The best desserts: 70 classics everyone loves (and which to make)

The short answer: the best desserts are the classics people ask for again and again: chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, cheesecake, apple pie, carrot cake, banana pudding, peach cobbler and strawberry shortcake.

• 70 desserts in 8 groups: cookies, cakes, pies, bars, no-bake treats and more
• Weeknight: chocolate chip cookies, brownies or baked apples, from pantry ingredients in under an hour
• Big crowd: Texas sheet cake, banana pudding or brownies from one 9x13 or sheet pan
• Holiday dinner: pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cheesecake or apple crisp, made ahead
• Next step: Plan it with the Family Recipe Binder ($6.99).

What are the best desserts? The best desserts are the classics people ask for again and again: chocolate chip cookies, fudgy brownies, cheesecake, apple pie, carrot cake, banana pudding, peach cobbler and strawberry shortcake. They use everyday ingredients, feed a crowd and please almost every age. Below are 70 of the best desserts sorted into 8 groups, with picks for every occasion.

When a dessert becomes a family favorite, write it down. The Family Recipe Binder ($6.99) has Desserts and Baking sections so your best recipes are easy to find and pass down.

I'm Malaysia, a Detroit-raised oldest of three. I love cooking, and when it comes to dessert, I love anything chocolate. I made this list for the moments when you need one sure thing to bake: a birthday, a potluck, a holiday table, or a quiet Sunday.

What makes a dessert one of the best?

A great dessert isn't the fanciest one. It's the one that turns out right and gets eaten. Every pick on this list checks most of these boxes:

1. Familiar flavors. Chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, fruit and caramel please nearly everyone.
2. Everyday ingredients. Butter, sugar, flour, eggs and fruit, not a special-order shopping trip.
3. Reliable results. Clear steps and forgiving timing, so it works even on a busy day.
4. Easy to serve. It cuts cleanly or comes in single portions.
5. Make-ahead friendly. Many of the best desserts taste even better the next day.

The full list: 70 best desserts in 8 groups

Linked recipes are on our site with step-by-step directions.

Cookies

1. Chocolate chip cookies
2. Sugar cookies
3. Peanut butter cookies
4. Oatmeal raisin cookies
5. Snickerdoodles
6. Shortbread cookies
7. Molasses cookies
8. Thumbprint cookies
9. Chocolate crinkle cookies
10. Double chocolate cookies

Brownies and bars

11. Fudgy brownies
12. Blondies
13. Lemon bars
14. Cookie bars
15. Rice krispie treats
16. Seven-layer bars
17. Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting
18. Oatmeal crumble bars with jam
19. Peanut butter bars

Cakes

20. Chocolate cake
21. Carrot cake
22. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
23. Pound cake
24. Red velvet cake
25. Pineapple upside-down cake
26. Texas sheet cake
27. Tres leches cake
28. Coconut cake
29. Cheesecake
30. Coffee cake with crumb topping

Pies and tarts

31. Apple pie
32. Pumpkin pie
33. Pecan pie
34. Sweet potato pie
35. Key lime pie
36. Cherry pie
37. Chocolate cream pie
38. Lemon meringue pie
39. Banana cream pie

Nervous about pastry? Start with our guide to homemade pie crust.

Cobblers, crisps and fruit desserts

40. Peach cobbler
41. Apple crisp
42. Blackberry cobbler
43. Strawberry shortcake
44. Baked apples with oats and cinnamon
45. Berry crumble
46. Pear and ginger crisp
47. Grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream

Puddings and no-bake desserts

48. Banana pudding
49. Chocolate pudding
50. Rice pudding
51. Bread pudding
52. Tiramisu
53. No-bake cheesecake cups
54. Icebox cake with whipped cream and wafers
55. Chocolate mousse
56. Ice cream sandwiches

Chocolate desserts and candy

57. Fudge
58. Peppermint bark
59. Christmas crack (saltine toffee)
60. Chocolate-dipped strawberries
61. Chocolate truffles
62. Molten chocolate cakes
63. Hot chocolate with whipped cream

Sweet breads and treats

64. Banana bread
65. Pumpkin bread
66. Monkey bread
67. Cinnamon rolls
68. Churros
69. Funnel cake
70. Glazed lemon loaf

For seasonal and cultural favorites, see our Christmas desserts, Thanksgiving desserts and Mexican desserts guides.

The best desserts by occasion

Not sure which to make? Match the dessert to the moment.

Hosting a whole evening? Our dinner party ideas and potluck ideas guides cover the rest of the menu.

