Recipes Snacks 16 of Our Favorite Sweet Snacks By Nikki Miller-Ka Published on March 24, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: © David Malosh Do sweet snacks like rich puddings and decadent cakes call your name in the middle of the night? Are crispy shortbread cookies on your mind for a midday snack attack? Level up your sweet snack game by making dessert treats to satisfy your sweet tooth. We rounded up our favorite sweet snacks for midnight feasters, afternoon snackers, and dessert-time lovers. Check out recipes like thick and velvety Ravo pudding, rich and creamy Chocolate-Buttermilk Snack Cakes, and buttery, nutty Salted Tahini-Chocolate Shortbread. Read on for these dessert snack recipes and more. 01 of 16 Banana-Chocolate Chip Snack Cake with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting Antonis Achilleos The fruity banana batter is bolstered by browned butter for caramel-like richness that's echoed by the butterscotch notes of brown sugar. Chocolate chips make an appearance, too, and even though their role is small, it's impactful — especially if you frost and cut the cake before it's completely cool and the chocolate is still a little gooey. Get the Recipe 02 of 16 Birdseed Rice Crispy Treats Photo by Johnny Autry / Food and Prop Styling by Charlotte Autry Kim Alter's original recipe featured a "birdseed" mixture of puffed grain and brown rice; we riffed on her idea and added some toasted and raw seeds and flaky sea salt to add even more layers of flavor to these updated classic treats. Get the Recipe 03 of 16 Ravo Eva Kolenko This creamy semolina pudding, traditional to Parsi cuisine, gets its velvety texture from gentle, constant stirring and a careful eye on the heat; it should bubble when cooking over high heat but not come to a full boil. Sweetened condensed milk—writer Sabrina Medora's grandmother's riff—and a simple whole milk–and–egg mixture thicken the pudding and add a creamy, sweet flavor. Get the Recipe 04 of 16 Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Energy Bars © Ryan Liebe These honey-flavored cereal bars with puffed rice and toasted oats, from "Real Snacks" by Lara Ferroni, make a great substitute for store-bought energy bars. They can be made with almost any mix of nuts and dried fruit. Get the Recipe 05 of 16 Air Fryer Brownies Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis With the help of an air fryer, these gooey, fudgy brownies — baked in ramekins and reminiscent of a molten chocolate cake — are less than an hour away. Adding espresso powder to the batter helps bring out the chocolate flavor, as does the crunchy sea salt garnish at the end. Serve them on their own, or with your favorite ice cream. Better yet, top them with berries, whipped cream, chopped nuts or caramel sauce to make a brownie sundae. Get the Recipe 06 of 16 Almond-and-Plum Snack Cake Photo by Johnny Autry / Food and Prop Styling by Charlotte Autry This snack cake catches the eye with its ripe red plums, toasted almonds, and glistening sugary crust, but the tender cake hidden underneath is the real star. The moist cake has a tight crumb, but a trio of butter, sour cream, and chunks of thick, sweet almond paste keep it exceptionally tender. Get the Recipe 07 of 16 Salted Tahini-Chocolate Shortbread Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley These buttery, nutty, salty shortbread cookies have enough structure to hold together when you pick them up, but when you take a bite, they are meltingly tender. The salt compliments the tanginess of the chocolate and brings out the nuttiness from the tahini. Get the Recipe 08 of 16 Cannabis-Infused Chocolate Pretzel Cookies Kitchen Toke Inc. These chewy, malty chocolate cookies are ideal for chocolate-covered pretzel fans. Since the recipe calls for olive oil instead of butter, the dough will be quite soft when it's first mixed but will firm up to the perfect scoopable consistency after a couple of hours in the fridge. If you'd like to skip the Cannabis-Infused Olive Oil, just swap in an additional amount of regular olive oil. Note: Cannabis regulation continues to evolve across the United States and around the world; please consult your local laws before sourcing it. Get the Recipe 09 of 16 Alfajores de Maizena (Sandwich Cookies Filled with Dulce de Leche) Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Extra-thick dulce de leche between two buttery cookies rolled in shredded coconut all add up to the perfect bite in these alfajores de maizena. Argentinian League of Kitchens instructor Mirta Rinaldi learned how to make these melt-in-your-mouth sandwich cookies from her mom. One of the most popular cookies in Argentina, they're found in all sizes at bakeries there and are picked up by the dozens for special occasions and celebrations year-round. Because of the generous amount of cornstarch in the dough, the cookies remain tender and soft after baking. Seek out dulce de leche repostero, which is made for pastry and baking, for this recipe; it's extra thick, with a firm body that won't squeeze out past the edges of the cookies in between bites. Get the Recipe 10 of 16 Butterscotch Pudding Parfait with Gingersnap Crumble Tara Donne Classic butterscotch pudding is enhanced with tangy whipped crème fraîche and warm, spicy gingersnap crumble to make a beautiful parfait. Get the Recipe 11 of 16 Red Wine Chocolate Snack Cake Justin Walker We all cook with red wine, adding a glug or two to enrich pan sauces and stews. Here, our culinary director at large Justin Chapple makes the case for baking with it as well. Cabernet Sauvignon adds fruity notes that brighten this chocolate cake, which is great for a midday snack or casual dessert. Get the Recipe 12 of 16 Dried Apple Hand Pies Victor Protasio As the dried apple slices in each of these delicate hand pies rehydrate and cook, they transform into a saucy, concentrated filling. To create a smoother, rather than chunky, apple filling, smash apples with the side of a spoon while stirring. Get the Recipe 13 of 16 Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug © Abby Hocking Are you craving a warm chocolate chip cookie? The fastest way to feed that hunger might just be this microwavable chocolate chip cookie in a mug. In less than ten minutes, you go from raw ingredients to warm, snack-filled bliss for one. Get the Recipe 14 of 16 Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell These sweet and tangy Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting pair juicy, fresh berries with vibrantly colored and concentrated freeze-dried strawberries for the ultimate summer treat. Processing the dried strawberries with a touch of sugar helps to keep them from clumping together so they evenly disperse in the batter. A simple, not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting keeps these moist and tender cakes well-balanced and beautifully decorated. Get the Recipe 15 of 16 Sweet Corn and Bourbon Bread Pudding Victor Protasio For this fun, Southern-inspired dessert, Top Chef Season 16 winner Kelsey Barnard Clark uses entire ears of corn — broiling corn kernels and using corn milk from the cobs — to give her bread pudding recipe a summery, fresh-corn flavor. A topping of caramel popcorn adds a sweet crunch and whimsy. Lime zest in the crème anglaise and a splash of bourbon keep it from leaning too sweet. Get the Recipe 16 of 16 Chocolate-Buttermilk Snack Cakes © David Malosh In her update of the classic chocolate Hostess cupcake, Chicago pastry chef Mindy Segal uses mascarpone in the rich and creamy filling. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit