77 Easter Dessert Recipes That Are *Almost* Too Pretty to Eat

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 24 cookies

Nine ingredients and 20 minutes stand between you and this Easter dessert recipe. "Instead of food coloring, the cookies get their half-and-half hue (and flavor) from freeze-dried berries, which you can find online and in stores," former PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen explains. "I used a mix of strawberry and raspberry, but you can use any kind you like."

• Time Commitment: 4 hours (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 8 to 10

The sweet-and-salty graham cracker crumble tastes like pie crust, but is delightfully low-maintenance. "It provides just the right texture and flavor, minus the effort," Gillen states. "The filling is made on the stovetop, and the meringue is cooked so you can eat it without baking or torching it."

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: no bake, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8 to 10

This fruity spin on tiramisu is coffee-free, but it's still no-bake and a breeze to assemble. You'll only need to cook the raspberry sauce; the rest is soaking, stacking and waiting for it to chill. "The striking pink topping is just a dusting freeze-dried raspberries, [but] a smattering of fresh berries or a touch of lemon zest would be equally delicious and elegant," Gillen suggests.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes (plus chilling time)
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 8

Think of this sweet-and-salty Easter dessert recipe as a key lime pie-lemon meringue hybrid. Its signature flavor is courtesy of a buttery saltine cracker crust, while the key to the filling is sweetened condensed milk. "The pie takes almost no time to assemble and bake, making it ideal for beginner bakers," Gillen asserts.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 24 cookies

You technically only need seven ingredients to pull off these vibrant, dangerously poppable cookies, considering the recipe calls for homemade or store-bought lemon curd. "You can totally wing it with just your hands and a spatula, but I've found that a small cookie scoop (about one tablespoon) makes portioning fast and flawless," Gillen advises.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes (includes chilling time)
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 12

The iconic Southern dessert got a delicious makeover—and this cheesecake riff on it doesn't even require a fussy water bath (yay!). "With a Nilla wafer crust and slightly tangy whipped topping, it's sweet and rich without being cloying," Gillen adds.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: one 9-inch cake

This light-as-air take on classic Swedish semlor is as pretty as it is delicious. "Traditionally, the cake is scored to show people where to cut it," recipe developer Erin McDowell explains. "My version is much easier to shape because it’s simply baked in a Bundt pan." Every bite is like a frothy, warm-spiced cloud, so go ahead, have two slices (or three).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, no bake, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 15

Tell your oven to sit this one out—the fridge and freezer have it covered. The crust is frozen instead of baked, and the filling comes together on the stove before being chilled. Make it even easier on yourself by using store-bought graham cracker crust instead of making your own.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 24 cookies

Any Easter dessert recipe that comes together in 30 minutes is one I want on my holiday menu. The simple cheesecake filling is marbled with a dollop of store-bought jam (I'm partial to raspberry or strawberry) for a spring-inspired finishing touch.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: gluten free, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: one 9-inch tart

Sweet, tangy and basically born to be Instagrammed. Garnish the gluten-free stunner with chopped pistachios for both color and texture (and serve it with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream if you're feeling especially decadent).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12

Your favorite childhood lunchbox snack is all grown up. To ensure the cookies turn out supremely chewy, take care to not overbake them—when the edges are just turning golden, they're ready. "The silky vanilla cream can be piped with a piping bag (if you're fancy), but an offset spatula does the job just fine," McDowell assures.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: one pan, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 10

Your cast iron skillet guarantees crispy edges and a soft, fluffy center. "I use fresh cherries, but blueberries or strawberries would be delicious, too," McDowell notes. Crown it with a generous dusting of confectioners' sugar or lots of fresh whipped cream.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 6 to 8

Isn't she lovely? One bite and boom, you're on a Florida beach without a care in the world. Greek yogurt and condensed milk star in the filling, while coconut flakes and white chocolate chunks take the graham cracker crust over the top.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 8

Think of galettes as the lazy baker's alternative to pie. Frozen store-bought puff pastry makes this Easter dessert recipe a cinch to pull off, even for newbies. Vanilla ice cream is *technically* optional...but I don't know why you'd skip it.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes (plus freezing time)
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 1 quart

