The holiday season is near, so you’re probably busy decking halls with hollies and bringing cheer. But don’t forget the dinner menu. It’s never good to cram holiday baking, or it’ll be a stress-filled Christmas eve.
The Christmas season signals a time of gifts, family reunions, songs, and, of course, delicious food. From sweet to savory, tables turn into smorgasbords of appetizers, main courses, and many desserts.
Reduce the holiday hustle and bustle by using these Christmas baking recipes. With them, you can whip up the most delectable desserts for Christmas eve. You can make anything from pies to cheesecakes.
1. Traditional Christmas Pudding
No Christmas eve dinner is complete in Britain without this curious but delectable dessert. A traditional Christmas pudding primarily consists of dried fruit. You may also know it as plum pudding (the plums came later in history, though).
You also serve it excitingly. Instead of simply slicing and handing out the Christmas pudding, the British usually light it first, so it’s aflame. It’s also made in advance so the dessert can mature.
Many things go into this dessert, like suet, mixed spices, breadcrumbs, sultanas, and currants. They don’t seem to make sense, but they come together beautifully.
2. Bûche De Noël (Yule Log)
In the olden times, the cold of December needed a log fed into the hearth. It provides warmth, protection against bad omens, good fortune, and luck.
Although many no longer need hearths for warmth, we could do with some protection and fortune. Thus, actual logs became adorable log-shaped desserts. The base is usually a cake, and for this recipe, it’s a cocoa-flavored sponge cake.
The cake roll is also filled with cocoa hazelnut whipped cream. To achieve the wooden look, you’ll cover the cake with chocolate ganache, let it harden, and then make the lines and swirls.
3. Christmas Mince Pies
Another staple of English holidays is the Christmas mince pie. Despite the name, they’re more like tartlets than regular pies because of their tiny size. They’re filled with an exciting mix of dried fruits and liquor.
You may also know them as mincemeat pies. Indeed, they had meat before. Many modern versions, as well as this recipe, have done away with that. However, some use suet or beef fat instead.
You can use raisins, figs, apricots, cherries, blueberries, and other berries for the dried fruit filling. Besides those, there are also an apple, orange, candied ginger, and spices.
4. Christmas Gingerbread House
Put your Christmas baking (and construction) skills to the test when you make this perfect surprise for kids. They’ll adore this delicious and gorgeous gingerbread house.
Bringing a famous fairytale home to life is a challenge, but the smiles of your kids (and adults) are worth it. So, get your oven ready because you’ll bake a gingerbread cookie house from scratch.
Royal icing glues together the gingerbread walls, roofs, and house parts to form the house. Then, you’ll need thick buttercream for decorating. To bring more pop and color, you can also use candies, like canes, sprinkles, and M&Ms.
5. Christmas Tree Cupcakes
Bring a fresh pop of green to your celebration with these adorable Christmas tree cupcakes. The ice cream cone trees stand tall and proud on their chocolate cupcake bases, freckled with white powdered sugar as snow.
Although they look intimidating, they’re very easy to make. However, you’ll need a piping bag with a star or leaf tip to get that authentic tree look. Besides the piping and baking, everything else is a breeze.
To get that green color, you’ll need food coloring. However, keep some of the frosting uncolored because you’ll use it to stick the trees to the cupcake.
6. Christmas Sugar Cookies
I can’t have a list of Christmas baking recipes without soft cookies. You’ll need a tin of this, especially when the whole family is around. Fresh and sweet, you can pass them around to share and enjoy.
Making the base cookies is easy, especially when you have suitable cutters and follow the recipe to the tee. However, to transform them from plain, shaped cookies into festive sweets, you’ll need colored sugar cookie icing.
The frosting is shiny and hardens perfectly, so it sets but doesn’t break your teeth. For the most vibrant shades, use gel food coloring.
7. Christmas Fruit Cake
If you’re planning a traditional Christmas celebration, you must add fruit cake to the collection of desserts. They’re full of complex but unique flavors from the mix of dried fruits and alcohol. However, they usually look plain and boring.
To up the look, you can use white fondant like this recipe. Topped with cherries, it makes this humble treat more luxurious and elegant. But if you want to stick to tradition or don’t want the hassle, you can do without it.
By itself, this cake is incredibly moist and delectable. However, for the best experience, serve it with vanilla custard.
8. Eggnog Cheesecake
Take the taste of your holiday beverage and instill it into a cheesecake. It seems like a challenging feat, but this is what you can do with eggnog. This treat is thick, creamy, and homey, just like how eggnog should be.
This cheesecake has three layers: graham cracker crust, eggnog cheesecake filling, and eggnog whipped cream. You’ll make and bake all those from scratch. Thus, the eggnog taste comes out without being overwhelming.
There are also hints of nutmeg in the filling and whipped cream. This spice perfectly complements the eggnog flavors. Moreover, it suits the holiday flavor profile.
8 Delicious Christmas Baking Recipes
Get your oven ready for these Christmas baking recipes!
Ingredients
Traditional Christmas Pudding
Bûche De Noël (Yule Log)
Christmas Mince Pies
Christmas Gingerbread House
Christmas Tree Cupcakes
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Christmas Fruit Cake
Eggnog Cheesecake
Directions
- Select your favorite recipe.
- Organize all the required ingredients.
- Prep a Christmas baked treat in 30 minutes or less!