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    Home » Blog » Desserts

    20 Easy Dessert Recipes for Kids to Bake

    Published: Apr 12, 2023 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    A photo collage shows brownies, peanut blossom cookies, and Trix krispie treats.

    Easy dessert recipes for kids are a great way to get them excited to learn how to bake cookies, brownies, cake, and more. These easy treats are perfect for any special event all year long.

    A photo collage shows a platter of brownies, cupcakes, krispie treat bars, and peanut blossom cookies.

    Kids just LOVE to bake, don't they?

    My girls have been helping me bake cookies and brownies since they were tall enough to reach the counter when standing on a kitchen chair.

    As soon as they were able, they wanted to start baking all on their own and we needed easy dessert recipes they could manage by themselves.

    I've gathered together my kids' favorite easy desserts to help inspire your kids to have a little baking fun!

    Jump to:
    • Why These Are The Best Recipes for Kids
    • Kitchen Tools They Need
    • Essential Skills for Teaching Kids to Bake
    • The Best Recipes to Start With
    • Easy Brownies and Bars
    • Easy Cookie Recipes for Kids
    • Easy Cakes for Kids
    • No Bake Desserts
    • The BEST Baking Book for Kids
    • More Recipes for Kids to Make
    • 💬 Comments

    Why These Are The Best Recipes for Kids

    It is so easy to get kids excited about spending time in the kitchen when baking something sweet is in store.

    These are the best recipes to bake with kids because:

    1. Easy: None of the recipes are overly complicated or difficult. Many of them are one bowl or a minimum of dishes.
    2. Flexible: You can change the flavors with simple swaps and give kids the freedom to make them just how they want.
    3. Totally Delicious: I dare any grown up at your party to not gobble up these treats. They're so tasty, I bake them with or without my kids in the kitchen!

    Kitchen Tools They Need

    From Day 1, I let my kids use the regular kitchen tools I use myself when they wanted to bake something special for the family.

    That said, I naturally stocked up on easy kid-friendly kitchen tools.

    Take a look through your kitchen supplies and have a chat with your kids about which tools they are allowed to use before they dig in.

    • Copies of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook and The Ultimate Kids' Baking Book by Tiffany Dahle sit next to a wooden spoon, a rainbow whisk, a pot holder, measuring spoons, and heart-shaped cookie cutters.
      The Best Kitchen Tools for Kids
    • A photo collage of popular gifts for kid bakers
      Gifts for Kid Cooks: The Ultimate List
    • A bin of colorful sugar cookie cutters with a few samples laid out in front.
      The Best Cookie Cutters for Kids
    • A crock filled with cooking spoons sits next to a gas stove top.
      My Top 20 Favorite Kitchen Tools

    Essential Skills for Teaching Kids to Bake

    Most parents feel overwhelmed with where to start when it comes to teaching kids to bake.

    When I wrote my best selling baking book for kids, the first thing I did was outline the essential kitchen skills kids need to learn to bake easy treats for all the special events throughout the year.

    The recipes in the book build off those basics. As the kids' skills grow, the recipes become more deliciously complex but all along the way there are tricks for young bakers to make the treats their own.

    The good news is, you can use that format and my printable lesson plans to guide your kids through learning all the kitchen skills they need to have success!

    • A young girl chops onions in a food processor.
      The BEST DIY Kids Cooking Classes
    • Lesson Plans for Teaching Kids to Cook

    The Best Recipes to Start With

    If you want to get your kids excited to bake, let them start with something they love to eat!

    Let them page through a cookbook for kids and make their own selection!

    But if you want to start with a kid-friendly recipe that MY kids have loved, I've gathered together some of our very favorites in the lists below.

    Easy Brownies and Bars

    A young child's hand is holding a brownie with a bite taken out.

    My absolute favorite thing to let the kids bake all by themselves is a classic pan of brownies or cookie bars.

    The batter is often made in just one bowl and then poured into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

    There's just one thing to pop into the oven and watch to ensure it bakes properly. It is the fastest road to success for most kids.

    Easy Homemade Brownies for Kids

    These homemade brownies are rich and fudgy and absolutely delicious. They are my daughter's claim to fame and she makes them when family comes to visit.

    They are perfect as-is but would be amazing with chocolate cream cheese frosting spread over the top once completely cooled.

    You could also frost them with vanilla cream cheese frosting and decorate them with your favorite candies or sprinkles.

