My 3 Favorite 3-Ingredient Microwave Dessert Recipes

Everyone needs a sweet pick me up now and then! I love to bake, and I spent much of my quarantined summer testing out recipes for banana bread and apple pie. But as a college student, I often find myself lacking either the ingredients, access, or time to make something elaborate.

So, over the past couple of semesters, I have developed my three favorite three-ingredient microwave dessert recipes!

First up is the classic mug cake (or mug brownies). You just need cake mix, water, and an egg or two. An entire box of cake mix is about $2 from Target, and it will make many servings!

All you have to do is pour your ingredients into your mug (the amount of water and egg you are adding will depend on how much cake mix you choose to pour), mix with a fork, and microwave for about 2 minutes. If desired, you can top with chocolate chips or frosting but it is perfectly delicious without any extras.

Next is a twist on the classic microwave popcorn. For this recipe, you’ll need a bag of popcorn, a little bit of white sugar, and some cinnamon.

Pop your popcorn according to the instructions on the bag. While the popcorn is popping, make your cinnamon sugar. I usually do 3 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon, but you can experiment and mix to your liking. Empty your popcorn into a bowl. Toss with cinnamon sugar. The cinnamon sugar should stick to some of the butter from the popcorn, but if not, feel free to add a little melted butter or oil to the mixture.

The last treat that I’ll be sharing is the button. To make buttons, you will need flat and square-shaped pretzels (I recommend Snyder’s snaps). You will also need Hershey’s kisses and M&Ms.

First, lay out the desired number of pretzels on a microwave-safe plate or dish. Then, place one kiss on each pretzel. Microwave 60-90 seconds, or until the chocolate is soft to the touch but has not yet melted. Then press down one MnM on the center of each pretzel so that the Hershey’s kiss is smushed and vaguely resembles a button. Wait about 20 minutes until chocolate has hardened and enjoy!

• mug cake
• popcorn
• Pretzels