A happy-go-lucky, finger-food dessert choice, these no-bake sweet treats brighten up just about any event or celebration. Pull them out after your team’s loss to cheer up discouraged fans. Enjoy them indoors or outdoors. Quick and easy to put together, they take the pain out of planning and creating the must-have sweet finale to a meal. Also, this is something the kids would love to help create.

Hazelnut Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches
Prep time: 20 minutes + 30 minutes refrigeration time
Difficulty level: Easy
Yield: 12 cookie sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 13-ounce jar Nutella
• 3 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped
• 3 tablespoons mixed candied fruit, chopped
• 24 gingersnap cookies
• White cake icing
• 12 whole candied raspberries for garnish

Directions:

Spoon the Nutella paste into a medium-size mixing bowl. Add nuts and fruit and mix well. Next, spoon generous dollops of the filling onto 12 cookies. Top each with another cookie to make 12 sandwiches. Press down lightly to spread evenly.

Frost each sandwich with a swirl of icing and top each with a whole raspberry. Place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm the filling. If heading to the game, make them in the parking lot and keep these cool in a cooler of ice.

Notes:

*Any kind of cookie, homemade or store-bought, can be used for this recipe including lady fingers, short-bread fingers, snicker doodles or plain sugar cookies.
*Any combination of fruits and nuts can be used in the filling.
*The filling mix can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.
*The sandwiches should be assembled no more than 30 minutes ahead of time, as the moist filling can make them go soggy if kept too long.

Like the idea of a tailgating dessert?  Try this scrumptious apple treat.

Bina Joseph, a resident of Glastonbury, CT is a freelance writer covering all things travel-related in Connecticut.
A passionate veteran of the travel industry, Bina has visited more than 40 countries, giving her a unique, global perspective. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.