    Easy Brownies for Kids
    These are the BEST brownies for kids to bake for their families. Chewy centers with crispy edges and loaded with extra chocolate chips for the fudgiest brownies ever.
    4.67 from 45 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A round platter of a pile of chocolate brownies with a bite taken out of the one on top and a sprinkle of chocolate chips to the side.

    Butterscotch Blondies

    The easy dough for these butterscotch blondies bars is loaded with butterscotch chips and chopped pecans for a sweet and salty flavor that I find completely irresistible.

    My daughters agree but I secretly know they bake them for me when they want to give me a special treat.

    Butterscotch Brownies
    This one-bowl recipe is so easy, the batter will be done before the oven has even pre-heated! It's a perfect first recipe for kids learning to bake. The sweet and salty combo is utterly addictive.
    4.92 from 45 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A batch of butterscotch brownies have been cut into squares on a piece of foil.

    Easy Trix Krispie Treats

    Made with Trix Minis, these rainbow-colored marshmallow Mini Trix krispie treat bars are an easy no-bake dessert for kids to make.

    Everything gets mixed together in one big pot and then transferred to a baking pan to form the bars.

    Mini Trix Rice Krispie Treats
    Use the new Trix Minis cereal to make these adorable rice krispie treats style dessert. The rainbow fruity cereal pieces make a colorful marshmallow treat that is easy for kids to make on their own. This is a perfect lunchbox treat or could be used as a fun St. Patrick's Day dessert for kids!
    4.98 from 45 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A cake plate has several squares of cereal bars in rainbow colors with mini marshmallows scattered about.

    OREO Blondie Bars

    These easy cookies and cream blondie bar are loaded with chocolate chips and broken up OREO cookies.

    They make a nice big pan and the recipe is perfect for kids baking for a bake sale or bringing a treat to a potluck.

    OREO Blondies
    Rich and chewy cookies and cream blondies are the perfect twist to a cookie bar for your next homemade treat. Kids will love to crush the Oreo cookies for mixing in.
    5 from 32 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A tray of cookies and cream bars have OREOS sitting next to them.

    Crescent Roll Cheesecake Bars

    If the kids are interested in trying a cheesecake, start them off with this super easy crescent roll cheesecake recipe.

    It has a crispy cinnamon sugar topping that tastes just like a churro! They are so easy to bake and taste amazing the next day, too.

    Crescent Roll Cheesecake Bars
    Layers of flaky crescent rolls surround a creamy cheesecake filling topped with a crispy cinnamon sugar coating. This easy dessert tastes like two treats in one: a delicious rich and creamy cheesecake and a crispy cinnamon churro!
    5 from 30 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    Two churro cheesecake bars are stacked on a blue and white plate in front of the baking dish of treats.

    Easy Cookie Recipes for Kids

    A baking rack has a dozen cookies cooling on the counter.

    Cookies and kids go hand in hand and this is often the first treat kids will ask to make by themselves.

    Pick the just-right cookie recipe and the kids will feel so proud when the perfect treat comes out of the oven.

    Chocolate Chip Cookies

    The most popular cookie of all time is the classic chocolate chip cookie.

    My fantastic recipe for chocolate chip walnut cookies is the absolute best because kids can prep the dough and freeze a pan of cookie balls so that just a few can be baked at a time!

    Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
    These amazing chocolate chip walnut cookies are based on the DoubleTree cookie recipe and can be prepped for making a small batch of chocolate chip cookies direct from the freezer.
    5 from 43 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    Baked chocolate chip walnut cookies with chocolate chips sprinkled over the top.

    Cut-Out Cookies

    • Two heart shaped cut out sugar cookies decorated with pink and red icing sit in an aqua dish on a pink background.
      Cut Out Sugar Cookies Recipe
    • Gingerbread cookie dough is rolled out and has a few letter shapes cut out and put on a baking pan.
      Easy Gingerbread Cookies for Kids

    During the holiday season, kids often get their hearts set on cookie decorating with traditional roll and cut cookies like shaped sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.

    Decorating them is a fun family tradition for both the kids and you! Especially if you use my tips for baking sugar cookies with kids.

    For beginner cookie bakers, I suggest you try one of these easy frosting recipes.

    For more advance kid bakers, it might be try to dig in on the easy royal icing recipe!

