14 Genius Dessert Hacks To Maximize Your Dessert Experience

Here at Candy Direct, we are big proponents of getting the most bang for your buck. That's why we're in the bulk candy industry. Part of getting the most bang for your buck is "upgrading" what you already have. For instance, we like to add candy to our brownie mixes to spice things up.

Because really, have you tried adding Twix bars to your standard, run-of-the-mill brownie mix? It's what we like to call a "dessert hack": upgrading an old, boring recipe in a super simple way.

There are tons of creative bloggers who are constantly coming up with new ways to enjoy desserts, and we're sharing some of our favorite dessert hacks that we've seen to date.

Try a "S'moreo": Oreo cookie, marshmallow, and Hershey's chocolate.

Credit: Very Culinary

It seems that in the world of recipe-blogging, Oreo's are perfect for almost everything. They can be crushed up and used as a pie crust, finely ground and used as a topping (more on that later) and, like Amy from Very Culinary shows us, taken apart and put back together with s'more ingredients. While we're sure you can probably do this over a fire at a camp out, you can just as easily accomplish it in the microwave on a Friday night. That's what Amy did, and it still looks fabulous. Our snack sessions are about to get s'more delicious.

OK, we'll stop. But seriously, get s'more of the hack here.

Grill chocolate, marshamallows, and graham crackers inside a banana for a banana s'more.

Credit: Neighbor Food Blog

Here's a great dessert hack for the camping enthusiasts (or grillers) out there: a banana, roasted on the grill, with marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate hiding inside of its peel. We love the idea of cooking and baking things inside of fruit. Peel back a single strip of the banana and stuff it with as much s'morey ingredients as possible and close it back up. Stick it on the grill in foil for 10 minutes, and open it back up.

You should see gooey, chocolately, banana goodness. Check out more here.

Get your milk and cookies in one bite with a milk and cookie shot.

Dominique Ansel is the mastermind behind the Cronut: a donut/croissant hybrid that was so good, Ansel couldn't even think of a more pleasant-sounding name. Now he's made another genius creation: milk and cookie shots. He debuted his invention earlier this year at South by Southwest in Austin and introduced it in his Soho bakery later that month.

Since they're only sold at his restaurant (for $3 a pop) bloggers have tried to replicate them in their own kitchens. Yum Sugar's attempt seems to be the most popular thus far; using a chocolate sauce to keep the inner portion of the cookie shot glass crispy and firm.

Get Yum Sugar's version of Ansel's Cookie and Milk Shot here.

Eat raw cookie dough by leaving out the eggs.

Are we the only ones who used to eat raw cookie dough even though the package explicitly said not to? To be honest, we probably would still be doing it if not for this recipe from Kailley at Kailley's Kitchen. The recipe basically calls for almost everything else that comes in cookie dough, except those eggs.

There are also tons of dessert dips that were adapted from these cookie dough recipes because anything sweet in soft, scoopable form is always good. Check out the raw goods here.

Make edible brownie bowls using two muffin tins.

Credit: Today's Mama

There have been plenty of hacks for creating edible bowls, but this is the first we've seen that doesn't require putting dough on to opposite side of a muffin tin. That method is the source of alot of baking "fails" on Pinterest.

Rachael from Today's Mama simply puts her brownie mix into the muffin tins and places a second muffin tin on top, creating perfect bowls. She uses the brownie bowls to make some pretty delicious sundaes. Get more of the brownie goodness here.

Make a decadent chocolate mousse using only two ingredients,

Credit: Oh Lady Cakes

Chocolate mousse is one of those things that seems really fancy and upper crust but in actuality, really isn't. In fact, Ashlae from Oh Lady Cakes only uses some melting chocolate and coconut almond milk. It's essentially whipped chocolate that you can eat with a spoon. This would be an amazing thing to whip up for a dinner party or to bring to an event. There's really nothing better than looking like you spent more money than you actually did. Your guests won't know the difference.

Plus, we have a hack for an edible bowl coming up that this creamy mousse would go great in. Get the recipe (and some awesome pictures) here.

