15 Desserts Easy Enough for a Weeknight and Special Enough for a Celebration

Toasted Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich

A twist on the concept of a scoop shop order of a waffle cone, this 5-minute dessert recipe is "super easy" and offers "endless combinations," confirms jot2swmfree who dreamed it up. "It has the hot-cold appeal of a la mode desserts," just minus all of the fuss of baking from scratch. Instead, these ice cream sandwiches start with a toasted waffle topped with a small pat of butter. Slice it in half, then scoop softened ice cream on one half. Drizzle with maple syrup for a nod to a breakfast shortstack, then top with half number two. Order up!

Cocoa Powder Chocolate Mousse

This light and airy mousse-like chocolate dessert looks elegant piped into individual glasses, as shown, and takes a mere 10 minutes to prepare. To make it look even more wow-worthy, you can garnish with a mound of whipped cream and shaved chocolate or a dusting of cocoa powder.

Easy Strawberry Shortcake

Often assembled atop a buttery biscuit or shortcake, this easy dessert recipe takes the berries and cream concept and gives it a weekday-friendly makeover. Simply trade in slices of store-bought sponge cake cups (or slices of purchased pound cake or angel food cake). Macerating the fruit for just 15 minutes gives them an extra hint of sweetness and creates a sweet syrup to drizzle over the cake and cream. Carrie C. says this easy strawberry dessert "goes together so quickly. I love serving this to my family."

Funfetti® Birthday Cookies

Start with a box of cake mix and end with a showstopping, colorful, and rainbow-hued dessert. While it's beautiful and festive enough for a birthday, this is one easy dessert recipe that can make any ol' Tuesday feel worthy of a celebration! Tear open that box of mix, and if you have eggs, oil, confectioner's sugar, sprinkles, and a baking sheet, you can have a warm batch of cookies ready to devour in just 21 minutes.

Apple Cinnamon Chimichangas

Fry oh my! Hit fast-forward on this apple-cinnamon recipe by opening a can of pie filling, warming it for 5 minutes, then stuffing it inside tortillas. Fry until crispy, which takes 2 minutes or less, and toss with cinnamon sugar. One home cook says, "I had saved this recipe a long time ago and why it took me so long to make it, I have no clue. These are absolutely amazing. Both the wife and I thought they tasted better than we imagined and after frying the flour tortillas they had kind of a pie dough flavor to them." (By the way, this weeknight dessert recipe would also be terrific with cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, strawberry pie filling, or peach pie filling.)

2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge

A pound of almond bark plus a jar of nut butter equals "the easiest fudge ever," according to knaselsbabygirl who kindly shares her secrets. "Every time I make it, I get so many compliments on how great it is. This is the easiest peanut butter fudge ever, and it is so good." After 10 minutes of prep, including the cook time in the microwave, this favorite fudge recipe is all set to chill out

Baked S'mores Dip

Who wouldn't want s'more of this 4-ingredient, ooey-gooey dessert dip? Luckily, you need not wait long for your next batch — it takes just 19 minutes. Simply mix a chocolate bar with a splash of milk, top with marshmallows, and bake or broil until they're toasty. Scoop all that goodness up with graham crackers to complete the no-campfire-required s'mores dessert.

Banana and Peanut Butter 4-Ingredient 'Ice Cream'

No dairy? No problem. This "nice" cream recipe starts with a frozen banana, which lends a custard-like texture once you blend it with milk, vanilla extract, and your favorite nut butter. (Add a spoonful of confectioners' sugar or honey if your sweet tooth is strong.) Danielle says the finished product, which takes only 10 minutes, is "creamy and made me forget any longings for real ice cream."

Dessert Nachos

"Oh I don't know what others thought but this was fun," says Allrecipes Allstar Melissa Goff. "My kids ate the entire plate. I toasted the sweetened coconut, chopped up dry roasted peanuts, added ⅓ cup more peanut butter, and my kids literally killed the plate. I actually tried it myself and even though I had extra chocolate and peanut butter sauce, I could have made a 2nd batch. We enjoyed this fun little experiment of a recipe. Will be a movie time treat for them." Reviewers emphasize that you should keep an eye on the broiler and not walk away.

Lemon Curd Tarts

For showers, tea parties, or a busy evening that could use a dose of springtime sweetness, assemble a tray of these ultra-easy tarts. Recipe creator Paula swears "the crust remains crunchy for several hours," so you can even prep them ahead in the morning and look forward to them as an after-school snack or dinner dessert. Making them is a cinch: Simply fill store-bought phyllo cups with a small scoop of lemon curd and frozen whipped topping, then garnish with a dusting of cinnamon. It's like a mini lemon meringue pie — in a far simpler format.

Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Rachael Ray taught us that 30-minute meals are a marvelous thing. But you know what's even better? Chef John's mug cake that cooks up in less than 1 minute! "What's not to love about warm chocolate cake spiked with chocolate, coconut, and chocolate chips and topped with melting vanilla bean ice cream? This literally takes less than a minute to cook up and a couple minutes to prepare," he says of this microwave dessert. For an extra dose of decadence, dust each serving with confectioner's sugar and cocoa, plus a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

Cherry-Mascarpone Cheese Dessert

Five ingredients and 15 minutes are all you'll need to pull together this luscious treat. Allrecipes Allstar lutzflcat says, "This is such an elegant finish to a really nice meal. Some times simple is best, and that's one of the things that makes this dessert so special. Creamy, rich but somehow still light, mellow, smooth, slightly sweet, just fantastic! I'd serve to this to anybody without hesitation." Reviewers said they used fresh cherries, frozen cherries, and even cherry pie filling.

Nutella® Cups

Inspired by one of the most popular crepe filling combos, "these are so easy, delicious, and always a hit! I've made them quite a few times," Lauren says of this easy muffin tin treat. "I like to switch up the fruit: bananas, strawberries, cherries...all super tasty!" That's because any fruit pairs perfectly with a flaky crescent roll "crust" and rich Nutella filling.

Totally Groovy Chocolate Fondue

"Take a trip back to the '70s with this totally awesome chocolate fondue," says recipe creator SATDEL. "It is simply prepared in a fondue pot and served with your favorite fruits or snack foods — fresh sliced strawberries, bananas, Granny Smith apples, oranges, pineapple, and even pretzels."

Strawberry Angel Food Dessert

You'll need only 15 minutes to whip up this bright and colorful dessert, thanks to store-bought angel food cake, cream cheese, whipped topping, fresh strawberries, and a jar of strawberry glaze. You can create individual servings, as shown, or layer it up invitingly in a glass bowl.

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