    • Two Heart Cookies with Blue Frosting are decorated with sprinkles on half of the cookie.
      Easy Frosting Recipes for Sugar Cookies
    • A platter of green Christmas tree sugar cookies have been decorated with royal icing in simple patterns.
      Easy Royal Icing Recipe
    • A tree shaped sugar cookie has a green royal icing border that was piped on. The piping bag rests next to it.
      How to Decorate Cookies with Royal Icing

    Easy Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

    Made in just one batter bowl, this easy pumpkin butterscotch cookies recipe tastes a little like a cake married a cookie.

    Soft and yet chewy, my girls have loved baking these since they were tall enough to reach the counter.

    Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
    These easy pumpkin cookies are filled with sweet butterscotch chips. Kids will love to bake these easy fall treats.
    4.48 from 17 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A platter of puffy pumpkin butterscotch cookies with a sprinkle of butterscotch chips sits next to a denim napkin.

    Peanut Butter Blossoms

    What kid can resist pushing a chocolate candy kiss into the top of a warm pan of fresh baked peanut butter blossom cookies??

    Often found on Christmas cookie trays, these easy cookies are great any time of year.

    Easy Peanut Butter Blossoms
    This classic peanut butter blossoms recipe is an essential cookie for every baker. The soft and chewy peanut butter cookie base is topped with a sweet chocolate Hershey Kiss. Perfect for Christmas or baking all year round.
    4.34 from 12 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    Peanut butter blossom cookies are on a white tray on a pink background.

    M&M Cookies

    Mix and match the color of the candies and these M&M cornflake cookies would be a perfect fit for any holiday all year long.

    We used a fun mix of pink, red, white, and green for a Cindy Lou Who-inspired Christmas cookie but kids could bake these in their school colors, a friend's favorite color, or the perfect holiday color combo.

    Festive M&M Cookies
    Adorably festive and perfectly crunchy, these delicious M&M cookies have cornflakes and oats for a wonderful texture. Mix and match the colors of candies for any holiday. Bake them ahead and freeze for easy entertaining later.
    5 from 34 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A plate of festive M&M cookies feature red, pink, green, and white candies for the holidays.

    Pretend Macaron Cookies for Kids

    Real macarons are one of the most difficult cookies to bake because they require such precision.

    My daughter and I had a ton of fun baking these "pretend" macaron cookies for kids based on her favorite American Girl character.

    Cake mix in the batter makes them extra easy. They taste a little bit like super-fancy whoopie pies.

    Homemade Macarons for Kids
    Got a little baker who wants to make French macarons? This easy recipe is perfect for playing with different flavors of sandwich cookie fillings.
    4.60 from 5 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A trio of macaron-inspired cake sandwich cookies in green, pink, and blue colors on a polka dot napkin.

    Easy Cakes for Kids

    Shh . . . lean in. I need to tell you a secret:

    I loooove boxed cake mixes.

    I could make a cake from scratch, and sometimes I do. But for a classic vanilla cake?

    Boxed mixes are phenomenal if you use my TOP SECRET TIP:
    Use the cake mix, but make the frosting from scratch.

    It is way easier and the frosting is what makes or breaks the cake. For real.

    You can even turn a boxed cake mix into a gorgeous 2-layer cake if you use my trick for perfect cake layers using cake strips.

    When your frosting takes as incredible as these easy recipes, no one is going to ask about the cake.

    • A vanilla cupcake in a white wrapper has white vanilla glaze and rainbow sprinkles on top. More cupcakes are in the background.
      Easy Vanilla Glaze for Cupcakes
    • Vanilla cupcakes have been topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting and sit on a cake plate. There's a frosting piping bag on the counter in front.
      Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Cupcakes topped with a swirl of chocolate cream cheese frosting sit on a baker's rack next to a piping bag filled with frosting.
      Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    No Bake Desserts

    Finally, it's always a good idea to have a few no-bake dessert recipes under your belt.

    Sometimes the weather is too hot. Sometimes mom or dad don't want you messing with the oven.

    In any case, these no bake treats are always a huge hit when we serve them at parties.

    Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

    Made with ice cream sandwiches, whipped topping, and ice cream sundae sauces, this easy ice cream sandwich cake is a favorite of one of our very special family members -- Grandma!

    My kids love to make it for the 4th of July but it is a fun treat any time of year.

