The world of desserts opens its sweet arms full of easy dessert recipes you can hold whenever you’re in the mood for something lovely. These are the best tools for you. Be it hosting a last minute dinner party, craving some sweetness, or looking to make up a treat with very few ingredients, these speedy dessert recipes will save you. Here, we focus on a series of easy dessert ideas that will excite your taste buds without making you spend hours in the kitchen.
Why You Need Quick Dessert Recipes in Your Repertoire
Easy dessert recipes are the must-haves for those always raring for sweet treats but mostly not in a condition to bake sophisticated desserts. The quick and easy dessert recipes are the best solution to:
- Unexpected Guests: Friends who live in the neighborhood or go uninvited to the family, when they show up “quick desserts” will be the magic phrase that turns an uncomfortable situation into a pleasant one.
- Cravings: On the occasions when you want something sweet, these types of desserts are a good option, as they will satisfy your cravings.
- Beginner Bakers: If you are just getting started with your baking, starting with easy dessert recipes is a good thing because it will help build confidence and skills for you in the kitchen.
If you’re a wannabe dessert chef who wants to rock the basics first, you might want to visit baking basics and tips from King Arthur Baking, to make sure your desserts always come out perfect.
If you are looking for a quick sweet recipe, that means you are probably in a hurry but here you will find five delicious ones to enjoy.
1. Microwave Mug Cake
- Why it’s great: Besides mug cakes in microwaves being fast and easy, the thing I love most about them is that you ‘ll only have to play for a few minutes before the longing gets to enjoy your newly made gooey cake.
- Ingredients: Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, milk, oil, vanilla extract.
- Steps: There you have it, the dry ingredients with the mug. You can now add the mixture wet the ingredients and stir it until a smooth texture is achieved. Microwave the cake for around a minute or two and you will get a soft and gelled cake.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a mug.
- Add the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.
- Microwave for 1-2 minutes, and enjoy a warm, gooey cake.
2. No-Bake Cheesecake
- Why it’s great: The most delicious thing ever is this no-bake cheesecake which is not only incredibly velvety but also doesn’t require baking.
- Ingredients: Cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, whipped cream, graham crackers.
- Steps:Combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and sweeten the mixture if necessary by gently folding it through the whipped cream. Step the crushed graham cracker crumbs into the dish then pour the mixture on top. Cool before serving.
- Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Fold in whipped cream.
- Press crushed graham crackers into a dish and pour the cheesecake mixture on top.
- Chill for a few hours before serving.
For those who are interested in the science behind no-bake desserts, and why they are highly successful, check out The Science of No-Bake Desserts on Serious Eats.
3. Banana Pudding
- Why it’s great: This banana pudding is a Southern-style dessert that is both simple and yummy.
- Ingredients: Vanilla pudding mix, bananas, vanilla wafers, whipped cream.
- Steps:Although the pudding can simply be mixed according to the instructions, it’s the best of such combos to be desirable as it is layered sliced bananas, and wafers in bowl and afterwards, topping with whipped cream and chill the pudding before serving.
- Prepare the pudding according to the package instructions.
- Layer pudding, sliced bananas, and wafers in a dish.
- Top with whipped cream and chill before serving.
4. Berry Crumble Pots
- Why it’s great: Berry Crumble Pots are easily customizable dishes that can be made with any berry in your fridge.
- Ingredients: Berry blend, sugar, flour, butter.
- Steps:Toss berries with sugar and place in ramekins.Mix the flour with the sugar, and butter to make the crumble topping.Sprinkle the crumble over the berries and bake until golden.
- Toss berries with sugar and place in ramekins.
- Mix flour, sugar, and butter to make a crumble topping.
- Sprinkle the crumble over the berries and bake until golden.
5. Chocolate Drop Cookies
- Why it’s great: These chocolate drop cookies are not only easy but also a great way to indulge in your favorite flavors by adding different substitutions.
- Ingredients: Flour, cocoa powder, sugar, eggs, butter, chocolate chips.
- Steps:Blend the dry ingredients.Add eggs and melted butter to form a dough.Stir in chocolate chips and drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet.Bake until set.
- Mix the dry ingredients.
- Add eggs and melted butter to form a dough.
- Stir in chocolate chips and drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet.
- Bake until set.
Delicious Desserts with 5 Ingredients or Less
Sometimes, the best easy dessert recipes are the ones that are prepared with minimal effort. These fast-fix dessert recipes come with only a few components, yet they are highly flavored.
1. Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
- Why it’s great: These are the peanut butter kiss cookies that everyone thinks of when they are kids, and it’s the chocolate that really does it.
