Our Favorite Mini Desserts

The best desserts come in small packages, as proven by this collection of the most adorable tiny treats ever created in the Better Homes & Gardens® Test Kitchen. With bite-size variations on cupcakes, brownies, cookies, tarts, and more, these itty-bitty desserts are as cute as pie.
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Geode Cake Pops

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Here’s a cake pop decorating technique that really rocks! Excavate a wedge of the cake-and-frosting filling to allow room for geodelike rock candy filling. Decorating sugar completes the look with a perfect shimmery rim.

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Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Minis

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Berries, lime, salt (by way of a crushed pretzel base)—the only thing missing from these cheesecake bites to make them 100 percent margarita knock-offs is the tequila. That means you don't need to worry about keeping a separate platter of mini desserts for the kids and adults!

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Sweet and Salty Chocolate Flowers

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Beat the clock with these springy, kid-friendly chocolate pretzels. They require just 5 minutes in the oven! Get creative with your color combinations, or try peanut butter-filled candy-coated pieces if you prefer.

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Coffee Cone Affogato

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Ice cream sundae meets coffee break in this sippable and snackable espresso concoction. Chocolate-coated mini ice cream cones might just be the cutest little mugs you'll ever drink from (and then devour!).

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

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Combine the goodness of chocolate chip cookies with the poppable proportion of candy truffles. Our easy dessert recipe is eggless, so it's safe to eat this raw cookie dough delight.

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Nutty Honey Mini Rolls

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A buttery blend of honey, cinnamon, and toasted almonds transforms refrigerated crescent dough into small-scale sweet rolls. Top the treats with a swirl of homemade honey icing and even more chopped almonds. Why not go a little nuts?

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Mini Blueberry Pies

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Enjoy a taste of the original sweet tarts—bitty blueberry pies baked in metal tart pans. Berries, sugar, and butter fill the flaky homemade piecrusts for a quintessential summer dessert.

Tip: Garnish the individual pies with lemon zest and a dollop of whipped cream, Greek yogurt, or ice cream.

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Citrus Zingers Sugar Cookies

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A triple dose of citrus (orange, lemon, and lime) in both the dough and the cream cheese frosting gives these lovely cookies their zing. Seek out cookie cutters that are about 1-inch in diameter for a petite dessert that can easily fit in the palm of your hand.

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Lemon Curd Tassies

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Sweet-tart lemon curd is easier to make than you might think. Simply stir together lemon juice and peel with a few pantry ingredients, then let it cool while these easy tassie crusts bake. Combine the two for a tiny treat that packs big citrus flavor.

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Mini S'mores

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Sticky s'mores aren't just for the summer! Use your broiler to melt tiny marshmallows onto tiny graham cracker squares. For a fancy finish, dunk the dessert into melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils. 

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No-Bake Truffle Treats

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Crushed cookies and melted chocolate bars are the stars of these easy, no-oven-required truffles. Please your entire party by serving a couple of our flavor variations: almond-cherry, pecan shortbread, peanut, and/or cocoa overload.

Tip: Decorate with something that gives a nod to the flavors inside. Think crushed almonds for almond-cherry, chopped peanut butter-filled candy-coated pieces for peanut, or chocolate sprinkles for cocoa overload.

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Espresso Tarts

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Instant espresso powder and coffee liqueur punch up these warmly-spiced cocoa tarts. Start with a layer of espresso dough, fill with a brown sugar-sweetened melted chocolate mixture, then top with (you guessed it!) more chocolate in the espresso-tinged ganache.

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Mini Raspberry and White Chocolate Whoopie Pies

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Sandwich a layer of raspberry preserves and tangy mascarpone-white chocolate filling between these fluffy vanilla cookies. Try these for an easy party snack or a lunch-box treat that surely won't get swapped!

Tip: These whoopie pies can be made in advance and frozen for up to three months, so dessert is never too far away. Simply thaw for an hour in the fridge before taking a bite.

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Caramel Acorn Treats

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Everyone will fall for these acorn-shaped chocolate-caramel candies. They're a breeze to make, too: Slice and mold the caramels so one end is pointy, then use frosting to adhere a cookie cap and baking piece stem.

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Milk Chocolate Mini Cookies

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Two chewy cookies are always better than one. Stack these basic chocolate cookies with our homemade sour cream frosting for mini cookie sandwiches.

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Mini Lemon Dreams

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Sweet-tart fans, your dreams are about to come to life. Bite into a miniature cupcake to discover a tangy lemon curd filling—in addition to the lemon cream frosting that sweetens the citrusy snack.