Ice cream machine? Never heard of it. Not only is this recipe no-churn, but it'll also stay smooth for weeks in the freezer without getting icy, thanks to the silky Italian meringue base made with sugar syrup.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 18 cookies

These handhelds are like their namesake, from the walnuts to the chocolate chips to the butterscotch. A modest dose of banana extract infuses every crumb with nostalgia. Pro tip: Thoroughly dry the strawberry slices before placing them in and on top of the dough balls—this will keep them from sliding around as they bake.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, sheet pan recipe
• Serves: 12

Giant baking sheet > dainty pie plate. If you're serving a crowd, this 13-by-9-inch Easter dessert recipe is just the ticket. "People are so afraid of slicing pie, but there's no wrong way to slice this one," McDowell asserts. "You can easily cut slivers or slabs, whatever portion your guests want." Finish it with turbinado sugar and whipped cream.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 10

This simple sweet proves that sometimes, less is more. It's light and airy and satisfyingly simple. Bonus points for grilling each slice (outdoors on the barbecue if the weather allows, or indoors on a grill pan) before topping it with berries.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours and 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, make ahead, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 24 cookies

Just roll, chill, slice, bake and devour—such is the magic of icebox cookies. Prep the dough a few days ahead of Easter (so you're free to bake ham, set the table and whip up a big-batch cocktail for your guests on the holiday), then bake them fresh after dinner to wow everyone.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8 to 10

Who needs frosting? Caramelized fruit is arguably even prettier. Start with the ripest, sweetest pineapple you can find (they're at peak deliciousness in spring), or substitute peaches, nectarines, apricots, strawberries or any other berry or stone fruit you'd prefer.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 12

Warm, homemade blueberry syrup is a ridiculously easy way to dress up boxed cake mix. The way it's distributed throughout the cake results in a surprise-and-delight slicing experience, too. I won't tell your guests about the shortcut (as long as I get the first slice at Easter dessert).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: make ahead, special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12

Is it breakfast or dessert? Doesn't matter—either way, it's delicious. The doughnuts are baked instead of fried, so they're decidedly low-lift and your house won't smell like oil when your relatives arrive. That's a win-win in my book.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: 10

There’s just enough frosting on this stunner to sweeten the deal, but not so much that it becomes cloying. Plus, the barely-there application will make the cake look like you ordered it from a fancy bakery. Finish it with lemon peel twists and fresh berries.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 12

It’s like two desserts in one, and what could be wrong with that? "The biscuit-like batter is poured into a muffin tin and filled with lightly sweetened fresh strawberries," former PureWow food editor Heath Goldman writes. "Then the finished cupcakes are topped with whipped cream and, of course, more berries." Even the pickiest eaters at the kids' table will ask for seconds.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 8

Everything can be prepared a day ahead, so assembling this Easter dessert recipe is a breeze. Add golden raisins to the batter for a pop of chewy sweetness in every bite (but most importantly, be generous with the cream cheese frosting for maximum tang).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: no bake, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 10

You don’t even have to turn on the oven. Thanks to store-bought ladyfingers, all you'll need to do is assemble and chill to reach spring dessert heaven. You also won't need to make your own fruit compote, since this Easter dessert recipe calls for jarred jam or jelly.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 12

It’ll take you less time to make these than it will for the kids to find those hidden Easter eggs. "The cons of angel food cake are that it involves a lot of egg separating and a lot of careful mixing to to make sure you don't deflate the batter,” McDowell explains. "But with these cupcakes, all the amounts are smaller, so that mixing happens really quickly. They also bake really fast." P.S.: The frosting gets its blush hue from freeze-dried strawberries, not food dye.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 4

"Roasting your strawberries really concentrates their flavor, and in this easy recipe, you just layer them and put ice cream on top," McDowell says. These summery treats look fancy and everyone will think they took significant effort. Don’t tell them the truth—and let the compliments roll in.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: one 9-inch pie

The topping gets its color from freeze-dried blueberries, making it the ultimate match for tart lemon filling. One crucial tip: Once you add the cornstarch, make sure to boil it for a full 30 seconds to cook off any starchy flavors and ensure your pie sets properly.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: one 9-inch cake

This photogenic treat takes 40 minutes from start to finish, and its texture is impossibly moist, thanks to Greek yogurt in the batter. Best of all, the leftovers will make a great breakfast (if there are any, that is).