- Ingredients: Peanut butter, sugar, egg, chocolate kisses.
- Steps:Mix peanut butter, sugar, and egg to form a dough.Roll into balls and bake.Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie while warm.
- Mix peanut butter, sugar, and egg to form a dough.
- Roll into balls and bake.
- Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie while warm.
2. Chocolate Mousse
- Why it’s great: This is one of the variations of easy chocolate mousse and the crowning version. It is thick, rich, and luxurious, yet a very simple four-component procedure is applied.
- Ingredients: Chocolate, cream, sugar, vanilla extract.
- Steps:Melt chocolate and let it cool slightly.Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.Fold the chocolate into the whipped cream and chill before serving.
- Melt chocolate and let it cool slightly.
- Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Fold the chocolate into the whipped cream and chill before serving.
3. Frozen Banana Pops
- Why it’s great: Frozen banana pops are famous as a healthy alternative and you can also have fun creating them. This makes them a favorite among schoolchildren.
- Ingredients: Bananas, chocolate, sprinkles.
- Steps: Place bananas into a mold and insert a popsicle stick. Dip in melted chocolate and sprinkle with toppings. Freeze until solid.
- Slice the bananas and push a popsicle stick through them.
- Saturated in the melted chocolate and candy, then it is added.
- Put extra in the freezer so it turns into ice.
4. Espresso Martini No-Bake Cheesecake
- Why it’s great: Coffee and dessert, this martini cheesecake brings together the best of both worlds, making it a must-try for coffee aficionados.
- Ingredients: Cream cheese, sugar, espresso, whipped cream, graham crackers.
- Steps: Pour cream cheese with sugar and espresso. Insert whipped cream and layer it over the graham cracker crust. Chill before serving.
- Mix cream cheese with sugar and espresso.
- Fold in whipped cream and layer over graham cracker crust.
- Chill before serving.
5. Chocolate Billionaires
- Why it’s great: The chocolate billionaires are over the top and obscenely indulgent — really, they are only a few ingredients to make.
- Ingredients: Chocolate, caramel, rice cereal, pecans.
- Steps: Combine chocolate and caramel melt together. Throw in rice cereal and pecans. Use a spoon to put them onto wax paper and let them harden.
- Melt chocolate and caramel together.
- Stir in rice cereal and pecans.
- Drop spoonfuls onto wax paper and let set.
Creative and Unique Dessert Ideas
For those of you who are planning to participate and want to be one of the best hosts ever, these and some other creative dessert recipes will be such a cheat sheet they will help.
1. Funfetti Cookies
- Why it’s great: Funfetti cookies are the ideal party treat because they bring a rainbow decoration to any dessert table.
- Ingredients: Sugar, butter, eggs, flour, sprinkles.
- Steps: Cream sugar, butter, and eggs together. Add flour and mix the sprinkles in. Shape into balls and bake till they turn golden.
- Beat sugar together with eggs and butter.
- Add flour and mix it with sprinkles.
- Roll out the dough to be little balls and bake according to coloring to golden.
- Why it’s great: This PB&J snack cake brings back nostalgic flavors in a new and fun way of dessert.
- Ingredients: Peanut butter, jelly, flour, sugar, eggs.
- Steps: Blend peanut butter together with sugar and eggs. Mix in flour and jelly thoroughly and stir through the batter. Continue to bake until set and serve warm.
- Combine peanut butter, sugar, and eggs.
- Stir in flour and then add jelly through the batter.
- Bake until set and enjoy the warm taste.
3. Cookies & Cream Rice Krispies Treats
- Why it’s great: These delicious Cookies & Cream Rice Krispies Treats by adding cream and cookies to the original, Rice Krispies are still a thing, very funky.
- Ingredients: Rice cereal, marshmallows, butter, chocolate sandwich cookies.
- Steps:Melt the butter and marshmallows together (in a microwave or stove/tpot). Add the rice cereal and crushed cookies, stir, and pour into a pan. before cutting it let it rest and become thick.
- Melt butter and marshmallows together.
- Stir in rice cereal and crushed cookies.
- Press into a pan and let set before cutting.
4. White Chocolate Cheesecake
- Why it’s great: This white chocolate cheesecake is a simple and yet enough dessert, which will make your beloved one cry after the first bite.
- Ingredients: White chocolate, cream cheese, sugar, whipped cream, graham crackers.
- Steps: Melt white chocolate and then apart from it, cream cheese and sugar. Add them to each other, and then add the whipped cream and pour over graham cracker crust. Freeze and then enjoy pre-service.
