15 Back-to-School and After-School Treats

So, it's still 90 degrees outside. The sight of new pencils and notebooks in every color and, ah yes, even the dreaded school bus give me hope for fall - and also for back-to-school treats.

Whether you're packing them in a lunchbox, serving them up as an afternoon snack, or taking them to a PTE meeting, here are 15 favorite back-to-school recipes.

15 Back-to-School and After-School Treats

Hostess Cupcake Cookies

We're starting with cookies, obviously, but this one comes with a school story. One of my mom's favorite stories to tell was that when I was in kindergarten, she put a package of Hostess Cupcakes in my lunch box. (Just this part of the story makes me smile since my mother was the type of person whose breakfast consisted of a bowl of Bran Buds sprinkled with Wheat Germ.) Anyway, the story goes that at lunchtime, I brought the cupcake up to my teacher and said, "Can you tell me what this says? I can't read cursive."

Homemade Chocolate-Filled Nutter Butters

Continuing on with the homemade version of snack foods, Homemade Nutter Butters. Dare I say they're better than the original because they're filled with chocolate?

Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Even if you don't have a kid with a peanut sensitivity, give this vanilla sunflower butter a try. It works in a sandwich or blended into a smoothie, but my favorite way to eat it is straight off of the spoon.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie

A warm chocolate chip cookie for one baked right in a mug! By" baked," I mean microwaved, so you can literally be eating this in less than 5 minutes.

Double Cocoa Pumpkin Smoothie

This one does double-duty as breakfast or a snack. Because the smoothie doesn't scream "pumpkin" (it would be weird if it did), don't feel like it can only be served from September - Thanksgiving.

Puffy Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

These are the puffiest, fluffiest, YUMMIEST peanut butter cookies you'll ever eat. Pop a couple in a lunchbox, send a tray up the faculty lounge, hide them and devour the entire batch after the kids go to school. Just make them.

Perfecto Popcorn

Popcorn, made on the stove, not in the microwave, is always a welcome snack. It also makes a super unexpected, and WHOLE GRAIN, lunchbox treat!

Chocolate Cherry Almond Butter Breakfast Cookies

Chock full of oats, whole wheat flour, nut butter, and, yes, chocolate. These will get you through a breakfast rut. Perfect on those mornings when clothes need to be ironed, lunches packed, and permission slips signed...all before 7am. Pair one of these with a banana and head out the door.

Chocolate Revel Bars

Bars are the ultimate lunchbox dessert! Easy to pack, easy to store. Revel Bars are chocolate-filled (yep!) cookie bars with an oaty-buttery crust and topping.

Easy Slow-Cooker Applesauce

Sweet and tart with notes of vanilla, this homemade applesauce is better than any store-bought and is perfect for snacks, lunchboxes...even, dare I say it...dessert! It's that good!

Butterbeer Cookies

Harry Potter is kind of synonymous with going back to school, yes? Yes. Make these butterbeer sugar cookies with a rich butterbeer glaze for your little wizard!

Nutella-Filled Banana Muffins

Pair Nutella with a scrumptious banana muffin and your school day is off to a stellar start!

Everyday Brownies

A plain ol' brownie. A basic brownie. A fudgy, rich, close-your-eyes-and-swoon brownie. A brownie perfect for after-school snacks, PTA meetings, or school parties.

Smart Cookie Bark

Cookie bark is crispy but not overly crunchy. It's a buttery cookie that tastes like traditional chocolate chip cookies with just a hint of sugar cookie, thanks to all granulated sugar, not brown, in the recipe. Made without egg or leavening, this crispy cookie bark breaks apart with a snap!

Cocoa Bliss Balls