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 10

You'll need to cook the compote for this low-lift sweet, but I promise it's worth the brief time at the stove. The lemon zest in the filling is the trick to keeping this decadent Easter dessert recipe from tasting too sweet.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: one 9-inch cake

All you need is a few hibiscus tea bags to make the vibrant, sweet-tart frosting. If you're craving extra oohs and ahhs, take McDowell's advice: "Decorate it simply with frosting swoops or fancy it up with sprinkles and fresh flowers. Either way, it'll be dressed to impress."

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 20 cookies

There's a little ray of sunshine in every bite. You don't *need* to torch the meringue topping, but I'd argue that it makes this Easter dessert recipe all the more Insta-worthy. "Put the meringue on top in a very casual swipe, because you don't want too much. You want to keep that tart-sweet combination," McDowell notes.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 10

Which would you rather: a bunch of store-bought Easter candy or a homemade cake that tastes like candy? That's what I thought. Cinnamon sugar, chocolate chunks and two-ingredient chocolate glaze unite to create an irresistible mashup.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

It's rhubarb's time to shine, and its tart flavor is just the thing to complement creamy rice pudding (especially when it has a creamy, rich texture and a tropical flair). Did I mention it's only eight ingredients away?

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 12 buns

No need to stop by that fancy (and expensive) bakery—you can make the gourmet treats at home. Each bun is finished with a bright raspberry or blueberry glaze for good measure. "They're airy, much like a yeasted doughnut, but without the mess of frying," McDowell adds.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 6

Fluffy meringue + creamy lemon custard + sugar cookie crust = pure Easter magic. Be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice in the filling; the bottled kind doesn't compare. "I recommend using a candy thermometer to take the guesswork out of the topping," McDowell says.  

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 9

Don't tell anyone you used pre-made pie dough and they’ll be none the wiser, just from the look of these miniatures. You'll only need four more ingredients for this Easter dessert recipe to boot, including the crunchy turbinado sugar on top.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 8

Store-bought angel food cake gets gussied up with a few simple fixings, and suddenly it’s a fancy Easter dessert. Your guests won't mind the shortcut once they taste the zingy fruit sauce.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly
• Serves: 8

Enter this pretty-in-pink crowd-pleaser that’ll blow everyone away. The lattice is easier to accomplish than you may think, but you can opt for a double-crust pie instead if you're pressed for time. Just be sure to make a few cuts in the top to vent the filling as it bakes.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 4

Whip up a 20-minute classic and please everyone in one fell swoop—without breaking a sweat. If you want to go the extra mile, serve the curd (which only requires five ingredients, BTW) in tart crusts, atop pound cake or with fresh fruit.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours and 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, gluten free, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 16 pieces

One look at these cuties and your relatives will think you’re some kind of fancy pastry chef or something. They're almost too pretty to eat (almost...). Bonus? This Easter dessert recipe is gluten free, so your wheat-allergic guests can indulge all they want.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: no bake, gluten free, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 8

Wait, you’re telling me these are gluten free, vegan and delicious? Believe it, friends. The intensely chocolatey brownies have a base of pitted dates, almonds and cocoa powder. In lieu of dried rose petals as a garnish, scatter a bag or two of rose tea on top for a similar look and taste.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 14

It's light, airy and looks like something you'd see on The Great British Bake-Off. Color your dinner guests impressed. I'm betting most of the ingredients (read: all seven of them) are already in your kitchen to boot.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
• Serves: 15

This Easter dessert recipe is begging for a spot in your kid's lunchbox. Make sure you don't over-bake the cakes, so they can be stay soft for the long haul. "Wrap the finished cakes tightly in plastic wrap, and they travel particularly well in bags, lunchboxes or picnic baskets," McDowell adds.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 6

"Everyone will think you're a pro when you make these, so try it when you're really looking to impress someone," McDowel advises. The key to a successful soufflé is in the mixing. Don't overdo it (and don't slam the sheet tray down on the counter when you take them out of the oven) and you'll be in the clear, baker extraordinaire.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

This is so much better than those mediocre chocolate eggs you've been snacking on. The easy Easter dessert recipe is garnished with whipped cream, toasted hazelnuts and chopped dark chocolate for a fancy finishing touch and a variety of color and texture.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: gluten free, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 10

It looks decadent, but it's actually light enough that you could eat two slices if you wanted (and fair warning, you'll want to). It's basically an artfully arranged stack of meringue, lemon curd, raspberry jam and fresh fruit. What's not to like?

