Life
17 Christmas Cookies, Holiday Desserts, and Other Sweet Treats to Make Right Now, No Matter What You're Celebrating
This time of year, pies and Christmas cookies reign as the ultimate rulers of winter holiday treats — which is great and all, but let’s not forget about all the other amazing, irresistible, festive desserts that deserve just as much recognition. Personally, I will eat anything comprised of sugar, butter, and frosting, so I am never one to leave a dessert behind, pie or no. Since the holidays are a time to consume as much sweetness as possible, here are a bunch of delicious winter-time sweet treats that come in all forms. It's time to start baking!
Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies
What’s better than toasty chocolate chip cookies with a chewy center and slightly crunchy exterior, you ask? A toasty chocolate chip cookie made with molasses and ginger, duh. This gingerbread-chocolate chip hybrid is everything you ever wanted out of a holiday cookie (and more, probably). Find the recipe at Pastry Affair.
Image: Pastry Affair
Orange Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting
Gingerbread > pumpkin bread, banana bread, and essentially any and all the breads. I love desserts that are made with a hefty amount of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and this recipe from Joy the Baker does not disappoint.
Image: Joy the Baker
Hot Cocoa Stirrers
Just when you thought hot chocolate couldn’t get more delicious, bake. love. give comes up with a GENIUS idea: make equally delicious stirrers dipped in chocolate and marshmallows to accompany said hot chocolate. Bless this recipe.
Image: bake. love. give
Grandma's Butter Horns (Brown Sugar Walnut Rugelach)
If you’ve never tried rugelach, prepare to have your mind blown. Traditionally a Jewish/Eastern European treat, I’ve been seeing more and more of these in bakeries, so I’m happy their greatness is being recognized. Learn how to make the delicious strudel-esque sweets at Cookie Monster Cooking
Image: Cookie Monster Cooking
Holiday Mint Cookies
Sometimes it’s nice to just bake a classic with a festive twist. Get this recipe at Deliciously Yum, which calls for peppermint M&Ms, and semi-sweet chips.
Image: Deliciously Yum
Spicy Chocolate Bark with Chipotle and Almonds
This spicy-sweet recipe from Foodie Crush is definitely different from the bark you may be used to. The chipotle flavor isn’t super overpowering, but make sure to have a glass of milk on hand, because after your 10th piece, the spice will probably catch up with you.
Image: Foodie Crush
Peppermint Candy Cane Ice Cream
You could buy a pint of peppermint ice cream at the grocery store… or you could whip up a batch of your own! You’ll need an ice cream maker, which you should probably just have on hand anyway, right? Get this DIY ice cream recipe from Lick My Spoon.
Image: Lick My Spoon
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Impress your friends and family with these elegant cookies by Pastry Affair. They’re so dainty and perfect, you might not want to actually eat them.
Image: Pastry Affair
Chocolate Peppermint Roll with Chocolate Ganache
Cakes can be kind of standard, so why not make a roll? They’re fun to decorate, and you can always cover this one in so much chocolate ganache, it’ll look like a Yule Log. Which is super fun. Find this recipe over at Joy the Baker.
Image: Joy the Baker
Tangled Christmas Lights Cupcakes
A cupcake that looks like a pile of Christmas lights? Adorable. If this happened in real life? Not so much. Glad it’s just a cupcake though. Get this cupcake recipe from My Baking Addiction.
Image: My Baking Addiction
Chocolate Orange Macarons
If the holidays have you feeling like a fancy lady, then go with this macaron recipe from Simmer & Boyle. The chocolate and orange combination makes me think of Terry’s chocolate orange ball, which is very festive indeed.
Image: Simmer & Boyle
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Save some room for these bars, because they are absolutely heavenly. And very chewy. And minty. And just about flawless. Find the recipe on Something Swanky.
Image: Something Swanky
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies With Peppermint Buttercream
The holidays aren’t really the holidays without some sugar cookies! These in particular are made with a premade gluten-free cookie mix, which makes your life so, so much easier. Get this effortless (almost literally) recipe from The Messy Baker.
Image: The Messy Baker
Peppermint Mocha Ice Cream
More ice cream? Absolutely. Just because it’s a freezer in some places in the world doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves a cone of creamy perfection that is peppermint mocha (that’s right — like your favorite wintery coffee beverage from Starbucks). This recipe from The Simple Sweet Life shows you how to make these cones without an ice cream maker, which is awesome.
Image: The Simple Sweet Life
Boozy Glazed Doughnut Holes
Doughnuts (or sufganiyot) are a Hanukkah special, so it’s essentially required of you to make an endless supply throughout all of December. Or maybe it’s my personal requirement. Either way, you can’t go wrong with these baby doughnuts made with alcohol and potato chips. Yup, potato chips and alcohol, aka all is right with the world. Get the recipe from What Jew Wanna Eat.
Image: What Jew Wanna Eat
Ferrero Rocher Ice Cream Cheesecake
Remember all those Ferrero Rocher holiday adverts from the ’90s? They were so fancy and cheesy, and really just the best. Recreate that ’90s regal feeling by making this Ferrero Rocher cheesecake by Sugar et al.
Image: Sugar et al
Christmas Pretzel Hugs
This sweet pretzel treat from Dessert Now Dinner Later is the easiest thing, ever. Perfect for parties (or for when you want a snack), you just need pretzels, Hershey’s Hugs, and Christmas M&Ms.
Image: Dessert Now Dinner Later
