20 Graduation Dessert Ideas for the Class of 2025
School's out forever, but your kid will always have a sweet tooth.
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Congratulations! Someone you know is graduating high school, college, or grad school. It's a momentous occasion worthy of one last hurrah complete with graduation party foods of all kinds: party dips, finger foods, and, last but not least, an epic dessert.
If you're planning such an event, this list of graduation dessert ideas will cater to anyone in the class of 2025. So how do you choose just one? On a hot summer day, nothing hits with a crowd quite like no-bake desserts. Serve Choco Tacos, Oreo pie, or an ice cream sandwich cake that you can keep chilled in the freezer until it's time to party. Otherwise, there are plenty of graduation cake ideas all of which can be personalized—your best graduation wishes piped in frosting or decorated in their alma mater's colors with sprinkles and candy. A football sheet cake will be the talk of the varsity team!
A graduation party oftentimes have multiple generations in attendance, so appeal to everyone's nostalgia with bake sale ideas: cookies, dessert bars, and brownies. Kids and kids at heart will love a frothy Orange Julius drink, homemade packages of Dunkaroos (90's kids, remember those?), or Fig Newton-inspired bars. If you're hosting people right after the commencement ceremony, a batch of brownies made to look like mini mortarboards is a cute way to acknowledge any student's accomplishment.
These desserts are so good, they deserve their own diploma. Just march into the room with treats in hand, playing "Pomp and Circumstance." (Hey, it's one last opportunity to embarrass your kids before they enter the real world!)
PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches
Graduation parties tend to happen in a summer heat wave, so serve these ice cream sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly is a classic combo that every generation will enjoy as a nostalgic dessert.
Get the PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches recipe.
Ice Cream Cake
Skip the store and make your own ice cream cake! It's got everything: frozen whipped cream, chocolate and caramel, ice cream in multiple flavors, and Maraschino cherries for topping.
Get the Ice Cream Cake recipe.
Graduation Brownie Bites
Tassels were officially flipped—and that's what inspired these bite-sized treats. Bonus points if you can find candy decorations that match your graduate's school colors.
Get Ree's Graduation Brownie Bites recipe.
Football Sheet Cake
Whether they were the star quarterback or a cheerleader on the sidelines, this dessert was made for a student with a love of the game. Mix and match the color of sour gummy candies (the itty-bitty players!) to their jerseys and those of their rival team.
Get the Football Sheet Cake recipe.
Cookie Cake
A giant, skillet-sized cookie always hits at a party—and it's so easily customizable: Decorate with sprinkles in their school's colors and pipe a congratulatory message in frosting.
Get the Cookie Cake recipe.
Homemade Dunkaroos
Sure, Dunkaroos might be a '90s thing—but the '90s are back! This dessert doubles as a cute party favor. After all, who wouldn't love dunking animal cutout cookies into sprinkled frosting?
Get the Homemade Dunkaroos recipe.
Orange Julius
Mall hangouts in high school just weren't the same without an Orange Julius, right? You'd be surprised how easy it is to recreate this iconic drink. All you need is frozen orange juice concentrate, vanilla ice cream, milk, ice, sugar, and a spoonful of vanilla extract.
Get the Orange Julius recipe.
Fig Bars
Inspired by beloved Fig Newtons, these homemade treats are a nod to when you'd send them off to school with a lunchbox. Those days might be behind you, but fig bars are still a sweet surprise.
Get the Fig Bars recipe.
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Remember when your kids opened their own lemonade stand? Boy, how far they've come! These cupcakes will remind them of those humble beginnings and where that ambition can take them today.
Get the Pink Lemonade Cupcakes recipe.
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Just picture this rich and fudgy Bundt cake making its debut at the party. Gold and silver are a classic choice, but it's even better covered in sprinkles that match the school colors.
Get the Chocolate Bundt Cake recipe.
Piña Colada Cake
Fair warning: This dessert is best served for graduating college seniors, of course. But if the crowd is right, it's the perfect summer send-off. Tropical flavors of pineapple and coconut with a dash of rum all bring back memories of spring break.
Get the Piña Colada Cake recipe.
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
Four ingredients: that's all you need for this otherwise impressive-looking layered ice cream cake. It'll withstand the heat outside, just be sure to freeze it until firm before serving.
Get the Ice Cream Sandwich Cake recipe.
Coca-Cola Cake
This retro dessert works whether they graduated with the class of 2025 or 1925! So it's a nice idea for high school reunions, too. Fizzy soda in the batter is what makes this chocolate dessert so light and soft.
Get the Coca-Cola Cake recipe.
S'mores Bars
It's one last summer before the real world, so you might as well indulge in all those campfire treats! These dessert bars are layered with gooey marshmallow, melted chocolate, and toasted graham crackers.
Get the S'mores Bars recipe.
Oreo Pie
Cookies n' cream lovers of all ages will love this no-bake pie! A deep-dish pie plate allows for more of that fluffy whipped filling, so use one here.
Get the Oreo Pie recipe.
Brookies
Is your graduate Team Chocolate or Team Brownie? Either way, these homemade bars satisfy both cravings as they're part fudgy brownie, part chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Get the Brookies recipe.
Buckeyes
If your student is graduating from college, their alma mater makes great inspiration for dessert. For example: These peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate would be perfect if you root for the Ohio State Buckeyes!
Get the Buckeyes recipe.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Bake sales might be a thing of the past now, but nothing pleases a crowd more than a platter of cookies. This batch is sweet, salty, and crosshatched on the top for crispness in every bite.
Get the Peanut Butter Cookies recipe.
Homemade Choco Tacos
If your graduate was reaching into the freezer for these Klondike treats growing up (and was consequently devastated by their discontinuation back in 2022), give them the surprise of their life with this homemade version! Just as fudgy and nutty as you'd remember them.
Get the Homemade Choco Tacos recipe.
Sheet Pan Ice Cream Sundae
Everyone loves an ice cream sundae, but nobody likes the idea of scooping out ice cream for individual sundaes. Enter: this brilliant idea! Present a tray pre-assembled and piled with the toppings, and let people serve themselves.
Get the Sheet Pan Ice Cream Sundae recipe.
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