10 Refreshing Summer Desserts You Need To Make This Year

These raspberry lemon cookie bars are out of this world, combining my love of anything cookie and all things lemon. The raspberries and jam are just a delicious bonus. Since there’s fruit in these cookie bars, I'll even eat a couple for breakfast! (If it's fruit, it's fair game for breakfast - we all agree on that, right?)

You just can’t go wrong with citrus flavors in the summer. Citrus adds a delightful, refreshing quality to literally any dish (dessert or otherwise) that you can dream up. In this case, it’s these sweet and luxurious lemon lime cupcakes with the most amazing buttercream frosting. You don't want to miss these ones.

Every cake should be a poke cake. I mean, you poke holes and fill it with pudding. What is better than pudding filled cake? The answer is nothing. Nothing is better! In this case it's a banana pudding cake that is creamy and delicious, but still somehow light and and refreshing for the hot summer heat.

Chocolate brownies are my favorite. So are cookies and pie and cake. They’re all my favorite, and this recipe is no different. It’s a simple no-fail recipe that doesn’t require a lot of prep work, which means you’ll be eating brownies sooner rather than later. Plus brownies made in a skillet is such a fun novelty - especially topped with ice cream and sprinkles!

If you’re looking for a cookie that is a little less sweet and pairs well with coffee or tea, you need to try this recipe for classic French Madeleines. These were the “good cookies” in our house growing up and us kids weren’t allowed to touch them. I now understand why. I especially love these for summer since they aren't overly rich, but instead strike just the right balance of sweetness.