would be great with chunks of fresh raspberry dotted inside.Â
8. Apple Brown Betty
This recipe is like apple crisp. The main difference being the lack of oats in the topping. Once baked, it’s more like a spiced shortbread crumb. You might be thinking anything like this is a little involved, but it’s pretty straightforward. Be sure to slice the apples thin so that they cook through. The topping can be made with a pastry cutter or by rubbing the butter into the flour with your fingers. You need not worry about lumps. They will melt into the apples during the bake.Â
9. Easy Homemade Fudgesicles
I should want you that these are dangerous. You’ll be making what is basically a chocolate pudding, though there are no tempering eggs to worry about! Just mix everything in a pot and stir until thick. The worst part is waiting for them to cool!
10. Lemon Icebox Cake
This super simple cake is made up of layers of graham crackers and lemon pudding. The pudding is lightened up with Cool Whip, making it creamy and easier to spread. After a few hours in the fridge, the graham crackers will just about start to soften, so that you can slice and serve.
11. Cookiedilla
This monster cookie is the kind of thing you make on a Friday night. It’s the end of the week, and you deserve a treat! Bake off two large disks of store-bought cookie dough (you can press it into a baking dish if you want it nicely round). When it’s lovely and golden, top one half with marshmallow cream and chocolate sauce. Press the cookie discs to make a sandwich and be careful with the drips!
12. Lemon Drop Cookies
These shortbread-style cookies are melt-in-your-mouth good. Beat the butter with the powdered sugar until smooth, and then gently stir in the flour, cornstarch, and lemon zest. Be careful not to overwork the dough. If you like your cookies with a crunch, bake for 11 minutes until the edges start to turn brown. For a shorter crumb, take out before the edges start to color, which will be around nine minutes, depending on your oven.Â
13. Root Beer Float Cupcakes
The root beer flavor is unmistakable in these babies. With root beer extract and root beer in the batter and frosting, there’s no escaping it. The soda will make the cupcakes light as air and wonderfully flavored. Use the root beer as you would milk for the frosting. Add it a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
14. Simple Oatmeal Cookie Jam Bars
I make something like this at least once a month. In fact, I’m eating a shortbread and raspberry jam bar with my coffee as I type! The crumb mix here is a combination of brown sugar, oats, flour, and butter. Press the base into a firm bottom, reserving the rest to sprinkle over the top of the jam. I love the flavor of blackberry jam here. It mixes so well with the caramel flavored oat crust. They take just 10 minutes to make, but be sure to let them cool before cutting. That jam will be hot!
15. Easy Buckeye Recipe
Crazy easy and delicious, these little bites are perfect sweet treats. They’re sort of like mini-peanut butter cookie dough balls, just made without the flour. Once the peanut butter and butter are nice and smooth, you will beat in brown sugar, vanilla, and powdered sugar. So in a way, it’s like a thick frosting! Once firm, you’ll dip them in dark chocolate for simple peanut butter cup alternatives.
16. Disney Dole Whip Recipe
Disney did lockdown right by posting all those fantastic recipes we all love! Did you try the grilled cheese?? Anyway, recreating this pineapple soft serve at home couldn’t be easier. Just blend vanilla ice cream with frozen pineapple and pineapple juice until smooth. Yup, that’s it! Just scoop and serve.
17. Cherry-Chocolate Pudgy Pie
Sometimes, dessert can be as simple as a grilled sandwich. Have you ever tried an Elvis Sandwich? It’s to die for! This version of a sweet grilled sandwich uses canned pie filling, chopped almonds, and chocolate chips. This recipe uses cherry pie filling, but you could use your favorite. I think blueberry pie filling with some white chocolate chips would be amazing.