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 35 bites

Fudgy in the center, chewy at the edges and deeply chocolatey. A chunk of milk chocolate is pressed into the middle of each of these cuties, in case your kids need more convincing. "It bakes up into the ideal combination of chewy at the edges and fudgy in the center," McDowell raves.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: gluten free, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4

What looks whimsical and fancy but is actually so simple to make? This guy. Think marshmallow-y meringue slathered with homemade grapefruit curd and vanilla-kissed whipped cream. The sweet cookie offsets the tartness of the filling just right.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 4 to 6

Yup, chocolate whipped cream is a thing—a heavenly, drool-worthy thing. If you want to swap the raspberries for strawberries in this simple Easter dessert recipe, be my guest. It'll still take you only 25 minutes to make.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 20 pieces

This Easter treat beats drugstore candy any day. With powdered gelatin on your side, this six-ingredient treat is actually a breeze to master. "The combination of milk chocolate and coconut oil means you can make these treats without having to temper the chocolate," McDowell notes. "The smooth, creamy exterior gives way to a fluffy vanilla marshmallow filling, and it literally can't get any better."

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 18 cookies

Match your dessert to your blossoming garden. The key is using an assortment of edible flowers; violets, pansies, roses and lavender are all fair game. Bonus: There's no need to dry and press the blossoms before baking. Just glue them to the slice-and-bake cookies with egg wash and they’ll flatten in the oven.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 12 eggs

Brunch favorite meets dessert favorite for an easy, photogenic home run. Take your pick of lemon curd, marmalade or Nutella for the eggs' filling (or better yet, try one of each—c'mon, it's a holiday).

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 45 minutes (includes cooling time)
• Why I Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 24 cookies

If you’re more of a traditionalist when it comes to Easter dessert recipes, festively frosted sugar cookies are always a good idea. Let the kids help you decorate them after the egg hunt. (And in case you need help with the royal icing...)

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
• Serves: 10

Keep it simple and frosted or adorn it with elegant edible flowers. Either way, the four-ingredient, tangy cream cheese frosting is mandatory. "Clear room in the fridge during baking," recipe creator Gaby Dalkin advises. "This frosting requires refrigeration."

• Time Commitment: 2 hours
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 40 cookies

I love the look of candied citrus, freeze-dried strawberries and pistachios on these simple cookies, but sprinkles would be cute (and kid-friendly) too. "I really like the white chocolate coating for these cookies because it hard sets nicely in a way that buttercream doesn't," recipe creator Jenny Park explains.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 10 to 12

Maybe next year, Cadbury. For now, I'm all about this simple mix of Oreo cookies, cream cheese and a duo of chocolates for decorating. (They're finished with melted white chocolate almond bark.) Make them up to a week in advance.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly
• Serves: 10 to 12

Complete with sweet-and-sour lemon cream cheese frosting. When you cut a slice, the candy eggs will pour out in piñata-like fashion, so ready your camera before serving. The recipe also calls for cake flour, ensuring a light-as-air, fluffy texture.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Confession: I'd eat these any time of year. But they feel especially appropriate as winter turns to spring. Crushed Ritz crackers offer the optimal dose saltiness to every spoonful. The TLDR? "It's just like a banana cream pie, but with the addition of coconut and layered in cute glasses instead of a single pie crust," recipe creator Tieghan Gerard says.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 12

This triple threat is one for the books, if you ask me. I can’t decide what I love most: the chocolate cookie “dirt,” the bunny booties or the painless 20-minute baking time. Your kids will definitely ask for seconds.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 20

