21 of Our Best Quick Desserts

It's wonderful when you have the time to really go all out on a cake or a pie, but sometimes you just need a quick dessert. These recipes will get you something sweet in 40 minutes or less, from extra creamy chocolate mousse to tropical soft serve. Here are the quickest Food & Wine desserts to whip up.

Pineapple-Coconut Soft Serve

With only five ingredients, this fluffy, effortless dessert comes together in minutes with a flavor reminiscent of a tiki cocktail. For an adult version, swap 1/4 cup of the coconut cream for the same amount of your favorite rum.

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Oatmeal Cookies

Soaking the raisins in vanilla is the secret to these extra-flavorful classic oatmeal cookies that are ready in a half hour.

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Extra-Creamy Chocolate Mousse

What sets pastry genius Dominique Ansel’s chocolate mousse apart from other versions of the dessert is that he folds in the chocolate just before serving.

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Mini Chocolate-Hazelnut Cheesecakes

Whole, cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies are broken up in a food processor with hazelnuts and butter to create a super-crunchy crust for these delectable little cheesecakes. The cream filling in the cookies both sweetens the crust and prevents it from becoming too crumbly. 

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Toasted Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwiches

These golden brown and buttery melted chocolate sandwiches filled with crunchy hazelnuts and fruity jams are too good not to make. They can just as easily pass for a brunch option as they can an indulgent dessert.

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Molten Chocolate Cake

This incredibly chocolaty and quick dessert is made with dark chocolate for extra decadence.

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Molten Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Filling

Perhaps more decadent than molten chocolate cake is this one filled with warm peanut butter.

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Over-the-Top Ice Cream Sundaes with Homemade Caramel

Fully loaded with creamy fudge, salty pretzels, crunchy toffee, and chewy, bittersweet candied lemon peel, this over-the-top sundae gets drenched in homemade caramel sauce for a grown-up take on a nostalgic childhood treat served at chef Dan Kluger's Loring Place in New York City.

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Swirled Summer Berry Soufflés

Celebrity cook Annabel Langbein's luscious soufflé is made with a swirl of berries and marshmallowy meringue.

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Brown Butter Crêpes with Nutella and Jam

To give his crêpes a subtle, nutty flavor, Mike Price browns the butter for his batter. "Any jam will go with hazelnuts and chocolate," the chef says. "You can't screw that up."

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Apple Pie Granita

Emeril Lagasse transforms natural apple juice into a refreshing granita in 15 minutes.

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Dark-Chocolate Pudding with Candied Ginger

Jean-Georges Vongerichten garnishes dark-chocolate pudding with candied ginger in this five-star 15-minute treat for eight.

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Prickly Pear Paletas

Prickly pears, the fruit that grows on cactus plants, are a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine. The fruit yields a bright pink juice that lends its color to Justin Chapple’s fun, summery ice pops.

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Edible Cookie Dough

Unburdened by leaveners or raw eggs, this edible dough can be enjoyed straight from the bowl with a spoon in 10 minutes.

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Bimuelos with Cranberry Curd and Cardamom Honey

Golden orbs of fried dough often dusted with sugar or drizzled with sweet syrup, bimuelos are a popular dessert across many cultures and are a favorite on many Hanukkah tables. Adeena Sussman's version is doused with the cardamom-laced honey and a make-ahead cranberry curd.

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Summer Berry Clafoutis

Jean-Louis Palladin is more like a delicate custard with fruit than the usual sturdy country clafoutis and takes 20 minutes to bake.

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Frosted Brownie Cookies

Fudgy and chocolaty, these cookies are for people who like decadent, over-the-top desserts.

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Coconut Flour Butter Cookies

These coconut flour butter cookies are chewy, dense, delicious, and ready in 20 minutes.

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Apricot Pate de Fruit

In France, pates de fruits are sold in high-end patisseries or pastry shops. The French roll them in sanding sugar, which has large crystals that cling to the candy without melting. Table sugar also works for this 40-minute treat.

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Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes with Crushed Peanut Brittle

The Vietnamese love drinking superstrong iced coffee combined with copious amounts of sweetened condensed milk. Joanne Chang created this simple ice cream sundae as a way to enjoy the same flavors.

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Ice Cream Bonbons

At the Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, California, Kendra Baker uses caramel ice cream in her bonbons, which have a silky chocolate shell and flaky sea salt on top.

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