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Orange-Smooched Brownie Bites

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Remember those chocolate oranges from Christmases past? Here's a mini muffin tin dessert that tastes just like it, with a chocolate brownie base and a melted chocolate glaze sandwiching an orange buttercream filling.

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Apple Pie Pops

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Little is better than warm apple pie. But how about warm apple pie you can eat on the go? These pops have all the buttery crust and warmly-spiced apple goodness you crave—in a more portable package. Bonus: No extra dishes to clean!

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Mini Flourless Chocolate Cakes

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Calling all chocolate-lovers! Made with both cocoa powder and melted bittersweet chocolate, this dessert becomes even more irresistible when covered with chocolate ganache and fresh berries.

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Key Lime Pie Tassies

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From the moment these one-bite, butter-pastry-crusted pies hit your taste buds, you'll be transported to the Florida Keys. For a dainty, showy garnish, top each dollop of homemade whipped cream with a few thin slivers of key lime zest.

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Sweet-and-Spicy Brownie Bites

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Freshly-grated ginger, cinnamon, and ground ancho chile pepper balance the sweetness in the batter of these fudgy chocolate brownies. And that's not just cocoa powder dusting the squares... there's extra chile pepper heating up the mix, too!

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Shortcut Baklava Tassies

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For less mess (all the honey goodness is tucked neatly inside) and less stress (no need to fuss with layering finicky phyllo dough), swap these bite-sized tassies for your traditional baklava recipe. It offers just as much walnutty goodness as the classic version and takes just 25 minutes to prepare.

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Pumpkin Pie Pops

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Sugar, spice, and everything nice—including plenty of creamy pumpkin puree—is hiding inside these festive pie pops. For an extra sweet touch, brush the piecrust with milk and sprinkle on a combination of pumpkin pie spice and sugar before popping the pan in your oven.

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Rosemary and Lemon Cornmeal Donuts

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These two-inch treats look like breakfast but taste like dessert, thanks to a super-tender yogurt and cornmeal batter, and a sweet lemon and powdered sugar icing. To keep the calorie count mini, too, these rosemary donuts are baked instead of fried. (Translation: you have our permission to eat three at a time!)

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Caramel Apple Cinnamon Roll Bites

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Yearning for a decadent dessert that doesn't require hours of prep time, stressing about DIY dough, or acquiring dozens of ingredients? Try these semihomemade sweet roll pops that taste just like caramel apples. You need just three supermarket items, plus pop sticks, to bring a big tray of mini desserts to the table.

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Dulce de Leche Snappers

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Turtle candies and shortbread team up in these caramel-pecan cookies. Rather than cooling completely, spread the cookies with a spoonful each of dulce de leche about one minute after they leave the oven.

Tip: To bring out the sweetness of the shortbread and caramel, add a sprinkle of sea salt on top.

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Mini Maple-Pecan Pies

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Pecan pie is a must during the fall, and these adorably petite pies feature the sweet, nutty taste you know and love, plus the flavor of pure maple syrup. Reduced-fat ingredients keep the muffin-tin recipe under 200 calories per serving.

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Mini Frozen Mousse Pops

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If you're craving a luxurious dessert with creamy chocolate flavor, your search stops here. Small muffin cups and lollipop sticks make it possible to enjoy chocolate mousse utensil-free, so these handheld treats are ideal for parties.

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Frozen Coconut Coffee Bites

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Breakfast or dessert? We'll let you decide. Toasted coconut and crushed graham crackers form the crust on these small freezer sweets, while vanilla, espresso, and cinnamon perk up the cream cheese topping.

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Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups

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Whether you bake a batch to combat the shivers of snow season, or serve them in the heat of summer, these mini muffin tin cookie cups will satisfy. Plus, how cute are those pretzel "handles"?!

Tip: If you're lucky enough to have leftover chocolate ganache after filling the 64 "mugs," drizzle some over your next bowl of ice cream, or use it as makeshift fondue for dunking fruit.

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No-Bake Peanut Butter Oat Bites

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No need to turn on the oven for these bite-size peanut butter balls. They come together in just 20 minutes, then just need to chill to solidify to ideal snacking texture. Honey holds the one-bowl treats together, while chocolate chips, oats, and coconut offer a textural adventure.

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Mini Raspberry-Chocolate Tarts

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The possibilites for baked miniature phyllo dough shells are nearly endless. Fill them with melted dark chocolate, fresh raspberries (or any berry that looks ripe and ready in the market), and slivered almonds for a quick and easy dessert.

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