Air Fryer Desserts & Sweet Treats

The sound is a resonant, crystalline snap—the audible proof of a perfectly aerated dough meeting 400°F convection. But the real 2026 victory is the “Gimme Gummy” payload: a steaming, velvety dough center that offers a bouncy, tactile resistance before melting away. This isn’t the heavy, oil-clogged churro you get at a theme park. It’s a maximalist sensory explosion—a collision of an aggressively crunchy cinnamon-sugar exterior and a soft, custard-like heart that has been pressure-baked inside its own ridged cage. Welcome to The Crispy Basket, where we treat dessert like a structural engineering project. Deep-frying churros is a messy, dangerous game … Read more

The first bite is an audible revelation—a sharp, crystalline crack as your teeth meet a glaze that has been flash-set into a brittle, sugary shell. Then comes the “Gimme Gummy” payload: a warm, velvety gush of pillowy dough that offers a distinct, “bouncy” resistance before melting into a cloud of vanilla and cinnamon. This isn’t the heavy, oil-soaked weight of a traditional fried donut. It’s light, it’s airy, and it’s unapologetically maximalist—dripping with a glossy glaze that catches the light like a culinary jewel. This is the 6-minute miracle that turns a $3 can of biscuits into a $20 bakery-style … Read more

The first bite is an audible and tactile event—a sharp, crystalline crack as your teeth shatter a golden, cinnamon-sugar-encrusted ridge. It’s a sound that belongs in a studio, but here it is in your kitchen. This isn’t the limp, oil-soaked dough you get from a paper bag at the fair. It’s a maximalist sensory explosion: that “shatter-crisp” exterior immediately yields to a “Gimme Gummy” transition—a hollow, bouncy, and velvety interior that feels impossibly light. Then comes the dip: a thick, molten pool of dark chocolate that clings to the jagged grooves of the pastry. This is 15-minute luxury that solves … Read more

Sometimes you need a warm chocolate chip cookie, and you need it now. But heating up a giant oven for just two or three cookies feels wasteful, and making a whole batch is dangerous. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket. Today, we are satisfying the sweet tooth with speed. The air fryer is incredible for baking because it doesn’t need preheating. It blasts the dough with hot air, sealing the outside quickly while leaving the inside warm and molten. This recipe is designed for a small batch—perfect for a movie night for two. Why You’ll Love This Recipe “The Crispy … Read more

We all dream of making homemade donuts. But the reality involves yeast, rising times, rolling pins, and a terrifying pot of boiling oil that smells up the house for days. Sometimes, you just want a hot donut now. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket. Today, we are cheating. And it tastes delicious. We are using the famous “Biscuit Dough Hack.” By taking a tube of refrigerated biscuit dough and air frying it, the layers puff up and create a texture that is shockingly similar to a cronut or a classic yeast donut. Dipped in butter and rolled in sugar, these … Read more

We all love warm apple pie. But let’s be honest: making a whole pie from scratch is a project. You have to chill the butter, worry about the dough overworking, and then bake it for an hour hoping the bottom crust isn’t soggy. Sometimes you just want that warm, cinnamon-apple, flaky-crust experience right now. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket. Today, we are hacking dessert. We are using refrigerated store-bought pie crust (yes, really!) to make individual hand pies. While these are just “okay” in a regular oven, the air fryer transforms them. The intense, circulating heat blasts the dough, … Read more

We have all been burned by “healthy swaps” before. You see a picture of “Buffalo Cauliflower Wings” that look crispy and delicious, but when you make them, you end up with a pile of soft, wet, spicy steamed vegetables that taste nothing like a wing. Most recipes get it wrong. They just toss raw cauliflower in sauce and roast it. Or they use a heavy flour batter that never fully crisps up in the air fryer. Welcome back to The Crispy Basket. Today, we are redeeming the cauliflower wing. We are treating this vegetable exactly like we treat fried chicken. … Read more