Crush up Oreos and put them in an empty pepper mill for Oreo "dust". Dust it over everything.

Credit: Delish

This is a hack where you have to be thorough, because if you're not careful you could end up with something pretty awful. But if you do it right, you'll never eat Oreos the same way again. The good folks from Delish came up with a way to get that delicious Oreo dust that bakers use on top of cupcakes: put crushed Oreo's in a pepper mill, instant Oreo dust without the mess.

Then, grate your Oreo's on top of any and everything you can think of. Bonus points if you can find some kind of way to use this as a prank. Check out how they did it here.

Make a birthday cake milkshake using vanilla ice cream and funfetti cake mix.

Credit: Cooking Classy

We recently did a post about some of our favorite Funfetti recipes, and we actually tried this one. It's incredible, and takes all of 5 minutes. If you have kids, this would be the ultimate birthday indulgence for their special day. Just mix some Funfetti cake mix in with vanilla ice cream and a splash of milk to make your own birthday cake shake.

It will put any birthday shake you've ever had at a restaurant to shame. Check out more pictures and instructions here.

Make edible chocolate bowls using balloons.

Credit: Bakerella

Bakerella adapted this recipe from the book Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids by Jill O'Connor. We're not sure if Jill was the first person to discover this hack, but we'll give her credit because it's in an actual book. All you have to do is melt some semi-sweet chocolate morsels, blow up some water balloons and dip the balloons into the chocolate. Let it dry, and pop the balloons.

This has to be one of the most fun, interactive hacks to ever exist. Check out the kid-friendly, fun recipe here.

Use flour and ice cream to make ice cream bread.

Credit: Food Fanatic

Until now, we didn't know that it was possible to make bread out of ice cream. Kate from Food Fanatic has just officially changed the bread game with 3 ingredients. Technically, 2, because the Oreo's are just garnishes. Apparently, all you need to do is mix softened ice cream with flour until the flour has been moistened.

Pop it in the oven, and you've got some ice cream bread! This would be an amazing conversation-started at a party where you don't know many people. Get the rest of the recipe here.

Build an ice cream sandwich tower and cover with whipped cream for an instant ice cream cake.

Credit: Raining Hot Coupons

Making an ice cream cake from scratch isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. With this ice cream cake hack by Sarah from Raining Hot Coupons, though, you'll be able to make an ice cream cake with only a box of ice cream sandwiches and some whipped cream. Just build a tower out of whatever ice cream sandwiches you like (we think mint would be fun to try) and cover it in whipped cream!

Then, top with some candy of your choice and you have a cool summer dessert that the kids will love. Check out more here.

Avoid melty mess with whipped cream pudding ice cream sandwiches.

Credit: The First Year Blog

We love ice cream sandwiches as much as the next person, but we also are aware that it can go from a cold treat to a messy monstrosity in a matter of minutes. To avoid the mess (and the extra calories), Beth from The First Year Blog came up with a clever hack: whipped cream mixed with pudding between two graham crackers.

You could also put the whipped cream mixture in between two cookies, but if you're already making a healthier alternative, go all out. Get the simple, healthy recipe here.

Put dyed cake balls into cake batter to make polka dot cake.

Credit: Once Upon a Pedestal

Deborah from Once Upon a Pedestal used some cake pop baking tins to come up with this brilliant cake recipe. It started as an experiment and ended up as a fantastic "peek-a-boo" cake. The recipe was adapted many times, some without the cake pop tin and some with, but Deborah's version remains the reigning champ.

So, the next time you're thinking of making some cake balls, take it a step further and try adding them to a cake. See the experiment here.

Make a mini apple pie...in an apple.

Credit: Wedding Chicks

Is it just us or do wedding and event blogs always have the best photos? How could you not be sold on that photo alone? This simple hack would be great for the fall. Simply hollow out an apple, add some brown sugar and cinnamon, and top with some refrigerated pie crust. Individual pies and pie stations are trending for fall weddings, so we'd be interested in hearing how they taste.

Bonus points if you can arrange the pie crust in the same way Wedding Chicks did. Get the gorgeous recipe here.