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10 indulgent dessert recipes you can whip up in no time

Kim Renta
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Dessert: seven little letters that combine to make something that’s so sweet and satisfying. A meal just wouldn’t be a meal without dessert. From cakes to cookies, puddings to pies, ice cream to fruit bowls, desserts can be hot and bubbly, cold and refreshing, decadent, and even healthy. 

Some dessert recipes take finesse, lots of time, and dozens of ingredients. But if you’re looking for something with all the sweetness you crave without all the time or effort, you’ll want to savor these decadent desserts. Here are 10 delicious and quick dessert recipes that don’t take any time at all to make.

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Chocolate chip cookie dough

The 411 on desserts

What is the simplest type of dessert? Practically speaking, fruit is the absolute simplest — and healthiest — dessert you can eat. Whether it’s a bowl of berries, a slice of watermelon, or a big juicy peach, fresh fruit is naturally sweet and delicious. Of course, there are plenty of recipes that feature fruit as the star, but for a super quick and easy dessert, fresh fruit in its natural state is a timeless choice.

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When it comes to desserts that make Americans say “more please,” these are the 10 most popular, according to Eat This, Not That!

  1. Chocolate chip cookies
  2. Apple pie
  3. Cheesecake
  4. Pecan pie
  5. Carrot cake
  6. Ice cream
  7. Boston cream pie
  8. Banana pudding
  9. Baked Alaska
  10. Buckeyes

Americans have their top 10 desserts, and each of us has a personal favorite, but on a global scale, the world’s number one dessert is crème brûlée. This exotic dessert originated in France in the 17th century and has been loved and devoured around the world ever since. A creamy custard served in individually sized ramekins, crème brûlée features a chilled surface sprinkled with a little sugar and burned with a crème brûlée torch to melt the sugar into a solid, brittle crust.

10 quick dessert recipes that are so easy to make

We’ve pulled together 10 deliciously indulgent dessert recipes that you can whip up in no time!

Easy Key Lime Pie

This refreshing, citrusy, no-bake pie includes just five ingredients. It’s easy enough for a weeknight treat and special enough to take to a friend’s house for dinner.

Irish Cream Poke Cake

There are poke cakes with fruity fillings, chocolate fillings, and more, but this poke cake recipe is spiked with Irish coffee flavor for a rich and flavorful, adult-only dessert.

Bananas in Caramel Sauce

This recipe is unbelievably fast and easy — just five minutes of prep time, 10 minutes to cook, and only four simple ingredients. It’s best served when the sauce is hot and bubbly. Spoon over ice cream (coconut ice cream really takes it up a notch) for the perfect dessert.  

Five-Minute Ice Cream

Who said that there’s no quick way to make delicious, high-quality ice cream? This frozen fruit-based treat is proof positive that you can. This recipe calls for frozen strawberries, but you can swap them out for pretty much any other fruit you have on hand. Simply combine frozen fruit and sugar in a food processor or blender, and process until fruit is roughly chopped. Add heavy cream slowly to the mix until fully incorporated, and serve immediately or freeze for up to one week. By the way, it’s just 258 calories per serving.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

This recipe is pure decadence in every bite and done in less than 30 minutes. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter with a Nutter Butter cookie crust is enough to satisfy even the most finicky sweet tooth. 

Quick Keto Chocolate Mousse

Craving something sweet? This keto-friendly mousse is ready in minutes. With such rich, chocolatey goodness, you only need a little to be satisfied.

No-Egg Chocolate Mug Cake

This simple chocolate mug cake uses flaked almonds and your microwave oven to make a yummy no-egg-needed cake. From start to finish, it’s done in just seven minutes. Finish with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar and a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream.

Skillet Cookie Sundae

What’s for dessert, cookies or an ice cream sundae? Why not have both in one? A cast-iron skillet gives this giant chocolate chip cookie crispy edges and a gooey, melt-in-your-mouth center. Top with ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream with a maraschino cherry on top.

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

There are a lot of challenges that crop up when you make cheesecake, but this no-bake version eliminates a lot of potential issues.

Contest-Winning Easy Tiramisu

This recipe uses snack-size vanilla pudding cups and instant coffee — talk about an inventive way to make a dessert the whole family is going to love. The whole thing is ready in under 10 minutes, so it’s perfect for a spur-of-the-moment sweet treat. 

We hope our easy-to-make recipes help prove to you that a dessert doesn’t have to be difficult to make to be decadent and delicious. Get creative, use ingredients you already have on hand, and satisfy your sweet tooth with a homemade dessert you can create in minutes. 

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Kim Renta
Kim Renta
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kim has written for Bloomingdales, Movado, and various e-commerce wine sites. When she's not writing about wine and…
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