18. Microwave Peanut Brittle
You read that right. Peanut brittle can be made in the microwave. There’s no need for any fancy equipment or candy thermometers here! Just make sure you have your oven mitts handy because the bowl gets very hot. Microwave the sugar and corn syrup for four minutes before adding the peanuts. After three more minutes, you will need to stir in the baking soda. When pouring on your tray, make sure you have it prepared beforehand and try to spread it relatively thin.Â
19. Samoa Dessert Lasagna
Although this dessert is made up of four different layers, none of them are too complicated, and the whole thing comes together in around 25 minutes. Start with a Nilla Wafer and coconut crust. Top with caramel, chocolate pudding, faux-cheesecake, and some extra caramel and chocolate drizzle. You don’t even have to make the caramel! Buy pre-made in the store to save time.Â
20. No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie
I love no-bake recipes. They have all the flavor and half of the work! This pie has just six ingredients, one of which is a ready-made graham cracker crust. Everything else gets blended together and poured into the crust before freezing for a few hours. I think it would be extra decadent with chopped peanut butter cups scattered over the top.Â
21. Chocolate Dipped Oreos
We all have a box of Oreos in the pantry, plus some random chocolate tucked away. These might be simple, but they’re super cute and will go fast. You could even make a sweet plate using golden Oreos and white chocolate.
22. Oreo S’mores In The Oven
Because S’mores aren’t just for the summer anymore! If you have Oreos, marshmallows, chocolate, and five minutes, you’ll have a lightning-fast, easy dessert. Line a tray and place a marshmallow on half of each Oreo. Broil until it starts to color, around 30 seconds. Add the lid and enjoy!
23. Cake Balls
Ever since they exploded onto the scene, I’ve had a deep love of all things cake pops! Soft, sweet, and covered in chocolate, they are effortless and delicious. These cake balls are just cake pops without the pop. They’re more like little truffles made with crumbled cake and frosting. Switch things up with any cake and frosting combination, and add different sprinkles for a fun plate.
24. Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
I have a slight obsession with bananas… and peanut butter… and chocolate. So naturally, these frozen bites are a staple in my house. An even easier version is to cut your banana in half lengthways and dip in chocolate once frozen. After all, you won’t be just eating one or two.Â
25. Easy Hershey’s Chocolate Pie
This silky smooth pie is much like the no-bake peanut butter pie from number 20. Instead of a graham cracker base, this pie uses an Oreo crumb crust, which you can buy ready-made. The filling is straightforward, mixing melted chocolate and Cool Whip. Top with extra Cool Whip and some chocolate shavings.Â
26. 5-Ingredient Vegan Coconut Chocolate Bars
Coconut is truly the star of this show. With coconut flakes, coconut oil, and coconut cream, this base is fresh, smooth, and wonderfully flavored. The layer of dark chocolate on top balances out the light coconut for a fabulous no-bake bar that is vegan and gluten-free.
27. Easy 3-Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
Though uncomplicated, these can be quite sticky, mixing coconut, vanilla, and condensed milk. When you have the mix ready, try spooning it into these wafer papers. They are designed explicitly for sticky doughs and don’t taste like anything. These are lovely by themselves, but a drizzle of chocolate wouldn’t hurt.Â
28. Easy Apple Dumplings
Crescent rolls have to be one of the most versatile staples you can have in your pantry. Used for pizza, rolls, dumplings, and more, they work for savory and sweet alike. Just wrap some apple slices in the crescent rolls and cover them with spiced butter and brown sugar syrup. Don’t be afraid of the Mountain Dew on the ingredient list! I know it might seem crazy, but it works.
29. 2-Ingredient Pineapple Coconut Sorbet
Ok, so if you choose to add the maple syrup, it’s technically a three-ingredient pineapple coconut sorbet. But that’s still pretty impressive! All you have to do is blitz everything until smooth and freeze for at least three hours. Using coconut milk makes it vegan, and you could even top with toasted coconut.
30. Rolo Pretzel Turtles
With the holidays fast approaching, I’m on the lookout for cute little treats to add to my cookie gift boxes. These are the perfect additions and so easy to recreate. Just top some pretzels with Rolos and bake for a few minutes until they start to melt. Sandwich with a pecan and let cool. The salty pretzel pairs well with both the caramel, chocolate, and pecans.
31. Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge – Just 3 Ingredients!
Another great option for sweet gifts, or just for something sweet to have at home, this fudge is super simple. Microwave the peanut butter and butter until melted and smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar until it thickens. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and let it cool completely before cutting!
32. Nutella Mug Cake
Mug cakes can be hit or miss, but the trick is to be careful when cooking. Microwaves are different, so 30 seconds in mine might be too much in yours. I like to cook my mug cakes for 30 seconds and check on them. Then do 10-second intervals until it’s ready. Top with an extra dollop of Nutella and maybe some Cool Whip if you have it. Click on a star to rate it!
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