Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (2024)

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (1)

It's more important than ever to relieve stress during the holiday season: There are presents to be purchased, Christmas parties to attend, cards to mail out and Christmas dinners to plan. So why not treat yourself with, well, a festive Christmas treat or two? From chocolate, vanilla and fruity Christmas cookies to Christmas bars, biscotti and other festive bites, there is no shortage of sweets you can make during the holiday season.

We rounded up all of our favorite sweets to snack on this month, including Christmas dessert-worthy cakes, cookie swap-ready confections, stunning sweets that double as food gifts and more. Find jammy thumbprint cookies, sugar-dusted crescents, cutesy cupcakes, cookie trees and more. Need something sweet ASAP? Been there. Try our three-ingredient Chocolate Mousse, four-ingredient Nut Butter Cups or White Chocolate-Dipped Madeleines made with a box of the store-bought stuff.

Pro tip: It's a good idea to brush up on your cookie decorating skills before the big day to prepare for Santa's visit — and as a bonus, you'll get to sneak in a few extra sweets. And if you're lucky enough to have leftovers, you can freeze them (sealed in an air-tight plastic bag or container) for whenever your sweet tooth strikes. No matter which of these festive Christmas treats you have on hand, they're sure to make your season just a little more merry.

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1

Lemon Thyme Coin Cookies

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (3)

Think beyond the baking aisle for your next batch: Fresh lemon and thyme add earthy, tangy flavor to these sweets.

Get the Lemon Thyme Coin Cookies recipe.

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2

The Best Royal Icing

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (4)

Start with basic sugar cookies, then ice them like a pro (with our helpful guide!) for a dessert that doubles as a fun activity.

Get the Best Royal Icing recipe.

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3

Chocolate Gingerbread Cake With White Chocolate Buttercream

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (5)

Can't decide between chocolate and gingerbread? Now you don't have to.

Get the Chocolate Gingerbread Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream recipe.

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4

Chocolate, Hazelnut and Caramel Tart

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (6)

A pinch of flaky salt helps balance out the sweetness of the gooey caramel filling.

Get the Chocolate, Hazelnut and Caramel Tart recipe.

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5

Peppermint Trees

To make these festive peppermint treats, heat the oven to 350°F before coating the insides of metal Christmas tree cookie cutters with nonstick cooking spray. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheet, then arrange green peppermint candies (breaking them as necessary) inside cutters; there should be space between the candies. Bake until candies melt, 5 to 6 min. Let cool completely, then gently pop out.

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6

Old-Fashioned Eggnog

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (8)

Never made eggnog from scratch? Then this creamy, lightly spiced sipper will be such a treat.

Get the Old-Fashioned Eggnog recipe.

RELATED: 48 Christmas co*cktails To Get the Holiday Party Started

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7

Pressed Cranberry and Pear Tart

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (9)

This surprisingly simple tart features a pressed crust, four ingredient filling and a glaze of apricot jam and orange juice.

Get the Pressed Cranberry and Pear Tart recipe.

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8

Chocolate Spoons

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (10)

Stir chocolate spoons in coffee or warm milk or another beverage to add an extra hit of sweetness to the season.

To prep the spoons, pour melted white, milk or dark chocolate in the spoons, then garnish with an assortment of sweet and salty fixin’s including things like mini chocolate chips, toasted coconut flakes, crushed candy canes and chopped espresso beans. Let stand for a few minutes until the chocolate has cooled and solidified.

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9

Baked Applesauce Donuts

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (11)

Full of apple pie spice plus applesauce, these sugar-coated sweets have all the flavor of the season.

Get the Baked Applesauce Donuts recipe.

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10

Neapolitan Cookies

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (12)

Making these ’gram-worthy cookies is easier than it looks: Just mix together one master dough and tint two-thirds of it with strawberry and chocolate.

Get the Neapolitan Cookies recipe.

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11

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (13)

Create a holiday-stunner with this cake. It has ginger, black pepper, cinnamon and a mix of other spices in each bite. Plus, you can top with a glaze and pomegranate arils.

Get the Gingerbread Bundt Cake recipe.

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12

Chocolate Spritz Sandwiches

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (14)

If decorating cookies is not your thing, these cookies are a great way to go. All you need is a cookie press to make them picture-perfect!

Get the Chocolate Spritz Sandwiches recipe.

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13

Linzer Stars

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (15)

This cookie includes pecans in the spiced dough, plus seedless jam that gets sandwiched in the middle! There is no doubt that people will be reaching for seconds.

Get the Linzer Stars recipe.

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14

Reindeer Profiteroles

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (16)

Turn spiced cream-filled puffs into Santa's four-legged friends with melted chocolate, edible antlers and button noses (a red one for Rudolph, of course!).

Get the Reindeer Profiteroles recipe.

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15

Black Forest Cookies

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (18)

If you already love Black Forest cake, then these cookies are for you. The brandied cherries and homemade whipped cream on top really make these cookies shine!

Get the Black Forest Cookies recipe.

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16

Matcha Snowball Cookies

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (19)

Give classic snowball cookies a twist by dusting a mixture of matcha powder and confectioners' sugar on top.

Get the Matcha Snowball Cookies recipe.

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17

Pecan Berry Bursts

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (20)

Finely ground freeze-dried fruit adds both a burst of color and a pleasantly tart edge to these buttery pecan cookies.

Get the Pecan Berry Bursts recipe.

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18

Jammy Walnut Rugelach

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (21)

These cookies are more like mini, bite-size pastries, with spiced sugar, jam and toasted walnuts rolled up in the flaky crust.

Get the Jammy Walnut Rugelach recipe.

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19

Sugar Cookie Trees

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (22)

A single sugar cookie is great and all, but these edible pines give you eight times the sweetness. We'll let you decide which one is better...

Get the Sugar Cookie Trees recipe.

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20

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (24)

Baked in a 9- by 13-inch pan, these gorgeous cranberry-raspberry-swirled bars are perfect for sharing — but we won't blame you if you keep a few squares for yourself.

Get the Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars recipe.

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With These Ultra-Festive Holiday Treat Recipes (2024)
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