35+ Classic American Desserts (Pies, Cakes & More)

America is a land of diversity, and that is reflected in its desserts. From the classic chocolate chip cookie to the more unique sweet potato pie, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Here are 35+ of the best American desserts to try!

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The BEST Classic American Desserts

OVERHEAD SHOT OF BLACKBERRY FOOL IN SERVING GLASS WITH SPOON.
This Blackberry Fool is a cool and refreshing dessert made from pureed blackberries, whipped cream, and buttery shortbread cookies. Make this elegant and eye-catching dessert the perfect end to your next summer barbeque, afternoon tea, or family get-together.
Blackberry Fool
This classic apple pie recipe is your new go-to. The center is tender and flavorful and the crust is light and buttery.
Recipe: Butternut Bakery
Classic Apple Pie
Ultra-thick Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies feature golden brown edges with gooey centers. This easy recipe can be made in 30 minutes!
Recipe: Handle the Heat
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is the best New York cheesecake recipe ever. It’s easy to make, rich, creamy and dense, and doesn’t require a water bath.
Recipe: Pretty Simple Sweet
Classic New York Cheesecake
Crinkle Top Brownies: light, a little fudgy, extra chocolatey, perfectly sweet, with the most flakey, crinkly top ever. So good!
Recipe: Half Baked Harvest
Crinkle Top Brownies
Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – this carrot cake with pineapple and coconut is incredibly moist, lightly spiced, and very easy to prepare.
Recipe: A Beautiful Plate
Carrot Cake
Just like the classic pie, but in poppable bites! These mini key lime pies are made in muffin pans and require just 7 basic ingredients.
Recipe: Live Well Bake Often
Mini Key Lime Pies
This easy Pecan Pie Recipe will convert even the biggest skeptics! The caramel-like pie filling makes this pie one of my all-time favorites!
Recipe: Tastes Better From Scratch
Pecan Pie
Smores dip is a quick and easy oven baked s’mores dessert made from milk chocolate and toasty marshmallows, served with graham crackers.
Recipe: Olives + Thyme
Oven S’mores
A classic dessert, this Hot Fudge Sundae is a delicious combination of ice cream and rich hot fudge. Top it with whatever your heart desires!
Recipe: Hot Fudge Sundae
Classic Ice Cream Sundae
Sweet, creamy, simple, and perfect. That’s the best way to describe this homemade vanilla milkshake. You’ll find out that milkshakes are super easy to make at home with milk, ice cream, and other simple ingredients.
Recipe: Ice Cream From Scratch
Vanilla Milkshake
This rich and creamy Easy Peanut Butter Fudge is impossible to resist! With a classic soft fudge texture, it’s the perfect treat for sharing!
Recipe: House of Nash Eats
Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
The easiest Berry Trifle recipe – it’s layered with lemony angel food cake, a rich and billowy cream cheese whipped cream topping, and an abundance of vibrant fresh fruit. It’s a decadent and heavenly dessert! 
Recipe: Cooking Classy
Berry Trifle
A summertime treat, blackberry sorbet is easy to throw together and the perfect ending for a hot summer’s day.
Recipe: Naturally Ella
Blackberry Sorbet
The best chocolate pie recipe is here – it’s creamy, decadent, and supremely chocolatey. Stabilized whipped cream keeps shape well.
Recipe: Chew Out Loud
Chocolate Pie
This peach cobbler is heavenly and so easy to make. It has a juicy sweet peach filling and is topped with a biscuit like cobbler topping.
Recipe: Modern Crumb
Peach Cobbler
This tangy, honey-sweetened lemon blueberry frozen yogurt is a delightful (and healthy) summer treat.
Recipe: Cookie and Katie
Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
This Hummingbird Cake is moist, combining cinnamon, vanilla, pineapple, banana, and pecans, with a thick vanilla cream cheese frosting!
Recipe: House of Nash Eats
Classic Hummingbird Cake
These Red, White and Blueberry Cupcakes are light, fluffy, and so festive! Perfect for patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day!
Recipe: Baker by Nature
Cupcakes
This southern sweet potato pie recipe is a flaky pie crust, smooth brown butter sweet potato filling that will in your mouth!
Recipe: Britney Breaks Bread
Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie
These Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donuts are all about the texture. They are soft and cakey on the inside, and golden brown on the outside with these beautiful nooks and crannies for that sweet glaze to hold onto.
Recipe: Lovely Little Kitchen
Old Fashioned Glazed Buttermilk Donuts
Ultra moist, buttery, tender, and soft cake with the best red velvet flavor. Finished with easy cream cheese frosting.
Recipe: Handle the Heat
Red Velvet Cake
Skinny Frozen Peanut Butter Cup Pie – like a giant peanut butter cup, but in pie form, and healthier…so much to love right there!
Recipe: Half Baked Harvest
Frozen Peanut Butter Cup Pie
Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
This Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls recipe is so thick and soft, and they are topped with a cream cheese glaze. These soft cinnamon rolls are so easy too!
Recipe: A Latte Food
Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Monkey Bread
This Monkey Bread is gooey, buttery, brown sugar and cinnamon coated dough balls baked into a sweet pull apart bundt cake and is topped with a sweet glaze. It’s a classic gooey cinnamon roll sweet treat in pull-apart form!
Recipe: Salt & Baker
Monkey Bread
Root Beer Float is a refreshing summertime treat made with vanilla ice cream topped with root beer, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.
Recipe: I Am Baker
Root Beer Float
Strawberry shortcake recipe with homemade buttermilk biscuits, juicy strawberries, and freshly whipped cream make the perfect Spring dessert.
Recipe: Dessert for Two
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
These chewy spice cookies are baked with warm spices and rich molasses. They’re sweet, cozy, and the perfect treat for fall.
Recipe: Butternut Bakery
Molasses Cookies
This deep dish wild blueberry pie has a homemade buttery pie crust and a sweet wild blueberry filling that creates a slice of heaven!
Recipe: Table for Two Blog
Deep Dish Wild Blueberry Pie
These two bite classic Strawberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies can be whipped up in 30 minutes and you'll love the texture contrast between the soft cookie with crispy edges and the sticky sweet gooey jam center.
Recipe: Life Around the Table
Thumbprint Cookies
The best healthy peanut butter cookies, made with just 4 ingredients. You’ll love these refined sugar free gluten free peanut butter cookies.
Recipe: Beaming Baker
Peanut Butter Cookies
Soft, with pastry cream filling and chocolate ganache glaze – these homemade Boston cream donuts are the most delicious, satisfying desserts out there.
Recipe: Sugar Pursuit
Boston Cream Donuts
This patriotic American Flag Cake looks beautiful and is fun and easy to make. Fluffy, sweet and topped with cream cheese frosting, it’s delicious!
Recipe: Well Plated
American Flag Cake
This homemade angel food cake is wonderfully light and fluffy, and easy to make with just a few ingredients. Perfect for any occasion!
Recipe: Easy Dessert Recipes
Angel Food Cake
Butter pecan ice cream sandwiches are butter pecan cookies sandwiched around butter pecan ice cream to make the perfect end of summer dessert.
Recipe: Baran Bakery
Butter Pecan Ice Cream Sandwiches
These healthy no bake cake pops are allergy friendly and nut free, making them great for a school birthday treat.
Recipe: The Dizzy Cook
No Bake Cake Pops
These “no bake” chocolate haystack cookies are satisfying, chocolatey and the perfect treat to make when you need a snack in a hurry.
Recipe: Life Around the Table
Classic No Bake Haystack Cookies
Our Texas Sheet Cake is super decadent and moist, ultra-rich chocolatey one pan dessert.
Recipe: Balancing Motherhood
Texas Sheet Cake
Sweet and tart wild Montana huckleberries are surrounded by flaky pie crust in this homemade Huckleberry Pie.
Recipe: House of Nash Eats
Huckleberry Pie

How to Make Ahead and Store

Many of these recipes can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few days or even in the freezer. Simply check the individual recipes for full storing instructions and details on how to make ahead. 

More National Dessert Recipes to Try

Did you Make Any of These Classic Recipes?

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Collage of American desserts.

35+ Classic American Desserts

Here are 35 of the best American desserts to try! From the classic chocolate chip cookie to the more unique sweet potato pie. Try this Blackberry Fool. A dessert made from pureed blackberries, whipped cream, and buttery shortbread cookies.
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a blender or food processor, combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice; blend until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing with a rubber spatula. Discard the seeds.
  • Combine the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar in a mixing bowl. Use an electric stand or hand mixer to whisk the cream until peaks form.
  • Add ¾ of the blackberry puree to the whipped cream and fold gently to combine.
  • Add the shortbread cookies to a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Alternatively, you can add the cookies to a large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
  • Divide the blackberry fool between 4 decorative glasses or bowls. Drizzle with remaining berry puree, and top with cookie crumbs and additional blackberries. Enjoy!

Notes

Tip: Use a cookie scoop to easily divide the fool between glasses. 
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!

Equipment

Food processor
Mixing Bowl
Stand Mixer

Nutrition

Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 86mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1910IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg

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