I grew up eating Little Debbie treats, so I totally get the fascination with these sweet little cakes. One of my favorite treats to pack in my school lunches many years ago was the Swiss Rolls.

The best way to eat those little chocolate rolls is to peel off the outer layer of chocolate and eat that first, and then unroll the cake before eating it. It turns out my husband used to eat his like that too when he was younger. No wonder we are a perfect match.

This spring I had the opportunity to create a recipe using a Little Debbie snack cake, so I went to the grocery store and bought a couple boxes of a few of my favorite treats. I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go with my recipe, so I had to be prepared for when dessert inspiration hit.

You should have seen our children’s eyes when they got home from school that afternoon and they saw the boxes of snack cakes piled in the pantry. Immediately, they started asking questions about why I had so many…and of course, the top question was, “Can we eat some, too?”

I had to make a snap decision right away about which snack cake was going to be forbidden from the hungry mob. I was leaning towards the Swiss Rolls anyway, so I gave them permission to attack the boxes of Zebra® Cakes and Oatmeal Creme Pies.

I’m pretty sure those cellophane wrappers hold a little bit of magic in them because I haven’t seen my kids this excited for sweets in a while.

Of course, I’m not really surprised at how fast the kids devoured the extra boxes of snack cakes. My mom bought these little cakes for our lunch boxes when I was growing up, and I’m still crazy about them years later. You just never outgrow the taste of Little Debbie snacks.

I learned how to bake by watching my mom and my gram in the kitchen when I was little. It’s fun to look back on those sweet memories of making homemade pie crusts with my mom. Now as a mom myself, I love to get in the kitchen and create fun treats with or for our kids.

For this cake, I cut the Swiss Rolls into little circles and lined a springform pan with them. Make sure to line the pan with parchment paper first, so the pan ring comes off without messing up the outside of the cake.

The filling for this no bake cake is just cream cheese, pie filling, and Cool Whip. This fun mousse is perfect for topping cupcakes, filling cakes, or eating with a spoon. Trust me, I had a few spoonfuls before I started layering everything together.

Two layers of mousse, three layers of Swiss Rolls, one layer of Cool Whip, and more pie filling, and this cake was ready for the refrigerator. No bake treats are the best for summer time because who wants to turn on the oven and make it ever hotter in the house!

A few decorations on top gives this no bake cherry Swiss Rolls cake the perfect finish! Just make sure that no one swipes a few rolls from the top while it is setting up in the refrigerator.

I suggest keeping a few Swiss Rolls hidden, just for emergency decorating purposes. Little hands like to snatch chocolate rolls when no one is looking…at least in my house, they do!

My brother, sister, and I always tried sneaking some Nutty Buddy Bars off the counter while my mother would prepare the pie. And now with two little ones of my own, I catch my kids doing the same exact thing. They love licking the spoons after mixing the creamy peanut butter filling. And when they visit their Nana the first thing they go for is her little stash of Little Debbie baked goods.

I love yogurt, especially when it is frozen and I can trick my brain into thinking I am eating ice cream. I love handing the girls a treat that is made up of fruit and yogurt. These Berry Brownie Fro-Yo Cups are made with fresh fruit, vanilla yogurt, and Little Debbie Mini Brownies! Quite honestly, in addition to my Fro-Yo cups serving as a dessert,  I am content when my girls grab a Berry Brownie Fro-Yo cup for breakfast or a midday snack.

This recipe is simple and quick to put together. Berry Brownie Fro-Yo cups are also adaptable with different flavors of fruits, yogurts, nuts, or Little Debbie minis. I love knowing my girls can head to the freezer in the rush of our morning schedule and grab something easy and satisfying on the way to school!

Berry Brownie Fro-Yo Cups

Servings: 8-10 standard cupcake size

Ingredients:

• 2 cups vanilla yogurt (or your favorite flavor)
  
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  
• 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
  
• 2 packages of Little Debbie Mini Brownies (8 total Mini Brownies) or you may use Little Debbie Chocolate Chip or Blueberry Mini Muffins
  
• Additional blueberries, strawberries, and Little Debbie Mini Brownies as garnish option
  

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt and fruit. Mix well, so all are coated.
  
