5 Ridiculously easy desserts you can make with a tub of Cool Whip

When it comes to dessert recipes (or any recipes, really), super-simple is my kind of recipe. Bonus if a dish looks like it took a lot of effort to make. And here’s a little secret: As long as you have a tub of whipped topping (like Cool Whip) on hand, you can make a homemade dessert that tastes like it took way more time to whip up (see what we did there?) than it really did. If that sounds like your jam, keep reading!

Creamy lemon cheesecake cupcakes

For a fun dessert that is made with a triple dose of lemon, give these tangy, light and creamy cupcakes a try. They’re made with a hint of ricotta cheese and a surprise cookie at the bottom.

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And the cookie is lemon too.

Plus they’re made with lemon yogurt.

And don’t forget about the lemon zest on the top for even more lemon flavor. Light and creamy lemon cupcakes are such a special treat, and the bonus is that no baking is required.

Creamy lemon cheesecake cupcakes recipe

Light and creamy, no-bake lemon cheesecake cupcakes made with Cool Whip are cool, refreshing and easy to make.

Serves 6

Prep time: 10 minutes | Inactive time: 2 hours | Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Cool Whip topping, thawed

• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese

• 2/3 cup (6 ounces) lemon yogurt

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 6 lemon sandwich cookies

• Zest from 1 lemon

• Yellow candy sprinkles

Directions:

1. To a medium-size bowl, add the Cool Whip, ricotta cheese, yogurt and sugar. Stir together.

2. To a muffin tin, add 6 paper cupcake liners.

3. Set a cookie in the bottom of each liner.

4. Add the Cool Whip mixture on top of the cookie, filling the liner to the top.

5. Top with lemon zest and yellow sprinkles.

6. Set the muffin tin in the freezer until the Cool Whip mixture firms up (about 2 hours).

7. Serve right out of the freezer.

Peanut butter and cream chocolate sandwiches

Yes, salty and sweet is the way to go. These sandwiches are super easy to make and wonderful to eat. Just pop them into the freezer so that the filling in the middle freezes, and then you can take a big old bite or even a dainty one if you like.

What an easy and delicious spin on an ice cream sandwich these yummies are.

The filling is made with just two ingredients: Cool Whip and peanut butter.

Peanut butter and cream chocolate sandwiches recipe

A frozen treat made with a filling that has only two ingredients: Cool Whip and peanut butter. The crispy outside is a chocolate-covered graham cracker, which is the perfect match for the salty and sweet filling.

Serves 6

Prep time: 10 minutes | Inactive time: 3 hours | Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Cool Whip topping, thawed

• 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

• 12 chocolate-covered graham cracker cookies

• 2 tablespoons chopped chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. To a medium-size bowl, add the Cool Whip and peanut butter. Stir together.

2. On a large plate, set 6 of the graham cracker cookies. Top with the Cool Whip mixture.

3. Put the remaining graham cracker cookies on top of the Cool Whip mixture to make sandwiches.

4. Add chopped chocolate chips to the sides of the Cool Whip mixture (optional).

5. Freeze until the Cool Whip mixture firms up (about 3 hours).

6. Serve right out of the freezer.

Crazy-easy raspberry and fudge ice cream

An easy recipe is one thing, but when you have a crazy-easy recipe, it’s really easy. Like this ice cream made with Cool Whip. It’s made with two main ingredients, and then raspberry and fudge are added to the mix.

Easy peasy, for sure. Just put the Cool Whip ice cream ingredients in the freezer to firm up, and when it’s done, just like that, you have ice cream. Perfect for a hot summer day (or any day, for that matter).

Crazy-easy raspberry and fudge ice cream recipe

Ice cream made with two main ingredients: Cool Whip and sweetened condensed milk. Then more flavor gets put into the mix with raspberries and dollops of fudge. Super simple to make and even better to eat.

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes | Inactive time: 5 hours | Total time: 5 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip topping, thawed

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raspberry preserves

• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

• 1/2 cup hot fudge topping

• Candy sprinkles

Directions:

1. To a medium-size bowl, add the Cool Whip and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk together.

2. Stir in the lemon juice and raspberry preserves.

3. Gently stir in the fresh raspberries.

4. Spoon the Cool Whip mixture into a shallow freezer-safe dish.

5. Top with dollops of hot fudge topping. Using a spoon, swirl in the fudge topping, leaving some of the dollops whole.

6. Freeze until the Cool Whip mixture firms up (about 5 hours or more).

7. Scoop the ice cream, and serve in bowls or on top of ice cream cones.

8. Top with candy sprinkles.

Mini no-bake Key lime pies

These little cuties pack a lime punch. The filling is so delicious, and my favorite part is how light and airy it tastes. They taste so good and are great for a late-night snack.

Lime, lime, and more lime will make you pucker just a bit with each bite.

I think they taste even better as they sit in the fridge, because the crust starts to take on the lime flavor too.

Mini no-bake Key lime pies recipe

No-bake your way into this delicious and ultra-easy mini Key lime pie made with Cool Whip, yogurt, lime zest and a premade graham cracker pie shell.

Serves 6

Prep time: 10 minutes | Inactive time: 1 hour | Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Cool Whip topping, thawed (for the pie)

• 2 (6 ounce) containers Key lime pie yogurt

• 6 premade mini graham cracker crumb pie shells

• Zest from 1 lime, for the pie

• Zest from 1 lime, for garnish

• 6 dollops Cool Whip topping, for garnish

• 6 small lime quarters, for garnish

Directions:

1. To a medium-size bowl, add the Cool Whip, just 1 container of yogurt and zest from 1 lime. Stir together.

2. Add the Cool Whip mixture to the pie shells.

3. Spoon the remaining container of yogurt on top to give the pie a light green color.

4. Top each pie with a dollop of Cool Whip, lime zest and a lime quarter.

5. Put the pies in the refrigerator, and chill before serving (about 1 hour).

S’mores shooters

These make-ahead shooters are so easy to assemble yet so cute when served. And they taste delicious, especially when the chocolate mixes in with the Cool Whip and the graham crackers.

The hardest part when making these is to put the ingredients into the shooter glass without leaving a smudge on the inside of the glass. But no worries if you do — you can just cover up the smudge with the next layer of ingredients.

S’mores shooters recipe

A quick make-ahead dessert that is dressed to impress with the familiar layers of delicious s’mores ingredients plus the bonus of Cool Whip.

Serves 6

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Cool Whip topping, thawed

• 4 graham crackers, crumbled

• 24 mini marshmallows

• 3/4 cup thick chocolate sauce

Directions:

1. To 6 tall shooter glasses, add a layer of graham cracker.

2. Then add a layer of 3 mini marshmallows.

3. Over the marshmallows, drizzle the chocolate sauce.

4. Top with Cool Whip.

5. Garnish with 1 marshmallow, a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs and a dollop of Cool Whip.

6. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

This article was originally published in 2015.

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