How about a flourless chocolate cake? Oh, and ikea has some frozen almond torte things that are gluten free if you want to just buy something.

"My mom always suggests I go out and buy something pre-made for my relative, but I always feel like that singles her out and isn't as tasty anyway."
You are a very nice person (and this gluten-free girl appreciates your efforts for other gluten-free people) because yes, we do like to eat what everyone else is eating :)

Meringues are a good gluten free option too. Endless possibilities

pistachio cookies. You grind up the pistachios and mix with egg whites and bake, very tasty.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pistachio-Cookies-105039 (you can skip the rose water and they're still good)
fruit crumble, the topping can be oats (just make sure they're whole and not contaminated with gluten) with brown sugar and butter.

Oh - and if I was attending your family events I would think a flourless chocolate cake or some yummy looking cookies using gluten-free oats would be awesome (http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/sweets/recipe-peanut-butter-fudge-oatmeal-cookies-129377). The good thing about buying gluten-free oats is that it's still oats and can be used for tons of other none gluten-free recipes!

I've made gluten free macaroons. There are a bunch of recipes out there, but the one I found once upon a time (and can't find again) used a can of sweetened condensed milk and coconut flakes. There may have been one more ingredient, but I can't remember. What I DO remember is that it was super easy to make, and very tasty!

Coconut macaroons are an option. Also, French macaroons are generally made with almond flour and are gluten free. Chocolate dipped fruit is simple and elegant. I second the flourless chocolate cake.

You might consider raw dessert recipes as well. I'm don't follow a raw diet, but those desserts are usually my favorite because they are so rich and filling, yet nutritious. Some require a dehydrator, but most don't. They also don't require you to have a lot of fussy ingredients.

What about black bean brownies?

http://www.food.com/recipe/black-bean-brownies-gluten-free-255239

Dessert fondu? You could set out a big pot of melted chocolate fondu with an assortment of fruit, and maybe pound cake squares for the people who can eat gluten.

How about a tapioca pudding with whipped cream and fresh fruit? It can be a homey version or something more interesting with coconut milk and vanilla beans. Plus, it could easily be self-serve and shouldn't be too much of a problem with large crowds. I love Elizabeth David's flourless chocolate cake as well, which can be baked in a rectangular pan and cut up into small, bite-size pieces (like brownies.) Good luck!

Poached pears. Do them in red wine or brew chai tea. Sprinkle of cinnamon, toasted almonds, even some chocolate sauce. GF or not, it's delicious.

Hmm, let's see (some regular, some fancier):

homemade ice cream/sorbet/granita
root beer floats
rice pudding
macaroons
flourless chocolate cake
pavlova
baked/poached fruit
panna cotta
flan
pots de crème
crème brûlée

my favorite naturally gluten-free dessert is Jacques Pepin's individual chocolate (lava) cakes (made in muffin-tins) with apricot-cognac sauce. the weirdest ingredient is cornstarch, and they're easy to make. find the recipe here: http://books.google.com/books?id=LLCBU_77qyEC&pg=PA198&lpg=PA198&dq=jacque+pepin+chocolate+cake+apricot&source=bl&ots=wrGtE0qJCb&sig=o3gyE1SxN2MADQslw3K118rp88k&hl=en&ei=iOJ8TrKENcuGsgKFhMQs&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

whipped cream and fruit! tasty and easy!

I'm gluten free and panna cottas are my dinner party standby, esp when made with buttermilk. You can even make them in cupcake wrappers or ramekins and top with fruit. Super easy, and a lot of bang for very little work.

Earlier this summer I had to come up with a dessert for some friends, one of which can't have wheat, eggs, or dairy -- how do you make a dessert without those 3 ingredients?? I was saved by this recipe for butterless apple crumble:
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2011/03/butterless_apple_crumble.php

As long as you make sure you use gluten-free oats, you can blend them up to make the "flour". You can of course use any fruit you want, like peaches or pears, depending on what's most in-season where you live. It's a really tasty recipe, and very easy.

Fruit Crisp - any kind of fruit, substitute gluten free baking mix/flour, coconut flour or almond meal or combination of for the flour, use gluten free oats. Serve with gluten free ice cream (many of Ben & Jerry's are).
Fruit Betty - just substitute GF baking mix for flour. Essentially a thick layer of pie crumble topping then fruit covered by a thin layer of more pie crumble topping. I like to add pecans or almonds to the top.
I've had a lot of success with the cashew dream cake recipe in the kitchn blog. It's vegan, raw and gluten free. Everyone I've fed it to loves it and its not heavy, which is nice.
If all else fails I look for recipes that intend to have the cake be dense and I've figured out mixes of flours that work - GF baking mix like Pamela's and Bob's Red Mill, Almond Meal and Coconut flour.
Good Luck!

Rice pudding? Who doesn't love rice pudding? I especially love it made with arborio rice and ridiculous amounts of milk, then served cold with berries in their juices.

We often eat cut up fresh or gently cooked fruit with sweetened heavy or light cream. You wouldn't even have to whip it, just set out a pitcher on ice for family get-togethers.

