Dessert duty doesn’t have to be complicated this holiday season, thanks to these easy recipes. These simple recipes take no more than 20 minutes of active time (but may need time to chill or bake, so plan ahead!) and serve at least six people, making them great options to bring to a party. With sweet treats like our Italian Love Cake and our Flaky Apple Pie Bars, you’ll impress every guest at this year’s holiday gatherings with minimal effort.
Italian Love Cake
Photos: Jason Donnelly, Food: Sammy Mila, Props: Breanna Ghazali.
Italian Love Cake is a layered dessert that uses simple ingredients, making it easy to whip up anytime. It starts with a rich chocolate devil’s food cake batter on the bottom and a sweet, creamy ricotta cheese layer on top. Once cooled, it’s finished with a fluffy chocolate pudding and whipped topping frosting.
High-Fiber Black Bean Brownies
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
These black bean brownies are everything you could possibly want—moist, rich and fudgy with big chocolate flavor. Black beans not only enhance the texture but also give these brownies a nutritional boost!
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood.
Mashed ripe bananas keep this cake moist, while ginger, cinnamon and cardamom add a fragrant, cozy depth. The tangy cream cheese frosting perfectly balances the sweetness and spice of the cake.
Flaky Apple Pie Bars
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Sylist: Kelsey Moylan, Prop Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
Grab your box of puff pastry for these easy and delicious apple pie bars. You can use any kind of nut you want like almonds or pecans. These bars are a great choice for a fall dessert and would be ideal for a Thanksgiving meal.
Pumpkin Trifle
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
We think this pumpkin trifle is the best dessert you’ll enjoy this fall, combining layers of pumpkin spice-flavored cake and a creamy pumpkin filling that captures the season perfectly. As a time-saving shortcut, we use vanilla pudding mixed with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice for the filling, making it both easy to prepare and delicious. This festive dessert is sure to be a hit for the holidays or at any autumn gathering!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy and, with only five simple ingredients, they can easily be whipped up by young chefs and enjoyed as an after-school treat. They’re also perfect for a holiday party or for a cookie swap.
Bingka Labu Kuning (Pumpkin Cake)
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Sylist: Sammy Mila, Prop Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
This Indonesian bingka labu kuning, or pumpkin cake, is a wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie. Once baked, it has a firm outer skin and a rich, custardy filling.
Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters
Photographer: Grant Webster, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Joseph Wanek
These bite-size dark chocolate almond clusters blend dark chocolate with nutty almonds for an easy snack or dessert. Stick to the three ingredients we list here, or add your own twist by including dried cherries or toasted coconut for a little variety.
Pomegranate Masghati
This beautiful pomegranate dessert is like a cross between Jell-O and panna cotta. It’s infinitely more refined and delicate than Jell-O and not quite as wobbly as panna cotta. Prepare pomegranate masghati a few hours in advance, and serve chilled out of the fridge for a light and refreshing dessert.
Apfelstrudel
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
This version of apfelstrudel, a traditional Austrian baked apple dessert, is made with less added sugar, uses avocado oil instead of butter and calls for whole-wheat phyllo dough for a nutritious dessert. Enjoy this fruit-filled dessert warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cappuccino.
Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Bars
Greg Dupree
These Key-lime-pie-meets-cheesecake bars are the perfect mashup of creamy and tangy flavors, offering just the right amount of sweetness. Use fresh-squeezed Key lime juice if Key limes are in season.
Ginger Molasses Cookies
Photography / Greg DuPree, Styling / Ruth BlackBurn / Julia Bayless
The spelt flour in these ginger molasses cookies offers a chewy texture and a nutty flavor that shines with the ginger in this easy holiday cookie recipe.
No-Sugar-Added Apple Pie
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
This no-sugar-added apple pie gets its natural sweetness from antioxidant- and fiber-rich dates. Cider vinegar helps to enhance the flavor. We like Gala apples for their sweetness and crisp texture, but any sweet, firm apple will work well.
Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Sue Mitchell, Prop stylist: Skylar Myers,
These 3-ingredient sweet treats are a breeze to make and, because dark chocolate clusters take just 15 minutes to prepare, they can be made on short notice to feed a crowd.
Mbatata (Sweet Potato Cookies)
Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Addelyn Evans, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
Mbatata cookies are made with sweet potatoes and originated in Mawali. They are heart-shaped to represent the location of Malawi within the African continent—in the center and the heart of the land.
Fresh Apple Cake
Photographer: Stacy K. Allen; Prop stylist: Julia Bayless; Food stylist: Ana Kelley
Super-juicy apples flavor this mildly spicy fresh apple cake that pairs beautifully with a warm cup of tea. The glaze offers a sweet finish.
Easy Pumpkin Pie
Jacob Fox
This easy pumpkin pie recipe comes together in minutes, plus you only need six ingredients to make it. Using a store-bought pie crust makes it even simpler to prepare, but if you’d prefer to make yours from scratch, we have two foolproof recipes that are worth trying.
Maple-Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
This comforting sweet potato bread is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast or served with a dollop of maple ice cream or sweetened whipped cream for a light dessert.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
This makeover recipe was one of the favorites chosen for our 30th anniversary issue. Tahini gives this cookie a subtle sesame flavor.
Andes Mint Brownies
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Torie Cox, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
These brownies feature melted mint chocolate and have just the right amount of fudginess, richness and peppermint. We love these brownies topped with a sprinkling of extra mint chocolate, but chopped nuts or regular chocolate chips will work well too.
No-Bake Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Photographer: Carson Downing, Food stylist: Annie Probst, Prop Stylist: Joseph Wanek
Here we make a no-bake cheesecake with a simple pressed graham cracker crust and a cream cheese and strained yogurt filling that sets as it chills. Blueberries tossed in store-bought lemon curd add sweetness and tang.
Sweet Potato Dump Cake
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
This lightly sweetened sweet potato dump cake with a crumble topping is similar to a sweet potato casserole but with a firm, cake-like texture. If you can’t find a spice cake mix, you can use a vanilla cake mix and add cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
Cranberry-Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Brittany Conerly
In this installment of Diaspora Dining, Jessica B. Harris’ series on foods of the African diaspora, the author and historian rings in some changes to the Christmas traditions of her own childhood.
