40 Church Picnic Desserts That'll Be The Talk of the Town

Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner

When we think of perfect picnic recipes, there are a few criteria that come to mind. First, it has to be portable. Chances are we’re packing these desserts into wicker baskets and piling into the car with our families, so elaborate layer cakes aren’t exactly the best option for easy transportation. Bars, cookies, pies, and cupcakes top our list of the best picnic desserts. Next, it’s important to consider the theme of the church picnic. We love to opt for classic recipes you’re sure to find at a church potluck—think pound cake and buttermilk pie—or something more seasonally inspired.Whether you’re picnicking in the spring, summer, or fall, we have recipes to carry you through all the seasons. Easter time? Our Carrot Cake Cupcakes are the perfect way to celebrate. Tailgate season? Get in the spirit with Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies. No matter the holiday or occasion, we have a picnic recipe that is sure to wow the al fresco dining crowd. With these all-star recipes, your sweet treats will be the talk of the town.

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Peach Fried Pies

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Peach Fried Pies

No summertime picnic is complete without some Southern peaches, and these Peach Fried Pies will really wow the crowd.

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Pecan Pie Brownies

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Pecan Pie Brownies

We combined two Southern-favorite desserts—pecan pie and brownies—to create the ultimate decadent treat.

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Rose Petal Cupcakes

Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Rose Petal Cupcakes

Add a touch of elegance to the picnic spread with these simple vanilla cupcakes. They’re garnished with rose petals for extra refinement.

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Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges

Love the flavor of a hummingbird cake, but don’t want to mess around with stacking and assembling cake layers? Meet Hummingbird Cupcakes.

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Rhubarb Pie

Micah Leal

Recipe: Rhubarb Pie

Fresh, slightly-sour rhubarb is the star in one of our favorite summer pies. Add strawberries for extra sweetness.

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Mixed Citrus Bars

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Mixed Citrus Bars

Lemon bars, grapefruit bars, orange bars, oh my! Grandma will love the countless twists we’ve put on her classic recipe.

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Freezer Peach Pie

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Freezer Peach Pie

Make use of that bag of frozen peaches in this Freezer Peach Pie. It tastes as fresh as you can get.

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Raspberry-Almond Crumble Bars

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Raspberry-Almond Crumble Bars

When you’re on-the-go, you need a dessert that’s easy to serve and mess-free. That’s why these sliceable Raspberry Crumble Bars are the ideal picnic food.

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Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

Southern Living

Recipe: Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

If you like chocolate on chocolate, you’ll love these Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes.

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Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars

Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars

No summertime church get-together is complete without fresh peach cobbler, but a gooey casserole isn’t necessarily the ideal portable picnic food. These Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars are the perfect alternative.

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Bake everybody’s favorite layer cake into easily portable, personal-sized cupcakes.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

Kids and adults alike will fall for these fudge bars, which combine chocolate and peanut butter in beautifully stacked layers.

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Buttermilk Pound Cake

Southern Living

Recipe: Buttermilk Pound Cake

Serve this pound cake with berries and fresh cream or ice cream to make a lovely warm-weather dessert.

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Butterscotch Cookies

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Butterscotch Cookies

Those candies that Grandma always kept stocked in bowls around the house? Imagine those in cookie form.

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Strawberry-Blueberry Cupcakes

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff

Recipe: Strawberry-Blueberry Cupcakes

Make the most of that seasonal farmers’ market produce with these fresh berry cupcakes.

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Toasted Oatmeal Cookies

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Toasted Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal-raisin may get a reputation for being boring, but these cookies are anything but. The recipe calls to toast the oats, which brings a nutty depth of flavor to the dough.

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Lane Cupcakes

Southern Living

Recipe: Lane Cupcakes

The storied Lane Cake has been a Southern staple for decades, and we’ve just made it portable with these Lane Cupcakes.

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Raspberry Jam Thumbprints

Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Raspberry Jam Thumbprints

This classic cookie can be found at cookie swaps and church potlucks year-round, and your picnic simply wouldn’t be complete without a plate full of these thumbprints.

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Pink Lemonade Cake

Southern Living

Recipe: Pink Lemonade Cake

Sip on some pink lemonade and add a touch of that same sour sweetness to the dessert spread with this pretty Pink Lemonade Cake.