I've been meaning to try something a 1924 cookbook I found calls "apple snow." It's not like other snow recipes I've found. It's basically cooked rice spread in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish topped with sweetened applesauce (I would use homemade), then topped with a meringue and baked in the oven until the meringue sets and browns.

For christmas, I also make chocolate bark. Not sure if chocolate is gluten-free, but you just melt chocolate chips, spread on a wax-papered pan, then top while still warm with finely chopped dried fruits, slivered almonds, and coarse sea salt. You can add chopped candied ginger if you want. It's amazingly delicious and so easy.

Baked apples
Poached pears
Fruit with cream
Fruit fools
Carrot Halva
Nougat
Ice cream
Chocolate covered fruit
Figs and syrup
Turtles and other homemade chocolates
Nut brittle
Pavlovas

Some of these are more like nibbles, but I do think people wouldn't complain about homemade chocolates and some coffee or tea!

Also, while some Passover recipes use matzoh, there are also many wheat-free options (nature of the holiday).

Chocolate Truffle Cakes on From Blah to Ta-Daa! are my new favorite better-than-a-brownie. They only require 1 Tbsp. of flour, which could easily be swapped out for your favorite GF variety.

You could make caramels!

If you buy gluten free cookies, you could crush them and make a cheesecake with a cookie crust.

If all else fails, you can buy King Arthur Flour's chocolate cake mix (tastes a bajillion times better than the glutenfree betty crocker mix and is the same amount of stuff in the box as a standard mix, so your favorite recipe that calls for chcolate cake mix can be used) and use it to make a death by chocolate bundt cake (you add pudding - jello brand is gluten free, and chocolate chips)

sorry this rambled a bit!

Fudge (regular and penuche) or pralines. You said you've done meringues, but you can switch things up by adding different ground nuts, or make a pavlova with fruit and whipped cream (or individual pavlovas if that's less messy to serve).

I second the coconut macaroon idea, I've had some really delicious cookies made of nothing but coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and a pinch of sugar! You can dip some of them in chocolate if you like, but I think maybe some brands of chocolate contain gluten, so be careful, or leave some uncoated.

Also, thinking seasonally, how about some popcorn balls, candied apples, or homemade marshmallows?

statgrrl, if I understand you correctly, you are using oat flour instead of the spelt, right? I just want to make it clear (to those unfamiliar with gluten free) that spelt flour is not gluten free and thus the recipe as written is not gluten free.

Eton mess went over like gangbusters at a dinner party I had recently (I'd planned it to accomodate a gluten-free friend who couldn't make it after all; I served to the other guests without saying that that's why I did it, and they wolfed it down). It also couldn't be easier: chop up strawberries, crush up a handful of meringue cookies (you can use purchased ones from the supermarket, even), and whip a cup of cream. Fold the strawberries and meringue bits into the whipped cream. Voila.

Baked apples are perfect now that it's fall.

Poached peaches and poached pears are also quite lovely.

Somewhere I've got a recipe for grilled peach halves with meringue cookies on the side. If you're making the meringues yourself, add some cinnamon to the meringue batter.

Bananas foster and cherries jubilee is very "show-stoppy" (c'mon, if you have flaming ANYTHING you look impressive). They do incorporate ice cream, but if you hold off putting the ice cream out and doing up the fruit until "dessert time", you may be able to get away with it.

My dad is gluten free, and like you, I don't want to buy speciality flour. I will however, buy gluten free cookies. There are good gluten free gingersnap and graham crackers available in most large grocery stores. Then, just sub those in where you would otherwise use the flour-based products. So you can make cheesecakes, tarts, etc.

I have GF and non-GF family members (more than 1 GF, actually) and so I'm always feeling a little stuck on this topic. My go to is a ground nut crust (I usually use the food processor to grind up some toasted pecans, toasted walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts (that's a splurge, but soooo good!), hazelnuts, etc...we've never used a nut that wasn't tasty--they all seem to work). Usually, I just throw in about a tablespoon of sugar with about 1 1/2 cups nuts. All depends on the size of the pie pan/tin you might be using. I start by grinding a cup and a half, and then I grind more if necessary. It's not an exact science, but it doesn't need to be.

Then spreading in a no-bake kind of filling, sort of like Nigella Lawson uses in her no fuss fruit tart. If I recall correctly, it's a jar of lemon curd combined with a softened brick of cream cheese. Soooo easy, and it's the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and sour. I've done it with lime curd--just as good. I've also done half a can of pumpkin puree with the cream cheese and a dash of some pumpkin friendly spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) for a fall option. We top the tart/pie/whatever you want to call it with fruit or other toppings. For the pumpkin on, we did homemade toffee bits, a drizzle of dark chocolate, and a little sprinkling of dried cranberries. I usually make a spiced coffee to go with it and it's a great end to the meal. When my dairy free friend stops by, we just sub out the cream cheese with vegan cream cheese and the curd I usually replace with just a regular fruit preserve when we are doing egg free. It's a great basic plan that can be adapted to a lot of different allergy/intolerance needs. (For nut free, we just grind up a batch of GF, DF storebought cookies in the food processor and smash them into a pie dish until they hold together.)