- Melt white chocolate and mix with cream cheese and sugar.
- Fold in whipped cream and pour over a graham cracker crust.
- Chill before serving.
5. Hummingbird Cake
- Why it’s great: Hummingbird cake is a Southern classic that’s relatively easy filled with tropical flavors like pineapple and banana.
- Ingredients: Flour, sugar, eggs, pineapple, bananas, pecans.
- Steps: Mix flour, sugar, and eggs with mashed bananas and crushed pineapple. Stir in pecans and bake until golden. Frost with cream cheese icing and serve.
- Mix flour, sugar, and eggs with mashed bananas and crushed pineapple.
- Stir in pecans and bake until golden.
- Frost with cream cheese icing and serve.
1. No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Why it’s great: This no-bake pumpkin cheesecake is ideal for the autumn season when pumpkin flavors and spices blend in a creamy dessert.
- Ingredients: Pumpkin puree, cream cheese, sugar, whipped cream, graham crackers.
- Steps:Mix pumpkin puree with cream cheese and sugar. With the rest of the whipped cream together, pour it out as well over a graham cracker base. Put it in the fridge to cool.
- Mix pumpkin puree with cream cheese and sugar.
- Fold in whipped cream and pour over a graham cracker crust.
- Chill before serving.
2. S’mores Bars
- Why it’s great: These s’mores bars bring the taste of a campfire treat that has been moved indoors, no fire needed.
- Ingredients: Graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate.
- Steps:Spread the layers of graham crackers, chocolate, and finally marshmallows in a pan. Slide it in the oven until the cheese gets gooey. Put it in the fridge before slicing it into bars.
- Layer graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows in a pan.
- Melt in the oven until gooey.
- Chill before cutting into bars.
3. Milk ‘N’ Cookies Icebox Cake
- Why it’s great: This milk ‘n’ cookies icebox cake is a fun and easy dessert that requires no baking.
- Ingredients: Pieces of chocolate chips bakes, milk, created cream.
- Steps:Dip cookies in milk and layer in a dish.Spread whipped cream between layers.Chill before serving.
- Dip cookies in milk and layer in a dish.
- Spread whipped cream between layers.
- Chill before serving.
4. Salted Chocolate & Hazelnut Brownies
- Why it’s great: These salted chocolate & hazelnut brownies are rich and indulgent, with a perfect balance of sweet and salty.
- Ingredients: Used triple chocolate, nuts, sugar, and butter.
- Steps:Melt chocolate and butter together.Stir in sugar and hazelnuts.Pour into a pan and chill before cutting.
- Melt chocolate and butter together.
- Stir in sugar and hazelnuts.
- Pour into a pan and chill before cutting.
5. Banana Bear S’mores
- Why it’s great: These banana bear s’mores are a creative twist on the classic s’more, using bananas for added flavor.
- Ingredients: Bananas, chocolate, graham biscuits, marshmallows.
- Steps:Slice bananas and layer with chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers.Microwave until gooey.Serve immediately.
- Slice bananas and layer with chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers.
- Microwave until gooey.
- Serve right away
FAQs: Common Questions About Easy Dessert Recipes
What are some quick dessert ideas for beginners?
- Microwave mug cakes and no-bake cheesecakes are perfect for beginners due to their simplicity and quick preparation.
Can I make dessert without an oven?
- Absolutely! Try no-bake cheesecakes, s’mores bars, or milk ‘n’ cookies icebox cakes for delicious oven-free desserts.
What are some healthy dessert options?
- Frozen banana pops and fruit-based desserts like berry crumble pots are healthier choices that don’t compromise on taste. For more ideas, check out these healthy dessert alternatives on EatingWell.
How can I make a dessert with only 3 ingredients?
- Peanut butter kiss cookies and chocolate mousse are great examples of simple desserts that use just a few ingredients.
What are some kid-friendly dessert recipes?
- Funfetti cookies and cookies & cream rice krispies treats are always a hit with kids, making dessert time both fun and delicious.
Conclusion and Final Tips
Incorporating easy dessert recipes into your cooking repertoire is a surefire way to ensure you’re always prepared to satisfy a sweet craving or impress guests with minimal effort. These quick dessert recipes are designed to be simple yet delicious, allowing you to create something special without spending hours in the kitchen.
Remember, the key to mastering these easy dessert recipes is to have fun and experiment with flavors and ingredients. Whether you’re making a classic no-bake cheesecake or trying something new like banana bear s’mores, these simple dessert ideas are guaranteed to please.