7 Insanely Delicious Sundaes You Need To Eat Before Summer Is Over

Because ice cream alone just isn't enough.

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If there's ever a time to take dessert-making over the top, it's with ice cream sundaes. The beauty is that you can make an insanely decadent dessert with no baking involved. These seven recipes all use store-bought ingredients, so the most you have to do is heat up Nutella, and even that's totally optional.

A pint glass or even a mason jar is perfect for creating stratified layers, so every bite is well-balanced. As you build your ~dream sundae~, don't worry about specific quantities — just go where your heart and stomach take you.

The trick to getting the perfect bite is alternating scoops of ice cream and crunchy and chewy textures with a gooey, delicious sauce. To get an easy drizzle, microwave fudge sauce, caramel, and other toppings like peanut butter, cookie butter, and jam in 15-second bursts in a microwave-safe container, stirring until smooth and pourable.

Strawberry Shortcake Sundae

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HOW TO: This is for the strawberry obsessed. Swirl layers of strawberry ice cream, crumbled store-bought shortbread, warmed strawberry jam (warm it in the microwave in 15-second bursts), and quartered fresh strawberries. Top with whipped cream, more jam, and crumbled cookies.

Chocolate Caramel Turtle Sundae

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HOW TO: An ample amount of caramel and fudge sauce is key to this turtle-themed sundae. Spoon both between scoops of caramel ice cream, and add chopped Snickers and pecans to each layer. We used salted caramel ice cream, but you will #win if you can find a tub of Breyers' Snickers flavor. You can also swap the Snickers for actual chocolate and caramel turtles.

Cookie Lover's Sundae

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HOW TO: Cookie butter is one of God's most beautiful gifts to humans. Melt it in the microwave, drizzle it generously between layers of cookie dough ice cream, warmed fudge sauce, and crumbled Oreos. Not an Oreo fan? This sundae would also be amazing with Chips Ahoy or Famous Amos. And, if you manage to have extra cookie butter, try swirling it into brownies.

The Banana Split Sundae

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HOW TO: Doesn't this look a-peel-ing? (LOL, sorry.) Create layers with vanilla-chocolate ice cream, fudge sauce, sprinkles, and thinly sliced bananas (so you get a piece in every bite). Top with copious amounts of whipped cream, more sprinkles and fudge, and a maraschino cherry.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae

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HOW TO: The key to this P.B.-chocolate overload is a creamy peanut butter like Skippy or Jif that will melt into a smooth, pourable sauce when heated. Microwave some peanut butter in 15-second bursts until it's warm, then coat the glass with a spoonful of it and some fudge sauce before layering with chocolate ice cream, Reese's pieces, halved peanut butter cups, and extra sauce. Tip: We used the mini, unwrapped peanut butter cups for easy chopping, but any kind will do.

S'mores Sundae

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HOW TO: Before you start building the sundae, drizzle the glass with fudge sauce warmed up in the microwave. Then stack alternating layers of vanilla ice cream, marshmallow fluff, crumbled graham crackers, mini marshmallows, and of course more fudge sauce. If you have a kitchen torch, toast a few big marshmallows to take this to the next level.

Nutella Deluxe Sundae

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HOW TO: To get well-balanced bites throughout the entire glass, layer small scoops of ice cream with crumbled brownies, chopped hazelnuts, and a drizzle of warmed-up Nutella. For an over-the-top addition, swap regular brownies for these 3-Ingredient Nutella Brownies.

Can't choose one? Host a DIY sundae party! Here are some fun ideas to blow your guests' minds:

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Microwave the sauces and other toppings (like peanut butter, cookie butter, and jam) in 15-second bursts, stirring until smooth and pourable. Transfer the warmed sauces to plastic squeeze bottles. Store them in a slow cooker that is filled with hot water and set to warm. (Don't leave them in there for more than two hours, though.)

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For easy sundae-building use a muffin tin to display the toppings. This way there's only one dish to clean instead of so many tiny little cups. Set a jar of spoons next to the muffin tin so people to serve themselves.

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Food styling by Laura Arnold.