Go Back

Air Fryer Desserts

A quick and easy dessert lineup featuring air-fried apple hand pies, chocolate chip cookies, individual lava cakes, and a small-batch bread pudding, all delivering crisp edges and tender centers without needing an oven.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 350
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pastry Components
  • 1 batch Pastry dough Provides flakiness and structure
  • 2 cups Spiced apples Juicy filling for hand pies
Dessert Bases
  • 1 batch Chocolate chip cookie dough Chewy cookie texture
  • 1 batch Lava cake batter Rich, molten centers
  • 3 cups Cubed bread Soaks up the custard for bread pudding
  • 1 batch Custard (milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla) Sets the bread pudding
Finishing Touches
  • 1 egg Egg wash For hand pies
  • 2 tbsp Coarse sugar Optional for hand pies
  • 1 tbsp Bourbon or orange zest Optional flavor for bread pudding
For Serving
  • 1 cup Whipped cream or ice cream Serve with lava cake
  • 1 cup Crème anglaise or yogurt Serve with bread pudding

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Preheat the air fryer according to each dessert’s recipe requirements.
  2. Assemble the apple hand pies: fill and seal pastry, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle coarse sugar if using.
  3. Portion chocolate chip cookie dough into rounds.
  4. Spoon lava cake batter into individual ramekins.
  5. Toss cubed bread with the custard, adding bourbon or orange zest if using.
Cooking
  1. Arrange items in a single layer in the air fryer basket, leaving space between each piece.
  2. Cook the apple hand pies until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbling at the seams.
  3. Bake chocolate chip cookies until edges are golden and the center remains slightly soft.
  4. Check lava cakes for set edges with a jiggly center.
  5. Brown the surface of the bread pudding until golden and firm, ensuring there’s no slosh.
Resting
  1. Let the hand pies and cookies rest for 5 minutes before serving.
  2. Let lava cakes rest for 2–3 minutes.
  3. Rest bread pudding for 5–10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Don’t crowd the basket, watch the first batch closely, and check visual doneness cues rather than sticking to strict times.