25 One-Bite Desserts for Sweet Snacking

These sweet snacks will make a big impact at your next party in a single bite.

By
Food & Wine Editors
Food & Wine Editors
This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link.
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Updated on December 7, 2023
Chocolate Profiteroles
Photo:

Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser

Sometimes all we need is a single bite or two of something sweet, whether it's for an afternoon snack, a late-night bite, a dessert platter after a decadent dinner party, or on a buffet to wrap up the flavors for a big cocktail party. When you want a lot of complex, sweet flavors in a bite or two, reach for snacks like Mindy Segal's Chocolate-Buttermilk Snack Cakes, Jacques Pépin's tangy pâtes de fruits, Paola Velez's tropical fruit mendiants, a decadent spiced chocolate fondue, or other candies, barks, and nutty treats.

01 of 25

Pineapple Kesari

Pineapple Kesari

Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

This semolina-based, Indian dessert is flavored with saffron and pineapple and studded with raisins and cashews. The creamy, bite-size treat melts in your mouth. 

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02 of 25

Fun and Fancy Macarons

Holiday Macarons
Photo by Sarah Crowder / Food Styling by Drew Aichele

To add an extra-festive holiday touch to macarons, pastry chef Paola Velez paints them with several different colors of edible shimmering luster dust. These can be made in advance and frozen; simply wait to fill until ready to serve.

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03 of 25

Rie’s Pecan Pralines

Rie’s Pecan Pralines

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox

These melt-in-your-mouth sugary candies get layers of flavor from nutty pecans, butterscotch morsels, and almond extract and are perfect for holiday gifting.

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04 of 25

Black and Tan Chocolate Popcorn

Black-and-Tan Chocolate Popcorn

Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Learn to easily melt chocolate to enrobe popcorn, or cookies, pretzels, or even chips, with the method in this sweet recipe.

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05 of 25

Kumquat-Riesling Gummies

Kumquat Riesling Gummies
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Bright orange kumquats give these gorgeous gummies their all-natural sunny glow and a puckery, sweet-and-sour flavor. To play up the tartness, a citric acid coating adds a burst of sour flavor and a craveable quality. Kung Fu Girl Riesling has notes of white peach, mandarin orange, and apricot that balance the tang.

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06 of 25

Microwave Bánh Deo (Mochi Mooncakes) with Black Sesame–Chocolate Filling

mochi mooncakes
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee

Hồ-Kane's mochi mooncakes use a combination of black tahini and chocolate to create a nutty, smooth, and creamy filling. Using a microwave greatly reduces the cook time and the number of pots and pans to be cleaned after.

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07 of 25

Chocolate Profiteroles

Chocolate Profiteroles

Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser

This tiny chocolatey pastry bites are just the thing for a cocktail party or dessert platter. Serve them with salted caramel or chocolate sauce for dipping.

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08 of 25

Vegan Coconut-Ginger Caramels

Vegan Coconut Ginger Caramels
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

For these ginger and chile-spiked caramels, plant-based fat from coconut replaces the typical butter, resulting in creamy, chewy caramels that are perfect for anyone on your gift list. Thai chiles brings complex, fruity heat to these fragrant caramels; substitute a pinch of crushed red pepper, if desired. 

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09 of 25

Tropical Mendiants

Tropical Mendiants
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

Chef Paola Velez's stunning mendiants are surprisingly easy to make with her simple method for tempering chocolate in the microwave. Piped into rounds, the chocolates are topped with a colorful mix of tropical fruit, toasted nuts, and seeds. Like mini, open-faced chocolate candy bars, the mendiants can be made ahead and served right from the fridge.

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10 of 25

Pistachio-Rose Brittle

Pistachio Rose Brittle
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Quality saffron is key to both the flavor and color of this vibrant, crisp brittle that has great crunch. A striking contrast of green pistachios and pink rose petals makes it a visual treat, too.

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11 of 25

Pista Burfi Bark

Pista Burfi Bark
Andria Lo

Floral, fragrant cardamom shines in this rich and nutty dessert inspired by burfi (a type of fudgy, milk-based Indian sweet), so sourcing fresh, quality spices is a must. For her Diwali celebration, blogger and cookbook author Hetal Vasavada tops her bark with edible flowers and gold leaf, making for a stunning presentation.