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jennifer Causey

Recipe: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ramp up the flavors of a classic, yet often bland chocolate chip cookie with the addition of nutty brown butter.

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Chocolate Pound Cake

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck; Food Styling: Erin Merhar

Recipe: Chocolate Pound Cake

Transform Nana’s classic pound cake into a chocolate-lover’s dream with this decadent recipe.

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Apple Pie Cookies

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Apple Pie Cookies

A cross between a hand pie and a cookie, these Apple Pie Cookies tuck luscious apple pie filling between layers of short cookie dough to accomplish a completely creative dessert.

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Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies

Talk about decadence. These blondies get a lovely swirl of homemade caramel on top, adding just enough salty-sweet flavor to complement the blondie dough.

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Mini Red Velvet Cakes

Southern Living

Recipe: Mini Red Velvet Cakes

Bake red velvet cupcakes, then cut them sandwich-style and pipe the frosting in the middle for a whimsical way to enjoy this dessert classic.

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Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

Southern Living

Recipe: Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

This indulgent pound cake, complete with delicate swoops of caramel frosting, is one of our all-time favorites. After just one bite, you’ll understand why.

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Coconut Cheesecake Squares

Southern Living

Recipe: Coconut Cheesecake Squares

Bring a bit of tropical flair to the church picnic with these easily sliceable, perfectly bite-sized coconut cheesecake squares. There’ll be plenty to go around.

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Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

No fall picnic is complete without a toasty butter pecan dessert, and these homemade shortbread cookies are the ideal vehicle for the crowning pecan.

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Mini Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes

Photo: Alison Miksch

Recipe: Mini Triple Chocolate-Buttermilk Pound Cakes

When it comes to pound cake, we don’t want to share, and with these mini pound cakes, we don’t have to.

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Pecan-Peach Cobbler

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Pecan-Peach Cobbler

Two Southern favorites, pecans and peaches, collide in this sweet and nutty cobbler.

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Chess Pie

Jessica Colyer

Recipe: Classic Chess Pie

Chess pie is one of those staples that we’ll never stop making, and it’s sure to satisfy the church crowd.

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Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars

The whole crowd will be singing the praises of these tart, smooth Lemon-Coconut Chess Bars.

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Salted Caramel-Apple Hand Pies

Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Katie Jacobs

Recipe: Salted Caramel-Apple Hand Pies

If you’re having a fall picnic, these Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies are the ideal on-the-go sweet snack.

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Ultimate Dark Chocolate Brownies

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Ultimate Dark Chocolate Brownies

These are not your ordinary boxed brownies. Made with rich dark chocolate and finished with flaky sea salt, this recipe celebrates brownies in their best form.

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Sweet Tea-and-Lemonade Cake

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Sweet Tea-and-Lemonade Cake

Sheet cake is our favorite hack for feeding a crowd, and this Sweet Tea-and-Lemonade cake hits all the right notes.

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Luscious Lemon Bars

Southern Living

Recipe: Luscious Lemon Bars

Tart and sharp, the flavor of these lemon bars is offset by a silky-smooth texture that make this dessert utterly addictive.

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Hello Dolly Bars

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell

Recipe: Hello Dolly Bars

With coconut, pecans, chocolate, and butterscotch, these bars pack all of our favorite flavors into one portable package.

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Southern Buttermilk Pie

Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Classic Southern Buttermilk Pie

This recipe takes a page right out of the church potluck cookbook—it’s a tried-and-true classic that’s sure to please.

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40 Church Picnic Desserts That'll Be The Talk of the Town

1 of 40

Peach Fried Pies

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Pecan Pie Brownies

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Rose Petal Cupcakes

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Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges

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Rhubarb Pie

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Mixed Citrus Bars

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Freezer Peach Pie

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Raspberry-Almond Crumble Bars

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Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

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Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

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Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

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Buttermilk Pound Cake

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Butterscotch Cookies

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Strawberry-Blueberry Cupcakes

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Toasted Oatmeal Cookies

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Lane Cupcakes

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Raspberry Jam Thumbprints

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Pink Lemonade Cake

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Chocolate Pound Cake

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Apple Pie Cookies

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Brown Butter-Caramel Blondies

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Mini Red Velvet Cakes

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Caramel-Frosted Pound Cake

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Coconut Cheesecake Squares