44 Make-Ahead Dessert Recipes for Now Through Labor Day

Yes, we love day-long baking projects, and you can bet we’re going to labor over stunning cakes and pies worthy of Instagram stardom. But over holiday weekends, like Labor Day, what we love even more than a pièce de résistance is something that’s sweet…

Yes, we love day-long baking projects, and you can bet we’re going to labor over stunning cakes and pies worthy of Instagram stardom. But over holiday weekends, like Labor Day, what we love even more than a pièce de résistance is something that's sweet, simple, and satisfying. For the best Labor Day dessert recipes, we thought we'd reach into our archives for easy, make-ahead summer desserts that follow the Nigella Lawson mantra: Minimum effort, maximum pleasure. Read on for the Labor Day desserts we can't wait to make this summer. So here are 44 no-fuss, totally delicious, make-ahead dessert recipes to enjoy from now until Labor Day—from speedy peanut butter and chocolate bars to citrusy no-bake cheesecake.


Our Best Labor Day Desserts

1. Key Lime Pie

For an intense, juicy lime flavor, use a combination of both lime juice and lime zest when you make this Florida Keys classic. Don't sleep on the graham cracker crust, made with unsalted butter and heavy cream, either; it's as good as it gets.

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44 Labor Day Recipes to End Your Summer With a Bang

To me, nothing says summer quite like the heady smell of smoke, emanating from a grill at a backyard BBQ. Enveloped by that smell, I’m likely to have friends nearby, an ice-cold beer in hand, and a freshly charred meal on the way. This very smell, recu…

To me, nothing says summer quite like the heady smell of smoke, emanating from a grill at a backyard BBQ. Enveloped by that smell, I'm likely to have friends nearby, an ice-cold beer in hand, and a freshly charred meal on the way. This very smell, recurring each weekend from May through August, makes me hope that summer will never end.

But alas, when Labor Day inevitably rolls around, the twilight starts retracting earlier into the evening, and the weekly gatherings begin to slow, the bliss of summer also feels like it's slipping out of reach. And that may well be the case. But there's always time for a final stint outdoors with fire and lots of food.

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33 Genius Summer Recipes for Labor Day

Whether you’ve scouted out a camping spot in the woods or will be bumping around at home, these recipes will make the long weekend better, more festive, more memorable, and therefore make it last, maybe, forever.
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Whether you've scouted out a camping spot in the woods or will be bumping around at home, these recipes will make the long weekend better, more festive, more memorable, and therefore make it last, maybe, forever.

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8 Surefire Tips for Labor Day Grilling Success

Labor Day’s not the end for this year’s outdoor cooking—depending on where you live, you’ve probably got at least a couple more months’ grilling time. But there’s no time of year with a bounty of produce better suited to cooking over the coals, nor a m…

Labor Day's not the end for this year's outdoor cooking—depending on where you live, you've probably got at least a couple more months' grilling time. But there's no time of year with a bounty of produce better suited to cooking over the coals, nor a more pleasant time to linger in the yard all day, sipping on something frosty.

Labor Day is often considered a last hurrah, a till next year to summer. And so we better honor it! Check your charcoal stores (or propane levels) and start dreaming up a menu—and keep these 8 tips for successful, memorable late-summer grilling in mind:

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