Set this stuff out in a candy dish and watch it disappear in 30 seconds flat. Besides the saltine cracker base, they're endlessly riffable, so use whatever candies or sprinkles you'd like. I'm betting buttery Ritz crackers would be a fine substitute for saltines, if you have those on hand.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, make ahead, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: one 9-by-13-inch sheet pan

I always had a hunch banana bread would be better with frosting. The brown butter (aka liquid gold) in the batter takes it over the top with rich nuttiness. Even better, Greek yogurt ensures an incredibly moist crumb.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 16

They’re just like the ones your mom used to make, but so much easier. This Easter dessert recipe starts with a four-ingredients shortbread crust that picky eaters will gobble up (even down to the fresh lemon zest).

• Time Commitment: 3 hours and 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, sheet pan recipe, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Leave the stuffy crystal trifle bowl in your Aunt Sandy's bag. (After a few mimosas, she won't even notice.) A sheet pan is less fussy, plus makes the Easter dessert recipe easier to share. Plate it straight from the pan with a few large serving spoons.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
• Serves: one 9-inch cake

Name a recipe that cream cheese hasn't improved, I'll wait. "This cake is as easy to make as a batch of chocolate chip cookies and has that same nostalgic flavor," McDowell claims. "Using mini chocolate chips keeps them suspended throughout the batter—regular-sized chips are more likely to sink to the bottom."

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

Gooey caramel (read: easy store-bought dulce de leche), soft bananas, airy whipped cream and crisp graham cracker crumbles? This will do. "This is a ridiculously easy dessert with minimal baking and big flavor," McDowell says. "Plus, it checks every texture box."

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 6

A galette is just a freeform pie, so it’s easy to assemble and bake, even if you’re having company. The hardest part is choosing whether to eat it with ice cream or whipped cream—or, if you’re like me, a little of both. The store-bought pie crust can stay between us.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours
• Why I Love It: make ahead, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 20 candies

Thick, photo-worthy and oh-so festive, this is one Easter dessert recipe you'll want to make an annual tradition. Experiment by swapping the vanilla extract in the recipe for other varieties, like coffee or peanut butter (both would pair well with the almond-flavored filling).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
• Serves: 8

This super moist crowd-pleaser is begging to be served with Earl Grey lattes, if you ask me. Swap the Meyer lemons for easier-to-find regular lemons if you want to simplify it further. McDowell urges you to serve it with fresh spring berries.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12 doughnuts

I've moved on from dyeing eggs—this year, I'm coloring doughnuts instead. Use a wooden skewer to swirl the food coloring through the easy glaze to create a Pinterest-approved marbled look that your relatives will adore.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 30 to 40 cookies

These simple cookies scream spring. Fill them with fruit jam (apricot, raspberry and blackberry are top contenders) or Nutella, then dust them with confectioners' sugar for a dainty finishing touch. FYI, the dough can be frozen easily and used at a later date.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 10 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, gluten free, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Inspired by Polish sernik, this spin on cheesecake requires no crust or water bath to come together. It rises more than the New York-style confection you're used to, but it's just as creamy and rich. Pro tip: Smother it in caramel, melted chocolate or berry compote.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, gluten free, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 10 to 12

Whether you serve it for brunch or dessert, drench it in every drop of lemon glaze you have. The cake batter can be made with whole milk yogurt or from-scratch cashew-coconut yogurt, if you'd prefer the dessert to be dairy free (or have lactose-intolerant guests at the table).

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, make ahead, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 20 cookies

This picky eater-proof masterpiece is only nine simple ingredients away. Malted milk powder makes the cookies nutty and toasty, but you can add crushed freeze-dried berries to the dough for a sweet-tart twist (and colorful flair).

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes (plus chilling time)
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 12

This riff on a French classic is totally plant-based, and you'll only need eight ingredients to pull it off. Aquafaba (aka chickpea water) and vegan butter make it possible. Fresh berries are simplest, but you could also add lemon juice and zest to the batter instead or a few spoonfuls of pistachio butter.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 12

I don't care what season it is: Chocolate is always invited to the dessert course. Gluten free, elegant and crowned with a flourish of flaky salt, this gourmet-looking tart is sure to satisfy picky kids and hard-to-please relatives alike at first bite.