Easy Dessert Recipes for Every Season

Easy dessert recipes are what I make most at home, and these are the ones my family asks for by name. I'm a classically trained chef, but most of what's here doesn't need pastry school; it needs a fridge, a 9x13 pan, and a little patience while things set.

You'll find no-bake icebox pies, fruit crisps and dump cakes, one-pan cookies and bars, old-fashioned holiday baking like pizzelles and nut roll, homemade candy, frozen treats, and sous vide cheesecakes in jars.

Start with the No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie. It's the most popular dessert on this site, and my daughter makes it for every family birthday.

No oven!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

A few hours in the fridge, and the slice everyone asks for at birthdays.

Get the Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

No-Bake Desserts and Icebox Pies

No-bake desserts set up in the fridge while you do something else. Give anything with cream cheese or pudding layers at least 4 hours, or overnight, so it slices clean.

Fruit Pies, Crisps, and Dump Cakes

This is where I cook by the season: rhubarb in spring, black raspberries in July, and frozen fruit the rest of the year. Dump cakes are the easy entry point; the pie crust is the one to learn once and use for life.

Easy Cakes, Cookies, and Bars

These are the bake sale and potluck recipes; one pan, pantry ingredients, and they travel well. The banana cake starts with a box of cake mix, so it's a good first bake for kids.

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Pizzelles, Nut Roll, and Old-Fashioned Holiday Baking

This is the baking that fills Christmas cookie trays and Fat Tuesday doughnut pans. Pizzelles need a pizzelle iron; the nut roll and fastnachts are yeast doughs, so give yourself a full day.

Kentucky Bourbon Balls

Five ingredients, no oven, and the easiest homemade holiday gift on this page.

Make the Bourbon Balls

Chocolate-covered truffles topped with pecan pieces, reminiscent of classic bourbon balls, are arranged on a sheet of brown parchment paper on a wooden surface.

Homemade Candy, Truffles, and Edible Gifts

Candy sounds fussy, but most of these need a microwave or a double boiler, not a candy thermometer. The caramels are the exception; use a thermometer and pull them at the exact temperature in the recipe.

Ice Cream, Slushies, and Frozen Treats

Frozen desserts are my answer to a hot kitchen in July. If you churn with a Cuisinart, freeze the bowl overnight at minimum; a half-frozen bowl gives you soup.

Sous Vide Cheesecakes and Custards in Jars

Sous vide is the most forgiving way I know to cook cheesecake and creme brulee; the water bath holds one exact temperature, so you don't get cracked tops or curdled custard. Small jars give you built-in portions.

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Find what you're looking for:

Can I make these recipes ahead of time?

Most of them, yes. The no-bake pies and icebox desserts need at least 4 hours in the fridge anyway, so make them the night before. Cookies, bars, pizzelles, and bourbon balls all hold well in an airtight container, and most freeze for up to 3 months.

How long do no-bake desserts keep in the fridge?

Desserts made with cream cheese, pudding, or whipped topping keep 3 to 4 days covered in the fridge at 40F or below. Don't leave them out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's above 90F outside.

Is it safe to cook cheesecake and custard with sous vide?

Yes, if you follow the time and temperature in each recipe and don't shorten the bath. When the jars come out, chill them in an ice bath and get them into the fridge within 2 hours.

What's the difference between a dump cake, a crisp, and a crumble?

A dump cake is dry cake mix layered over fruit and butter with no stirring. A crisp has a streusel topping with oats, and a crumble usually skips the oats. In practice, a lot of American recipes use the two names interchangeably.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

Every other dessert recipe on the site, newest first.