Everyone’s got a sweet tooth that sometimes you just can’t deny. If it’s late at night, you can’t just run to the store to pick up a quick sugar fix. Besides, everyone knows it tastes better when you make it yourself! Here is a list of easy-to-make desserts – with some recipes that have some unusual ingredients – to curb even the sweetest of tooths. All the recipes can be done with 6 ingredients or fewer!
Better than Peanut Butter Balls
This first one is an Ohio State favorite: the buckeye. And no oven needed! These treats are better than your average peanut butter balls. With just four ingredients, this is a delicious peanut butter treat that will have you easily reaching for five without thinking twice. Buckeyes are peanut butter fudge balls dipped in chocolate. Unlike classic peanut butter balls, a circle of peanut butter is left visible. The finished product resembles the nut that grows on the Ohio buckeye tree.
M.U.G. Cake
With just 60 seconds of prep and 90 seconds in the microwave, this mug cake recipe has got to be the quickest treat on this list. A mug cake is so easy to modify to your liking. You can add anything from Nutella to a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a holiday feel. This recipe makes a single serving, meant to satisfy your sugar craving in a pinch without too much hassle or leftovers to tempt you. So, when you inevitably come home from your office Christmas party or even a white elephant exchange with yet another mug, don’t think of your gift as just another mug, but instead of a vessel for a late-night cake.
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful… Toffee Bark
Every time I go home, I know there is going to be a tin of my mom’s homemade toffee bark. And now you can make it your own. Sure, it gets stuck in your teeth, and it’s not the easiest to clean if you are not on your game. However, you can’t deny that it is an irresistible bite to grab every single time you walk past the counter. You just reach in the tin and snag a piece or two. With this recipe, you can make it easily with a microwave. It couldn’t be simpler! You can add assorted nuts or top it with sea salt to take it to the next level, but it’s amazing all on its own.
D.I.Y. Totally Make it Your Own Christmas Mix
It might be the night before you are going back to your parents for the holidays. As you look through your cupboards for something to take with you, you might discover some cereal and snacks that you don’t want to waste. You can’t eat them all tonight, but you don’t want to ditch them in the trash. Follow our recipe for Christmas Snack Mix and you’ll be happily munching all through your drive or be the envy of your seatmates on your flight home. First, grab all your salty snacks or cereals. The best for this mix are Chex, pretzels, Cheerios, and even some of your everyday crackers (it’s best to avoid anything cheesy or garlic-seasoned since we’re about to add chocolate… unless you’re into that). Put all of those in a bowl or a bag together.
Next, you’ll also want to take any chocolate you have and add it to the mixture. You might even find some old Halloween candy tucked in the back corner of your pantry, so it’ll be just in time to let them shine. If you need to you can break up bigger pieces into smaller chunks. Once you’ve combined those, you will need to melt any sort of chocolate chips that you have in a microwave-safe bowl. White chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate… any kind will do, but white chocolate tends to melt the best in the microwave. Be careful – you won’t want to burn the chocolate; microwave it in 20-second increments until you’ve reached a consistency that you like, stirring in between melts. Take your melted chocolate and pour on top of your salty snacks and sweet candies, then give it a mix.. If you have any powdered sugar and you don’t fear a sugar overload, you can sprinkle it on top as well. And there you have it, your Christmas mix ready to go once the chocolate has set.
Condiment Cookies
This last recipe is the only one with an oven needed. When you think of cookies, the first ingredient that comes to mind probably isn’t mayonnaise. … However, for this recipe, it is exactly what you will need; and just what the baker ordered! Once you factor in the sugar and two different types, no one will ever know that you’ve replaced the eggs and butter with an everyday condiment. This recipe comes just in time for National Cookie Exchange Day celebrated on December 22nd. You can grab your friends and family and treat them to some chocolate mayo cookies!
No matter how you are snacking this holiday season, make sure you do it responsibly. It’s time to celebrate with friends and family – and there is nothing like baking for the holidays and having a treat to offer someone. So, turn on your favorite baking show and get ready to treat and eat!