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12 of 25

Cocoa Candied Nuts

Cocoa Spiced Nuts

Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser

Serve a bowl of these chocolatey spiced candied nuts along with cookies, cheese, and chocolate as part of an easy dessert snacking platter at the end of a dinner or cocktail party. We also love adding a few of these nuts to a bowl of ice cream.

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13 of 25

Apricot Pâte de Fruit

Apricot Pâte de Fruit
© Edward Pond

Jacques Pépin created this recipe for pâtes de fruits, which are sold in high-end pâtisseries or pastry shops in France during the holidays. The French roll them in sanding sugar, which has large crystals that cling to the candy without melting. Table sugar also works, as long as the jellies are rolled in it just before serving.

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14 of 25

Putri Salju Pandan (Pandan-Flavored Indonesian "Snow White" Cookies)

Putri Salju Pandan (Pandan- Flavored “Snow White” Cookies)
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

Pandan, a tropical plant with fragrant leaves that's a popular flavoring in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, imparts a vanilla-citrusy flavor and a naturally vivid green color to these melt-in-your-mouth cookies that are popular in Indonesia during the holidays, including Christmas, Ramadan, and Chinese New Year. 

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15 of 25

Spiced Italian Pecan Meringues

Spiced Italian Pecan Meringues
John Kernick

Called brutti ma buoni, "ugly but good," in Italian, these meringues with crags and cracks are seriously irresistible. The treats have crisp outsides and chewy centers with unexpectedly elegant pecans and potent grappa.

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16 of 25

Matcha Mochi

Matcha Mochi
Photo © Molly Yeh

This version of mochi — a sweet Japanese rice cake — gets its pretty green color from matcha powder and a creamy sweetness from coconut milk.

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17 of 25

Chocolate-Buttermilk Snack Cakes

Chocolate-Buttermilk Snack Cakes
© David Malosh

In her update of the classic chocolate Hostess cupcake, Chicago pastry chef Mindy Segal uses mascarpone in the rich and creamy filling.

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18 of 25

Almond, Elderflower, and Lime Travel Cakes

Almond, Elderflower and Lime Travel Cakes. Photo © Kate Mathis
© Kate Mathis

Inspired by French travel cakes (small sweets meant for bringing to parties and gatherings), William Werner created these miniature desserts that he calls "gussied-up pound cakes."

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19 of 25

Dark Chocolate Bark

Dark Chocolate Bark with Roasted Almonds and Seeds

Julia Hartbeck

This super-chunky dark chocolate bark from chocolatier Jacques Torres only requires a few ingredients — dark chocolate, roasted whole almonds, and salted roasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

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20 of 25

Spiced Cashew Brittle and Chocolate Crunch Bark

Spiced Cashew Brittle and Chocolate Crunch Bark
© Jonny Valiant

Cayenne gives this nutty brittle a jolt of heat that contrasts with the caramel and nuts, and makes it a fun snack or topping for ice cream.

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21 of 25

Candied Almonds

Candied Almonds
© Roland Persson

You need just three ingredients to make chef April Bloomfield's candied almonds, which come together in just minutes. Add a sprinkle of flaky salt to the nuts before baking them if you'd like a sweet-salty flavor contrast.

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22 of 25

Spiced Candied Almonds

Spiced Candied Almonds
Abby Hocking / Food & Wine

Inspired by the candied nuts sold at carts throughout New York City, these not-too-sweet toasted almonds have a great crackly shell.

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23 of 25

Mascarpone-Stuffed Dates

Mascarpone-Stuffed Dates
© Francesco Lagnese

A dusting of unsweetened cocoa adds an appealing bitterness to this simple one-bite dessert.

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24 of 25

Peppermint Rock Candy

Peppermint Rock Candy
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Like stalactites, these shimmering clusters of crystals — flavored with a splash of cool, refreshing peppermint oil — take time to form. Make them at the beginning of the week before your party. 

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25 of 25

Red Hot Lollipops

Red Hot Lollipops
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Cinnamon oil (and optional cayenne for spice lovers) brings warming flavor to these lollipops.

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