• Crumble the 8 Little Debbie Mini Brownies into the yogurt and fruit mixture. Stir until well combined.
  
• Line a standard-size cupcake tin with paper liners. I like to lightly spray the papers with nonstick spray to ease the paper removal when ready to eat.
  
• Scoop yogurt mixture into prepared paper liners almost to the very top.
  
• Garnish the top of each filled cup with additional blueberries and strawberries you have on hand, as well as more crumbled Little Debbie Mini Brownies.
  
• Freeze at least 8 hours until frozen solid through the center.
  
• Take out of freezer when ready to eat!
  

I always seem to have an abundance of Little Debbie Mini Muffins in the pantry. My daughters do eat them almost every day for breakfast. They are so simple to grab and go, and they are tasty, too. I wanted to surprise the girls after their first successful week of school, so I headed to the cupboards to see what I could whip up.

My girls love my ooey-gooey, 7-ingredient brownies, and they also love Little Debbie Chocolate Chip mini muffins. I whipped up the brownie batter and dropped frozen Little Debbie Mini Muffins into the center, and then baked! They are a perfect mash-up dessert. Tender, rich and decadent brownie cups hiding a sweet chocolate chip Mini Muffin surprise in the center. I also topped these adorable little dessert cups with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and a Little Debbie Mini Muffin for garnish.

Chocolate Chip Mini Muffin Stuffed Brownie Cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 packages of Little Debbie Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins, frozen

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fill cupcake pan with paper liners. Spray liners with nonstick spray to keep the brownies from sticking. Be sure the Little Debbie Mini Muffins have been frozen solid to prevent browning in the oven.
  
• In a microwaveable bowl, melt butter and then add in sugar and cocoa powder. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.
  
• Stir in eggs, salt and then vanilla.
  
• Finally, add in the flour.
• Pour brownie batter into each lined cupcake pan, about 3/4 of the way full.
• Gently press a frozen Little Debbie Mini Muffin into the center of each filled liner.
• Bake 20-24 minutes until edges are slightly crisp.
• The mini muffins will sink down a bit while cooling.

Garnish:

• You can use store-bought vanilla buttercream frosting or prepare your own. Refer to this link for my vanilla buttercream frosting recipe.
• Place an additional Little Debbie Mini Muffin on top of buttercream frosting.
  
• Drizzle chocolate ganache, fudge, or sauce over the top of buttercream frosting.

It's almost time for school, which means getting my 4 little girls out of the house, fed and dressed in a somewhat chaotic manner.

I love easy, grab-and-go breakfast ideas, which is why Little Debbie Mini Muffins are a staple in our pantry. My little girls can gobble up a pack in no time, and I do not mind them eating these tasty mini muffins on the go. Some days I do try to convince the girls to eat a bowl of oatmeal, yogurt or grits, and it sometimes isn't an easy task. To tempt their taste buds, I love making my Blueberry Mini Muffin Crunch as a breakfast topping.

Blueberry Mini Muffin Crunch is similar to granola and uses Little Debbie Mini Muffins, blueberry flavor, as the base of this simple and tasty garnish. My Blueberry Mini Muffin Crunch is quick to put together, and your oven does most of the work. I love how versatile this recipe is because you can add any kind of nuts, dried fruit, or berries...Maybe even a few chocolate chips!

Blueberry Mini Muffin Crunch

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Little Debbie Blueberry Mini Muffins (5 bags)
  
• 1/3 cup toasted coconut
  
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted optional
  
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  
• Crumble all of the Little Debbie Mini Muffins with your hands onto the lined pan and bake 30-45 minutes. Every 15 minutes toss muffin pieces to make sure all sides are crisping evenly.
  
• Remove muffin crumbles when dark golden brown and crunchy. Allow to cool completely.
  
• Toss toasted coconut, sliced almonds, and fresh blueberries with the crunchy mini muffin pieces.
  
• Top oatmeal, yogurt, grits or even ice cream with your new crunchy treat!