Memorial Day desserts need to do more than look good on the counter. These 17 recipes focus on sweets that can handle a car ride, a cooler, or a few hours waiting for dessert plates. The mix covers fruit pies, cookie bars, cupcakes, chilled cream pies, and sturdy cookies, so the table has options that slice, stack, or pack without turning into a mess. Keep the two pot pie links out of this dessert roundup and swap in two more sweets if the final title must stay at 19.
Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
A boxed brownie base gives Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies a 50-minute total time before the needed fridge chill. The pan layers family-size brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil, strawberry pie filling, cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Because the slab chills before slicing, the squares travel better than a loose frosted dessert and hold their shape on a cookout plate.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
Amish Cinnamon Cake
Baked in a 9×13-inch pan, Amish Cinnamon Cake makes 12 servings in 55 minutes. The batter uses all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, eggs, whole milk, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon for a simple slice-and-carry dessert. It works well when the Memorial Day table needs something sturdy that can sit covered on the counter while pies and chilled sweets take up cooler space.
Get the Recipe: Amish Cinnamon Cake
Banana Cream Pie
With 8 servings and a 4-hour-40-minute total time, Banana Cream Pie is a make-ahead pick that needs fridge space until serving. The recipe uses a homemade crust, whole milk custard, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, sliced bananas, and whipped cream topping. Pack it in a pie carrier and keep it cold, then slice it after the main food clears and plates are ready.
Get the Recipe: Banana Cream Pie
Blueberry Pie
Fresh berries make Blueberry Pie a classic cookout dessert, with 8 servings and a 1-hour-25-minute total time. The filling combines 5 cups of blueberries with sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt inside two 9-inch pie crusts. Letting it cool fully helps the filling set, which makes each slice cleaner once it reaches the Memorial Day dessert table after the grill is done.
Get the Recipe: Blueberry Pie
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Ready in 20 minutes, Chocolate Cherry Cookies make 16 servings with a cocoa cookie base and a glossy chocolate topping. The dough uses flour, cocoa powder, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and maraschino cherries, while the topping blends semisweet chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk. Since each cookie is already portioned, they pack neatly for a cookout without needing knives or plates first.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Toffee Bark
Saltine crackers help Chocolate Covered Strawberry Toffee Bark turn into a sturdy 14-serving dessert in 50 minutes. Butter and brown sugar bake into a toffee layer, then semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate, and diced strawberries finish the top. After 30 minutes in the freezer, the bark breaks into pieces that can travel in a container with parchment between layers for cleaner packing.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Toffee Bark
Chocolate Cream Pie
A graham cracker crust makes Chocolate Cream Pie easier to move than a soft pastry-crust pie, with 8 servings and a 40-minute active total before chilling. The filling uses whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, bittersweet chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Keep it cold in a pie carrier, then add clean slices to the dessert table once everyone is ready.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Cream Pie
Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Using yellow cake mix keeps Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars simple, with 12 servings and a 54-minute total time, including rest. The batter needs cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water, and chocolate chips, then bakes in a 9×13-inch pan. Bars are a smart Memorial Day choice because they cut ahead, stack well, and do not need frosting to survive the trip.
Get the Recipe: Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Apple Pie Cupcakes
Filled centers make Apple Pie Cupcakes feel like mini pies, but the 12-serving format is easier to pack. The recipe uses yellow cake mix, apple pie filling, softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk. Bake the cupcake bases first, fill and frost them after cooling, then carry them in a cupcake container so the toppings stay in place.
Get the Recipe: Apple Pie Cupcakes
Apple Pie Stuffed Cheesecake
Layered with spiced apples, Apple Pie Stuffed Cheesecake serves 8 and bakes in 1 hour and 15 minutes. The crust can use Biscoff cookies or graham crackers, while the filling includes cream cheese, sugar, lemon, eggs, sour cream, apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, and flour. Chill it well before travel so the cheesecake holds firm and slices cleanly after the cookout meal.
Get the Recipe: Apple Pie Stuffed Cheesecake
Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
Built as handheld servings, Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes take 1 hour and 30 minutes and make 6 large portions. Pastry cream, buttermilk cupcakes, and chocolate ganache bring the classic pie format into a packable cupcake. The ganache sets over the top, which helps protect the filling during transport if the cupcakes stay upright, covered, and cool until dessert time. This format works well when whole pies are harder to serve outdoors.
Get the Recipe: Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Cookies
Soft spices and frosting make Carrot Cake Cookies a 30-minute dessert with 20 cookies per batch. The dough uses flour, oats, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, butter, sugar, shredded carrots, and walnuts, then each cookie gets cream cheese frosting. They are easy to portion for Memorial Day because guests can grab one cookie without cutting into a cake or carrying extra utensils.
Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake Cookies
Cookie Cake
Baked in a 9-inch round pan, Cookie Cake gives 10 servings in about 30 minutes. Brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and semisweet chocolate chips make the base, while cocoa buttercream and sprinkles finish it. Slice it before packing or carry it whole, depending on whether dessert will be served buffet-style or after everyone sits down. That flexibility helps when the serving plan is still loose.
Get the Recipe: Cookie Cake
Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Cake Cookies
Thick cookies make Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Cake Cookies a strong travel pick, with 10 servings and a 25-minute total time. The dough uses brown sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, espresso powder, and chocolate chips. A cocoa cream cheese frosting goes on after the cookies cool, so chill them before packing if the Memorial Day setup is warm.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Cake Cookies
Cinnamon Roll Cake
One large swirl makes Cinnamon Roll Cake easier to slice for a crowd than separate rolls, with 8 servings and a 3-hour-15-minute total time, including rise. The dough uses whole milk, yeast, butter, egg, flour, and salt, then brown sugar and cinnamon fill the layers. The vanilla icing goes on after baking, making this a breakfast-leaning dessert for early cookouts.
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Roll Cake
Cowboy Cookies
Chunky texture helps Cowboy Cookies hold up in a rigid container, and the batch makes 24 servings in 32 minutes. Brown butter, brown sugar, oats, shredded coconut, pecans, semisweet chocolate chips, cinnamon, and vanilla give the cookies enough structure for stacking. Use parchment between layers so they arrive ready for the dessert table without broken edges or messy topping. The batch size also covers a larger table.
Get the Recipe: Cowboy Cookies
Rhubarb Pie
A fruit filling gives Rhubarb Pie a seasonal edge for Memorial Day, with 8 servings and a 1-hour-45-minute total time. The crust uses flour, cold butter, ice water, egg white, and brown sugar, while the filling combines fresh rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla. Cool it for several hours before travel so the filling sets before slicing. Add whipped cream after arrival if needed.
Get the Recipe: Rhubarb Pie
