Growing up, we never had any sweets in the house. In hindsight, it was probably a great thing to not have grown up on a perpetual sugar high, but my teenage self did not agree.  It was a big joke with my friends as we’d search high and low for something sweet in the house, and then end up eating apples, whole wheat toast, and orange juice concentrate. Every once in a while, my dad would make cookies on a Sunday afternoon so we did had a lot of ingredients in the pantry. There was sugar to be found there, just not in a quick cookie form. I learned, out of necessity, to be very creative in how I came up with my late night sugar fix.

Here are a few ideas on how to create some pantry treats if you’re feeling desperate for a little sugar fix with no sweets in sight…

Chocolate covered pretzels: chocolate chips + pretzels

Sour lemon drops: lemon slices dipped in sugar

Chocolate covered bananas: chocolate chips + banana chips

Peanut m&m’s: chocolate chips +peanuts + peanut chocolate chips

Almond Joys: dates + coconut + almonds (this is my mom’s idea, as as she’s avoiding sugar and Almond Joys are her favorite candy bar)

Peanut butter cups: spoonful of peanut butter + chocolate chips on top

Dark chocolate covered almonds: dark chocolate chips + almonds

Raisinettes: chocolate chips + raisins

Yogurt pretzels: white chocolate chips + pretzels

S’mores: graham crackers + mini marshmallows + chocolate chips

I still reach for these pantry treats all the time. Just a little handful of sweetness after dinner. My favorites are the peanut butter ‘cups’, and the raisinettes. I’ve been eating those pantry treats for a couple decades now! Any creative pantry treats you’d add to the list?