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Around this time every year, the NCAA college basketball championship tournament has a lot of us in the throes of March madness. Our television sets are taken over by basketball virtually 24-7 as we scan our brackets to see if we have chosen the correct teams that will be headed to the Final Four, hoping that we have predicted the correct upsets. Another common scenario is one in which you follow along furtively on the Internet while trying to appear productive at work, all along hoping the boss doesn’t catch you.
Over the years, the March Madness fever has caught on with me and I enjoy playing in a pool with my husband and some of his oldest friends. Although I am still waiting to win the pool (and I can assure you that I have no chance of winning this year), I will always faithfully fill in my bracket and put all other TV watching on hold.
It’s an exciting time of year for sports fans everywhere and to honor the occasion I have come up with the sweet sixteen of slow cooking. That is, sixteen classic sweet dishes and beverages that can be made in the crockpot. But you may ask, with all of this March madness and obsessing about college basketball going on, who has time to cook? Most of the ideas mentioned below are really simple two or three step recipes that can be thrown into the slow cooker while the game is on a commercial break, and the recipes can be found right here on CDKitchen.
1. Bananas Foster – Delicious served over pound cake with vanilla ice cream or traditionally served flaming with rum.
2. Chocolate Fondue- Served with fruit and pound cake as dippers- who can resist!
3. Apple Brown Betty – a warm and comforting diner classic.
4. Chocolate Bread Pudding – worth saving up some extra calories.
5. Peach Cobbler – a classic and my all time favorite
6. Hot Fudge – My favorite topping for vanilla ice cream.
7. Strawberry Preserves - another delicious ice cream topping.
8. Homemade Applesauce – a sweet but wholesome side dish.
9. Pineapple Upside Cake – easy to make with boxed cake mix.
10. Irish Oatmeal – Sweetened with dried fruit, it’s perfect for the next morning.
11. Caramel nut rolls – another easy make ahead breakfast option using refrigerator biscuits.
12. Hot Cocoa – Even though it is technically springtime, the weather is still cold enough to indulge!
13. Hot Spiced Apple Cider – a fall classic that warms throughout the year.
14. Irish Coffee – it’s not too late to still be celebrating St Paddy's Day. Keep it warm in the slow cooker while watching the game.
15. Mulled Red Wine – Scent your entire house with the fragrance!
16. Sweet Tea – It’s easy to brew up a huge batch of hot tea and sweeten with honey. Serve warm or iced.
So stop obsessing over your bracket for a moment and take a quick cooking break. Here’s hoping that one of these ideas hits your sweet spot… and that at least one of your favored teams makes it to the Final Four!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/865-slow-cooker-ideas/
Sixteen Sweet Ideas for the Slow Cooker
Around this time every year, the NCAA college basketball championship tournament has a lot of us in the throes of March madness. Our television sets are taken over by basketball virtually 24-7 as we scan our brackets to see if we have chosen the correct teams that will be headed to the Final Four, hoping that we have predicted the correct upsets. Another common scenario is one in which you follow along furtively on the Internet while trying to appear productive at work, all along hoping the boss doesn’t catch you.
Over the years, the March Madness fever has caught on with me and I enjoy playing in a pool with my husband and some of his oldest friends. Although I am still waiting to win the pool (and I can assure you that I have no chance of winning this year), I will always faithfully fill in my bracket and put all other TV watching on hold.
It’s an exciting time of year for sports fans everywhere and to honor the occasion I have come up with the sweet sixteen of slow cooking. That is, sixteen classic sweet dishes and beverages that can be made in the crockpot. But you may ask, with all of this March madness and obsessing about college basketball going on, who has time to cook? Most of the ideas mentioned below are really simple two or three step recipes that can be thrown into the slow cooker while the game is on a commercial break, and the recipes can be found right here on CDKitchen.
1. Bananas Foster – Delicious served over pound cake with vanilla ice cream or traditionally served flaming with rum.
2. Chocolate Fondue- Served with fruit and pound cake as dippers- who can resist!
3. Apple Brown Betty – a warm and comforting diner classic.
4. Chocolate Bread Pudding – worth saving up some extra calories.
5. Peach Cobbler – a classic and my all time favorite
6. Hot Fudge – My favorite topping for vanilla ice cream.
7. Strawberry Preserves - another delicious ice cream topping.
8. Homemade Applesauce – a sweet but wholesome side dish.
9. Pineapple Upside Cake – easy to make with boxed cake mix.
10. Irish Oatmeal – Sweetened with dried fruit, it’s perfect for the next morning.
11. Caramel nut rolls – another easy make ahead breakfast option using refrigerator biscuits.
12. Hot Cocoa – Even though it is technically springtime, the weather is still cold enough to indulge!
13. Hot Spiced Apple Cider – a fall classic that warms throughout the year.
14. Irish Coffee – it’s not too late to still be celebrating St Paddy's Day. Keep it warm in the slow cooker while watching the game.
15. Mulled Red Wine – Scent your entire house with the fragrance!
16. Sweet Tea – It’s easy to brew up a huge batch of hot tea and sweeten with honey. Serve warm or iced.
So stop obsessing over your bracket for a moment and take a quick cooking break. Here’s hoping that one of these ideas hits your sweet spot… and that at least one of your favored teams makes it to the Final Four!
Easy Slow Cooker Bananas Foster
Made with salt, ground cinnamon, bananas, butter, corn syrup, rum, lemon
Made with salt, ground cinnamon, bananas, butter, corn syrup, rum, lemon
Serves/Makes: 6
- 6 bananas
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/3 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon rum
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Peel the bananas and cut into quarters. Place the bananas in the crock pot.
Combine the melted butter, corn syrup, rum, lemon juice and zest, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Pour the sauce evenly over the bananas.
Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 1 hour or until heated through. Serve over pound cake with vanilla ice cream.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/865-slow-cooker-ideas/