Nothing says ‘thoughtful’ or ‘thank you’ better than homemade sweets and treats, Perfect for special occasion like Valentines Day, birthday, holidays or a potluck.
We’re sharing 15 delicious sweet treats of chocolate, cookies, pastries & quick desserts and jams. All 30 minutes or less.
Of course, maybe you’re just craving something something to satisfy your own sweet tooth. No excuse needed.
Whatever the reason, there’s no need to make a special order from a store. Try one of our tried-and-true homemade sweet indulgences that truly take little effort and little time. (Your taste buds will be happier.) Then step back and soak up the grateful-ness.
We’ve organized the sweets and treats into four categories so you can skip to the ones you like. Each recipe shows a prep time and total time (including chilling if needed).
Keep in mind that it always takes longer to make a recipe the first time. After that, you know what you’re doing and get more efficient. So it pays to make the recipe twice 🙂
If you’re looking at this post before an upcoming holiday, be sure to check out our holiday recipes. Now on to the yummy homemade treats…
Chocolate Sweets and Treats
Easy Chocolate Fudge
Prep time: 3 minutes; Chill Time: 1 hour
Question: How do you make easy chocolate fudge? Better question: How do you make creamy, melt-in-your mouth, no-fail chocolate fudge with 3 ingredients, 3 steps in 3 minutes? Read on…
Company dropping by in 10 minutes? Craving something sweet pronto? Or need a quick potluck dessert? This chocolate-y, moist, fudgy microwave brownie recipe will do the trick.
White Chocolate Bark (or any bark for that matter) is pretty much the easiest sweet treat you can possibly make. Endless flavor possibilities, 2-3 ingredients, 5 minutes to put together and 20-30 minutes to chill. Creamy, melt in your mouth, deliciousness.
Loaded with chocolate, nuts and raisins, these no-bake chocolate rice crispy treats are your answer to that after-dinner chocolate craving. Rich, chewy, crunchy, nutty, chocolate-y deliciousness. Just 10 minutes of hands-on time to prepare (plus chill time).
Teeny toffee bits take these skor chocolate chip cookies over the top. Buttery, caramel-y, chocolate-y, chewy cookies with crisp edges (if baked longer). Wickedly good. Freeze balls of dough to make fresh warm cookies whenever you need them.
These delicate, crispy, buttery Lace Cookies have been in our family for years. Ready in under 30 minutes and perfect for a tea, brunch, shower or dessert.
Serve these elegant elephant ears cookies (also called palmier cookies) for dessert or tea. Or for Valentines Day! Buttery and flaky with a hit of orange-lemon zest.
It's hard to believe these buttery, zesty melt-in-your-mouth Lime-Glazed Easy Shortbread Cookies are made in 30 minutes with just 6 ingredients. Perfect for a tea, shower, potluck, or holiday cookie-exchange. And the perfect gift.
Out of time and need a special dessert? Perhaps for your Valentine? With only 4 ingredients, this shortcut Berry Sauce on pound cake recipe is super easy, presents beautifully and is berry-intense.
Whip up this puff pastry apple tart for a weeknight or weekend dessert. Simple and delicious. Just apples, puff pastry, butter and brown sugar (ok, ice cream too).
Every year my husband anxiously awaits this easy strawberry shortcake that his mother made in the '50s. I make them in 20 minutes with local strawberries at their peak, fresh whipped cream and biscuits (with a shortcut – shh).
This simple peach tarte titin is an easy peach tart recipe with only 5 ingredients. Beginners can whip it up in 30 minutes and look very accomplished with our step-by-step instructions and pictures. Juicy, caramelized peaches nested in a crispy buttery puff pastry crust.
You can use frozen fruit if you can’t get fresh. Frozen fruit is peeled and sliced and picked at the height of the season.
Peach Jam Recipe (without pectin)
Prep time: 10 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes
Stretch out the long-awaited peach season with an easy peach jam recipe without pectin. Just 3 simple ingredients, 30 minutes, no canning, no special equipment. Perfect for beginners. Transform those juicy ripe peaches into a summer classic. All you need is peaches, sugar and lemon. Delish!
Make this no-fuss homemade low sugar strawberry jam without pectin this summer and you'll be enjoying it on toast, scones and ice cream long after. Just 3 ingredients, no pectin, no canning process, freezer friendly and half the sugar of traditional jams.
Holiday sugar cookies – buttery, sweet and flaky – are a big tradition in our family – 25 years long. We make them for Christmas, Chanukah, Halloween, Valentines Day and other celebrations.
Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
No, you can’t just eat a handful of this addictive homemade caramel popcorn. Crunchy popcorn and nuts with a mouth-watering buttery salted caramel coating. Perfect for gifts, picnics & parties.
If you’re making a treat as a food gift, try one of this simple options for packaging: cellophane (or cellophane gift bags), pretty boxes, wine bags and paper or cloth gift bags. Line your container with wax paper, parchment or tissue paper.
And don’t forget to include a little note – from the heart, happy holidays, missed you, enjoy the indulgence – whatever the occasion.
…upping rice crispy treats