How to match dessert to the meal

The best dessert also fits the meal that comes before it. A few simple rules make choosing easy. For a lighter finish, the healthy desserts list gives 20 treats under 280 calories with added sugar counted.

• After a heavy meal, go lighter: fruit crisp, lemon bars, shortbread or a small scoop of chocolate mousse.
• After a light meal, go rich: chocolate cake, cheesecake, pecan pie or bread pudding.
• When the oven is full, pick a no-bake dessert such as banana pudding, icebox cake or tiramisu, or bake the day before.
• When guests have mixed tastes, offer one chocolate dessert and one fruit dessert. That simple pairing covers most people.
• When you want a showstopper, choose one tall layer cake or a big pie and keep everything else simple.

A dessert you can serve straight from the pan almost always beats a fussy one that needs plating while your guests wait. And when the kids want something sweet with no oven at all, a bowl of homemade edible cookie dough takes only a few minutes to stir together.

Starter version: 10 easy desserts to master first

If you only learn ten desserts, make it these. Together they cover chocolate, fruit, cookies, cake and no-bake, so you're ready for almost any occasion.

Tips for baking the best desserts at home

Most dessert disappointments come from a few small things. These habits help any recipe on the list turn out well.

1. Read the whole recipe first. Check whether butter needs to soften, dough needs to chill or a cheesecake needs to set overnight.
2. Measure flour the gentle way. Spoon it into the cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and makes cookies and cakes dry.
3. Use the right pan size. A recipe written for a 9x13 pan bakes thinner and faster in a larger pan, and thicker and slower in a smaller one.
4. Let ingredients come to room temperature. Softened butter and room-temperature eggs mix more smoothly, especially for cakes and cheesecake.
5. Start checking early. Ovens vary, so look at your dessert a few minutes before the shortest bake time.
6. Cool before cutting. Brownies, bars and cheesecake slice cleanly once they've cooled and set.
7. Take notes. Write down your oven's quirks and any changes you made, so the next batch is even better.

The best desserts by flavor

Some people want chocolate every time. Others want fruit or something creamy. Use this quick guide when you're shopping for one person's favorite.

I'm firmly on the chocolate team. A pan of brownies and a mug of hot chocolate on a cold night is hard to beat.

How to plan desserts when you're hosting

Dessert is the easiest course to make ahead, which frees you up on the big day. Use this timeline.

How much to make depends on your crowd. As a rough guide, plan about one slice of cake or pie, one or two bars, or two to three cookies per guest when there's only one dessert. With several desserts on the table, people take smaller pieces of each. If you need to double a recipe, our free recipe scaler does the math.

Dessert safety: raw dough, eggs and leftovers

A few simple habits keep dessert a happy part of the meal.

• Don't eat raw dough or batter. The FDA's guidance on handling flour safely explains that flour is a raw food that can carry harmful bacteria, and cooking is the only way to be sure foods made with flour and raw eggs are safe. That includes taste tests of cookie dough.
• Treat egg-rich desserts like egg dishes. The FDA's egg safety advice is to keep cooked egg dishes out of the fridge no more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. For recipes that use raw eggs, such as homemade ice cream, it recommends pasteurized eggs or egg products.
• Know how long leftovers last. The Cold Food Storage Chart from FoodSafety.gov lists baked pumpkin and pecan pies at 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Custard and chiffon pies also keep 3 to 4 days but don't freeze well.

Save your best dessert recipes

The best desserts are often the ones that come with a story: the cake someone always made for birthdays, or the pie that shows up every Thanksgiving. I keep the cards people give me, and recipes deserve the same care.

The Family Recipe Binder ($6.99) has Desserts and Baking section dividers, a classic recipe page with oven temp and cook time, a Baking Recipe page and 4x6 recipe cards, 23 pages in all. Print it, or type into the fillable version.

Planning a holiday baking day? The Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99) keeps your baking plan and a grocery list on one page. For the whole season, the Holiday Season Bundle ($15.99, $25.94 if bought separately) pairs the meal planner with a Christmas budget and gift planner, a cleaning schedule and more. Browse all our Printables and Bundles.

Your next dessert, in five steps

1. Pick the occasion from the table above.
2. Choose one dessert you know and one new one to try.
3. Add every ingredient to your grocery list, including butter and eggs.
4. Bake what you can ahead, using the hosting timeline.
5. Write down what worked, so next time is even easier.

The best dessert is the one you'll make again. Start with a classic, and let it become your family's favorite.

Want a from-scratch classic? Start with our chocolate cake recipe, a one-bowl cake with chocolate buttercream.

For beginner-friendly treats with short ingredient lists, see easy dessert recipes.