    Easy Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
    This easy peasy ice cream sandwich dessert is the perfect ice cream cake for a backyard party. 
    5 from 38 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A metal pan has an ice cream cake with red and white sprinkles over the top. A slice is missing so you can see the layers of ice cream sandwiches inside.

    Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs

    These adorable Harry Potter chocolate frogs do require a few extra tools, but are a super-fun introduction to easy candy making for kids.

    We made them for a Harry Potter movie marathon complete with Harry Potter movie snacks. They'd be especially amazing for a Harry Potter birthday party.

    Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs
    This homemade chocolate frogs recipe is perfect for a Harry Potter movie night or birthday party. Fill the chocolate molds with a variety of fillings for a fun chocolate frog sampler platter.
    4.95 from 37 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    A cake plate has a serving of Harry Potter chocolate frogs next to a bowl of jelly beans.

    Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Mix

    Grab a giant tub of everyone's favorite pretzel nuggets at the warehouse store and get ready to make this deliciously easy chocolate peanut butter pretzel snack mix.

    Decorate it with fun sprinkles, let it cool, and then put it in a big party bowl for a special treat.

    Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
    Elevate your next movie night with these chocolate peanut butter pretzel bites. This easy party snack mix only needs 3 ingredients and 5 minutes of effort for a perfect party treat.
    5 from 41 votes
    GET THE RECIPE
    Pretzel nuggets have drizzled chocolate over them and orange and yellow candies.

    Ultimate Homemade Hot Chocolate

    Last but not least, for a big party like you might have at Christmas time, put the kids in charge of making the ultimate hot chocolate bar using a Crockpot!

    What makes it extra special is all the yummy cocoa toppings you can set out for friends and family to customize their own hot chocolate mugs, just the way they like.

    Ultimate Crockpot Hot Chocolate
    This easy Crockpot hot cocoa recipe is perfect for a holiday open house or Christmas Eve! Set up the ultimate hot cocoa bar with one of these fun flavor variations and plenty of festive toppings for guests to mix and match their own custom mug.
    5 from 1 vote
    GET THE RECIPE
    A blue mug filled with hot cocoa has mini marshmallows on top and chocolate pieces and marshmallows scattered around it.

    The BEST Baking Book for Kids

    If you've loved these easy desserts for kids to bake, you will absolutely love The Ultimate Baking Book for Kids.

    Filled with 60 recipes for fun and easy desserts, kids will love baking these treats for all the holidays, birthdays, and special milestones a family enjoys all year long.

    This is the companion book for The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook. Bundle them together for the ultimate kids cookbook set, they make an amazing birthday or holiday gift for your kids!

    • A copy of The Ultimate Kids' Baking Book sits on a pink background with a whisk, sprinkles, and cookie cutters.
      The Ultimate Kids' Baking Book

    More Recipes for Kids to Make

    Now that your kids are excited to be in the kitchen, how about you hand them one of these easy recipes for kids to make dinner??

    • The photo collage shows a cheese pizza, chicken tacos, sloppy joes, and mac and cheese.
      30 Easy Recipes for Kids to Make for Dinner
    • A photo collage shows 4 different covers of cookbooks for kids
      The Best Cookbooks for Kids 2023
    • A photo collages shows several easy dinner ideas kids could make.
      Easy Dinner Ideas for Yo-Yo Nights {You're On Your Own!}

    Get all the best tips for cooking with kids here:

    • A young girl has an apron, oven mitt, cooking spoon, and chef hat.
      Cooking with Kids
    A photo collage shows brownies, peanut blossom cookies, and Trix krispie treats.

    More Dessert Recipes

    • The photo collage shows a yule log, cannoli dip, oreo pie, and an almond crunch cake that are great Christmas desserts.
      Christmas Desserts 101
    • The photo collage shows several Christmas cookies including sugar cookie cut outs next to M&M cookies and oreo truffles.
      Christmas Cookies 101 {Start Here!}
    • The photo collage shows several make ahead Thanksgiving desserts that travel well including a 9x13-in cake in a pan and easy dessert bars.
      20 Make Ahead Thanksgiving Desserts that Travel Well
    • A square slice of tres leches cake is on a plate with a fork. You can see the three milks drizzling down the side of the vanilla cake and cinnamon is sprinkled on top of the whipped cream frosting.
      Tres Leches Cake {Cake Mix OR From Scratch}

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    Hi, I'm Tiffany!
    I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for women.

    More about me →

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