We use this "recipe" for just about every dessert we do for entertaining, and we've never made the exact same thing twice. It's fun to try out new combinations of nuts, fillings, and toppings. And we've even used melted chocolate to decorate the top for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Good luck! I know it can be tough to accommodate those with food allergies or intolerances, but as I'm sure you can guess, for those who suffer, it is a very welcome treat.

First off, as a G-Free lady myself, you should know how awesome you are by making sure to provide a g-free inclusive dessert! So considerate!

For something easy, Bob's Red Mill makes an awesome (and easy!!) brownie mix. I know it's available at Whole Foods. The brownies are great on their own, and I've used it to make mini cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Yum!

For a little more seasonally minded, baked apples or a seasonal fruit crumble are delicious. Just use gluten free oats for the filler!

Goodluck!

There's a food stylist and blogger who only posts gluten free recipes. She just wrote a book about it actually. Here's her blog:
http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/

Woah - Thrilled to see this post has been commented to death! Hey GF friends :)

I'm always partial to desserts that are naturally gluten free. I don't have the cabinet space for all those flours!

There are actually 36 of these peanut butter cookies cooling on my counter right now, just because I (and probably you!) had everything on hand: http://www.glutenfreeblondie.com/2011/09/recipe-chewy-peanut-butter-cookies.html

Also, David Lebovitz's recipe for flour-less chocolate brownies are to DIE for.

Happy desserting!

I love this post! Naturally gluten-free desserts are easy to come by and great. Here are a few recipes to favorites of mine:

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/03/coconut-panna-cotta

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/baked-good/gluten-free-recipe-cashew-meringues-with-black-cherry-jam-136942

http://lookimadethat.com/2010/01/29/milkandhoneypannacotta/

http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/meyer-lemon-upside-down-cake

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/05/lemon-panna-cotta-with-lemon-marmalade

Chocolate mousse is also amazing (as others have mentioned), or really any kind of pudding, mousse, panna cotta, etc. You can serve them in individual jars or ramekins. Also, homemade ice cream or popsicles are great for summer.

Lastly, if you do decide to splurge on some GF flour mix, make these brownies, and serve with whipped cream and sea salt:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Best-Cocoa-Brownies-108346

Your friend won't believe that they don't contain gluten. They are amazing, even non-GF friends inhale them.

You can try Blueberry muffins, just use gluten-free all-purpose baking flour instead.

Two recipes from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything come to mind: 1) Butter Almond Cake, which is amazing and goes with tons of sides (from fruit compote to chocolate ganache), and 2) Baked Custard, for which he gives lots of variations. I made Chocolate Baked Custards (in individual ramekins) for a coeliac friend last week and they were AMAZING and really really easy.

Kheer, which is Indian rice pudding: thick, creamy and full of almonds, cardamom and raisins. I might just go make some now.

FYI: You can substitute most white flour recipes with Quinoa flour.

How about socca with fruit and honey?

Just adding a few more suggestions to all the great comments:
- Dates balls: you roll into balls dates pitted and thinly chopped together with nuts, pistachios, walnuts, cover with coconut.
- Tahini-Almonds balls: roll together into balls: tahini, grounded almonds and honey.
- Fruit salad
- Caramelized fruits: such as apples, peaches and pairs, served with cream.
- Compote, served with ice-cream.
- In the summer I make Malabi: boiled milk with cornflour, a bit of sugar and rose water. It needs to cool over night in the refrigerator, than serve with pomegranates syrup, fresh pomegranate and a bit of pistachios.
- In the winter I make Sahlab, you make it the same way as the malabi but eat it warm, serve with nuts, coconut, cinnamon and sugar on top.

* Correction: by cornflour I mean corn starch.

Use ground up store-bought gluten-free cookies to make a base for a baked cheesecake.

Or...

Make a flourless nutmeal cake (basically sugar, dessicated coconut, nutmeal and separated eggs) - easier to make than floured cakes and always a hit. I've made a hazelnut cake with a strawberry and brandy filling, and a lemon and poppyseed version using almondmeal, and a version with apple and walnuts using brown sugar to make it richer and more caramelly.

Cheesecake, with a nut-flour crust instead of a graham-cracker crust. I make one with 1.5 cups of nut flour (I usually use almond meal, because it doesn't have a strong flavor to compete with the filling, but sometimes I use other nuts if the filling is something that would be complemented), 4 tbsp melted butter, 4 tbsp sugar (or equivalent), and 1 tsp cinnamon (or other spices, again depending on the filling flavor). This gives you about a 3/8" thick crust in an 8" springform pan. And then you can use whatever cheesecake recipe you like -- most are gluten-free already.

A fruit crumble is always a winner in my home -fresh seasonal fruit and a traditional crumble. I adapted the Barefoot Contessa's peach & blueberry crumble and made it gluten/dairy free and vegan.
http://www.freshnessgf.com/peach-and-blueberry-crumbles/

I made a canteloupe dessert. Cut into wedges, remove the rind, drizzle with Ginger simple syrup and garnish with mint. Easy peasy.

Just saw this... if nuts/peanuts are not an issue:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/For-Purest-Peanut-Butter-Flavor-Dont-Add-Flour