5 Easy Dessert Ideas to Make for Your Next Holiday Party

While there's nothing wrong with being on a diet, a holiday party is not the place to start. After all, celebrations typically call for a good amount of salt, sugar, and merriment in order to have a great time. This is when the cookies, cakes, and pies get the royal treatment. If you're a lover of sweet treats and need to prepare some easy options for your next holiday party, consider the following ideas.

1. Sorbet and Cookies

Sorbet is easy to find at any local grocery store. It's easy to serve as well. Depending on how sophisticated the party is, you can serve sorbet in martini glasses for some flair. You can easily choose from flavors like raspberry, mango, and lemon. To up the ante, serve a scoop of sorbet with two sugar cookies on the side. To make it look even more enticing, add a sprig of fresh mint to the side. Whether the flavor is pineapple or chocolate, a sprig of fresh mint always adds an appealing element. The combination is a match made in Heaven.

2. Brownies

Brownies are often viewed as the decadent after-school treat that sits on the countertop. It's synonymous with home cooking and lots of love. It'll always be a classic dessert to serve. Instead of complicating a holiday party with a three-layered trifle cake, serve a platter of easy brownies. They'll taste great, go quickly and stand as a beloved sure thing at any party.

3. Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you surveyed a bunch of people regarding their favorite chocolate chip cookie, each person might have a different answer. Some people love their cookies to have a ton of chocolate chips. Others love the chocolate-chipless cookie. However, one of the ways you can serve a great chocolate chip cookie as a dessert is by making sure it's soft and chewy. To keep things easy for you, look for a thin, chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe online. When it's a thin cookie, it'll be less decadent yet still delicious. The goal is to find a cookie option that's universally loved.

4. Strawberry Cheesecakes Shots

If you're looking for a no-bake option, you can create strawberry cheesecake shots. This dessert is typically served in shot glasses. They're miniature yet incredibly flavorful. The first layer of this dessert is the graham cracker crust. Grind up the graham crackers in a food processor. Add melted butter to make it easier to stick together. For the cheesecake mixture, mix cream cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together. To make it more decadent, add a bit of white chocolate into the mix. For the top layers, purchase a tub of sliced frozen strawberries in sugar. Allow it to melt a bit. When you put it on top of the other layers, it should have a syrup-like texture. Add a fresh strawberry on top for the garnish.

5. White Chocolate Truffles

White chocolate truffles don't require any baking. Purchase a large pack of Oreos. Put them in a food processor in order to break them down into small bits. Use an 8-ounce pack of cream cheese and mix it together with the cookie bits. Once it's all mixed together, use a tablespoon to gather some of the mixtures. Place it in your hand and roll it into a round ball. Put the ball on a baking sheet that's been lined with parchment paper. Continue to do this with the rest of the mixture. With the balls on the baking sheet and parchment paper, place them =in the freezer for about an hour. While the mixture hardens, melt a bar of white chocolate into a liquid. Once you've melted the liquid, dip the oreo cookie balls in the liquid quickly. Pull them out and place them back on the parchment to freeze for another hour. When you're ready to serve, you'll have delicious white chocolate truffles to serve your guests.

The key to any dessert you're making is that you follow the instructions. If the recipe calls for softened butter, know that there's a difference between softened butter and melted butter. If you add a dash of cinnamon instead of a teaspoon, there's going to be a marked difference in the taste. Don't just wing it. By following the instructions, you'll be able to make any easy dessert and wow a crowd of guests at a holiday party.