Can I make cookies or sweet treats with minimal ingredients? You bet you can! Today I’m sharing easy cookies and dessert recipes made with just a few ingredients.
easy desserts made with minimal ingredients
With all of us tucked in at home and looking for things to do, I thought it would be fun to round up recipes here on two sugar bugs that require just a few ingredients you likely already have in your pantry or refrigerator.
These are recipes I make frequently for gifts, lunch boxes and just for snacking. Happy baking and creating!
Be sure pin this post to Pinterest so you can easily find it later! You can use the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page. 😊
what makes up minimal ingredients?
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of minimal is “relating to or being minimum: such as the least possible, barely adequate or very small or slight”.
For this post, minimal ingredients is going to constitute seven ingredients or less in the included simple desserts.
soft Amaretti cookies
This cookie is an Italian classic. Made with only six ingredients and naturally gluten free. They have a barely there crisp to the outside and a soft and chewy center.
If you don’t have superfine sugar in your pantry, you can create your own in a food processor. Place the amount of granulated sugar your recipe calls for in a food processor. Add a tablespoon or two of extra sugar to account for a reduction in volume. Process the sugar for one to two minutes, until the sugar feels like fine sand.
addictive peanut butter bars
I’ve heard rumor of temperatures soaring already around the world. No sign of that here in the PNW, but this recipe is perfect for days when you don’t want to turn on your oven. These peanut butter bars are treats with minimal ingredients, five to be exact.
always perfect sugar cookies
This cooke recipe will always have my heart and gets rave reviews from those who have baked them and eaten them. The easy recipe comes in with seven ingredients. If you want to glaze or frost them, you will need a few more ingredients (three more for a total of ten). Or, if you have some white chocolate or chocolate bars hanging around after Easter, you could make white chocolate sugar cookies.
homemade caramels
Making homemade caramels is much easier than you think! You do need a candy thermometer and to spend some time at the stove. Trust me though, all that stirring is worth it for the outcome! Soft, chewy and decadent caramels. Made by you!
homemade graham animal crackers
This easy cookie recipe has all the whimsy and charm of childhood. Made with only seven ingredients! Kid-friendly, easy to make, fun to eat and mom approved! You can also make this recipe into simple graham crackers. If you chose to glaze the animal crackers, you will need three more ingredients.
easy homemade marshmallows
Marshmallows are a simple dessert or sweet treat. Delicious on their own, but also perfect for topping hot cocoa or using in smore’s. This is another recipe that is much easier than you think! Five ingredients (six if you count water) and 15 – 20 minutes of hands on time is all that stands between you and these fluffy marshmallows.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make any of these treats with minimal ingredients! It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
I am all about easy treats with minimal ingredients. I have my eye on those minimal amoretti cookies!!!! They look really amazing.
Thank you Christie! I think you would love the amaretti!!
Thank you Christie! You will do such an amazing job making amaretti and I think you will really enjoy them!
This is such a fun roundup of easy desserts. I really loved your animal crackers recipe with the yummy frosting glaze!
Thank you Heidi! Those animal crackers are one of my favorites; I think I love them even more than my girls do!
Thank you Heidi! I sure love those animal crackers, maybe even more than my girls do!😉
All of these look so good! I really want to try the peanut butter bars. I have an addiction to Reese’s Cups!
Thank you Michelle! You will LOVE the peanut butter bars!!
Thank you Michelle! If you are a Reese’s peanut butter cups fan, you will LOVE the peanut butter bars!
What a terrific roundup! The homemade caramels and homemade marshmallows look especially delicious!
Thank you! Both the caramels and marshmallows are very dangerous for me to make, meaning I have very little self control around them! The caramels are my dad’s favorite and he requests them several times a year.😊
Thank you! I am such a fan of both the caramels and marshmallows, I hope you get to make them!
So many great ideas, Tasia! We’re all on the lookout for easy treats with minimal ingredients these days. I used to go to the grocery store nearly every day. It’s so weird how things can change!
Thank you Katherine! I love how many treats can be made with just a handful of common ingredients! I know what you mean about not going to the grocery store so frequently. I’ve been making it about 12 days between trips to the store and it surprises me that we can make it that long before running out of fresh produce. Hope you and your family are well!
Such a great idea, especially for the times we are in right now! Thanks for putting this together, so useful.
Thank you Kim! I’m always amazed at how few ingredients can make a delicious treat! It makes me happy to hear this list was helpful.
What a great list of ideas (though I have to say you had me at amaretti cookies)! Recipes for treats with minimal ingredients definitely come in handy these days – we’re turning into snack monsters over here. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Katerina! I have to say those amaretti cookies get me too! I hope you enjoy them!
This is a handy round up of recipes to keep in my back pocket. If this is our new normal, having minimal ingredients for baking is going to be a regular occurence. Thanks for pulling this together Tasia!
It was fun to put this list together Leanne! I love how many amazing treats you can create with just a handful of ingredients!