Having dessert after a meal is a great treat, especially if it’s something unusual. However, many busy folks don’t get to have dessert on a regular basis due to many reasons. This could be because of the lack of ingredients or a shortage of time, in addition to one’s weight-loss efforts.

Still, having some sort of sweet every now and then is actually good for our body and soul. It could help to uplift our spirits, while the extra sugars might help our metabolism along as well. That still leaves the problem of having limited ingredients and time to work with.

Fortunately, there are quite a few easy and simple desserts that we might be able to make without much hassle. Whether you have to whip up something quickly for a bake sale the next day or are just in the mood for indulging your sweet tooth, recipes like these could save the day:

No-Bake Lemon Tarts

Close up of a lemon tart topped with fruit:

Making tarts might seem like a tall order, but these lemon tarts are of the no-bake variety. These are a great option for an easy everyday dessert or when you want to impress your guests.

You’d need about 14 graham crackers pulsed with 7 tablespoons of unsalted melted butter in a food processor. When the mixture is ready, you can pat the curst into either six 4-inch pans or a large pan to make one big tart.

While the crust is cooling in the fridge, make the filling by combining 2 cups of heavy cream and a half cup of granulated sugar in a saucepan. Once the sugar is dissolved, bring this to a boil and simmer it for a minute. Take the pan off the heat, add 2 teaspoons of lemon zest, and a third of a cup of lemon juice.

Let this filling cool completely. You can then scoop it over the crust and refrigerate the resulting tart. To make it fancier, top it up with sliced fruit, chocolate chips, or some syrup. The exact recipe is right here.

Oreo Cookie Balls

Chocolate cookie balls next to a jug of flowers:

When you have Oreos on hand, you can easily whip them into a truffle-like dessert. This will make them go a long way and be an impressive addition to any table.

All you need to do here is to crush the Oreos with a food processor. If you don’t have one, put the cookies in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Mix the crushed cookies with cream cheese and form the balls.

You can then make some chocolate coating by melting some chocolate chips. An easy way here is to make chocolate ganache, which simply involves microwaving some cream with chocolate chips until some bubbles form. Whip the chocolate and cream together to create a smooth, velvety result.

Dip the balls into the chocolate coating and freeze them in a parchment-lined tray. They’d be ready in about half an hour. You can also decorate the coating with white chocolate chips, cookie crumbs, or sprinkles. Check out the exact recipe here.

Chocolate Panini

Dark chocolate on bread:

This particular dessert is so simple that you can set it up while the main course is cooking or warming up. You can eat it on its own, but it’ll look and taste even better when paired with fresh fruit.

Some thick slices of challah or Hawaiian sweet bread are best here, but you can also choose any other kind of bread. 8 slices will be enough with around 6 ounces of semisweet chopped chocolate.

Brush one side of each slice with a bit of melted butter and put it down on a heated skillet. The butter will toast up its side, while you can sprinkle the other side with the chocolate. Top this up with another slice, leaving the buttered side up.

From there on, you’d make the Panini just like a regular grilled cheese sandwich. The result will be even better if you weight each sandwich down with another pan. Alternatively, there’s no reason why you can’t use a panini or sandwich maker for this job.

You’d know when the sandwich is done when the chocolate is all gooey inside and the bread is toasted golden on the outside. For the best presentation, cut each sandwich into squares and dust them with powdered sugar. You may then slice up some fruit for mixing up the flavors. Get the full recipe here.

Double Chocolate Mocha Mousse

A dish of mocha mousse:

Chocolate mocha mousse is a welcome dessert anytime, and this particular recipe will help you whip it up very quickly. It takes just a one-third cup of sugar, while the bittersweet chocolate and coffee powder give a unique taste.

You just have to combine 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate with 2 ounces of bittersweet. Melt these in the microwave. While this mixture is cooling, whisk two large egg yolks, a 1.5 teaspoon of instant coffee/espresso powder, half a cup of heavy cream, and 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a saucepan. Cook this creamy mixture until it coats the back of a spoon.

You then combine the cream and chocolate mixtures and refrigerate the whole lot until it’s cool. Finally, beat a tablespoon of sugar and another cup of heavy cream. You’ll get whipped cream, which you can then fold into the chocolatey combination in two additions. Chill the whole thing for about half an hour, and serve.

While the cooling time might increase the duration of this recipe, the prep time in itself is only 15 minutes. You can always prepare the rest of your meal and get everything else set up while the mousse is cooling. See the recipe here.

Conclusion

Desserts don’t have to be complicated or expensive, especially if we follow the recipes and look at the cookbooks discussed above. Hopefully, these guidelines will help you along the way of making healthier, cleaner, and simpler versions of desserts right at home.

Of course, you should balance out your desserts with some responsible choices for the rest of the meal. Here are some easy to make salad ideas (Easy to Make Salad Ideas) that won’t take long to carry out.