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These 90 Cute Christmas Treats Will Keep You In The Holiday Spirit All Season Long

Guaranteed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

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cake balls covered in icing and shaped like ornaments
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON

Every holiday season, without fail, we gladly go overboard with our love making Pinterest-worthy, absolutely adorable creations shaped like everything from trees to candy canes, all covered in a healthy amount of red and green sprinkles. There’s a time and a place for super-fancy desserts, like chocolate soufflé, tiramisu, or macarons, but for us, Christmas ain’t it. If you too want to get in on the holiday spirit with your baking, check out our 86 best Christmas treats—they’re cuteness personified, in the most festive way possible.

The perfect way to create delightful holiday desserts is to make ones that are shaped just like all your favorite holiday things, like Christmas trees, Santa, his reindeer, snowmen, and more. Check out our ugly sweater cookies (or cake!), our Santa hat cupcakes, our Christmas tree brownies, our candy cane cookies, our Oreo coal, or our snowman cupcakes for ideas, then get creative. Our plan is to make cookies shaped like Santa this year (plus some Milano reindeer cookies too) to guarantee our spot on the nice list, but you do you. 😊

Less into the personification of your baked goods, and more into the red and green color scheme of the holiday? Try our Christmas fudge, our Christmas pinwheel cookies, our Christmas blondies, or our Rice Krispie snowballs. They use food dye, colorful candy, or red and green sprinkles to great holiday effect. Snowy blue and white is also fair game, so we’ve included it in our igloo cake, our snowflake cookies, and our frozen fudge here too.

And don’t forget about peppermint! Peppermint bark is classic, so we’ve included it in everything from cheesecake to brownies, but that’s not all the mints are good for. Our peppermint meringues, and peppermint meltaways are both great ideas. Try adding peppermint to any of your favorite bakes to make them extra festive (but start small if you’re using extract to avoid them tasting too toothpaste-y!).

Want even more holiday inspiration? Check out our favorite Christmas cookies, our best Christmas cakes, and our top Christmas no-bake desserts too.

1

Reese's Rudolph Bites

reeses candy stuck together with pretzels to make mini reindeers
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

If you’re looking for the perfect holiday craft-meets-snack activity to do with the whole family, look no further. True to form, these Reese’s Rudolph bites are bringing home the holiday cheer this year.

Get the Reese's Rudolph Bites recipe.

2

Cake Ball Ornaments

cake balls covered in icing and shaped like ornaments
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON

These festive cake balls are made with rich red velvet cake and tangy cream cheese frosting, and are perfect for gift-giving, bringing to a Christmas cookie swap, or serving at a holiday party. Use your own ornaments for decorating inspo to create a beautiful assortment of edible holiday cheer!

Get the Cake Ball Ornaments recipe.

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3

Deck The Halls Pop-Tart Ornaments

pop tarts decorated like ornaments
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON

If you love homemade ornaments and decorating Christmas cookies this time of year, have we got the recipe for you. With ready-made pie crust, sweet fruit preserves, and a little creativity, you can create charming, edible Pop-Tart ornaments that are as fun to make as they are delicious.

Get the Deck The Halls Pop-Tart Ornaments recipe.

4

Grinchy Pull-Apart Cupcakes

pull apart cupcakes decorated like the grinch
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Don't be intimidated. These pull-apart cupcakes are wayyyy easier to make than you'd think (just watch the video a couple times 😉). If you're not willing to put in the work on decorating with frosting, make our Grinchy Christmas cake bites or our Grinchy cookies instead.

Get the Grinchy Pull-Apart Cupcakes recipe.

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5

Gingerbread Cookie Bark

white chocolate bark with gingerbread cookies and sprinkles
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

If you’re a gingerbread head like me, congratulations, you’ve stumbled upon the perfect recipe for your holiday season. This bark blends white chocolate with all your favorite holiday spices and is topped with gingerbread cookies to create a simple yet delightful treat.

Get the Gingerbread Cookie Bark recipe.

6

Melted Snowman Cookie Dough Bites

melted snowman cookie dough bites
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Using our delicious edible cookie dough recipe, white chocolate ganache, and a couple of candy decorations, these melted snowman bites are the perfect sweet treat to bring to any holiday party. Plus, they’re ready in just 30 minutes, making them perfect for last-minute gifts and get-togethers.

Get the Melted Snowman Cookie Dough Bites recipe.

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7

Santa Hat Cheesecake Bites

mini cheesecake bites topped with strawberries and whipped cream to look like a santa hat
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These mini cheesecake bites are the easiest way to show Santa you deserve to be on the nice list this Christmas. Bonus: You can top any holiday treat with these adorable little hats—cupcakes, cookies, Jell-O shots...

Get the Santa Hat Cheesecake Bites recipe.

8

Oreo Coal

oreo coal vertical
Lindsay Conchar

These Oreo truffles shaped like coal will make you wish you were on the naughty list! Make a batch and trick your friends and family this Christmas.

Get the Oreo Coal recipe.

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9

Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks

sugar cookies stacked with green icing and sprinkles to make christmas tree stacks
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

All you need is store-bought sugar cookie dough, an easy homemade buttercream (colored green to nail the Christmas vibes), and your desired decorations to create these tiny edible trees. In 30 minutes, you’ll have the cutest cookie stacks that everyone will be fighting over.

Get the Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks recipe.

10

Reindeer Berry Snacks

chocolate covered strawberries shaped like reindeers
PHOTO: RYAN LIEBE; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON

We’ve never met a chocolate-covered strawberry we didn’t like (nay love), and these festive reindeer berry snacks are no exception. With pretzel antlers, a red M&M for a nose, and chocolate chip ears, these easy-to-make berries just might be the cutest Christmas snack we’ve ever laid (candy) eyes on.

Get the Reindeer Berry Snacks recipe.

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11

Mini No-Bake Gingerbread Icebox Cakes

mini no bake gingerbread icebox cakes
PHOTO: BRYAN GARDNER; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Usually, icebox cakes are built as one large treat, but for this recipe, everything is scaled down to create individually-sized icebox cakes using thin gingersnaps full of warm spices, cool cream, and adorable charm.

Get the Mini No-Bake Gingerbread Icebox Cakes recipe.

12

Oh Fudge, Fudge

red fudge shaped like soap with the words oh fudge
PHOTO: BRYAN GARDNER; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Watching The Christmas Story is a yearly tradition around these parts, and our movie night isn’t complete without eating on-theme Christmas treats while we watch. Usually we make our iconic leg lamp cookies, but this year we’re adding soap-shaped fudge to the menu (trust us!).

Get the Oh Fudge, Fudge recipe.

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13

Pull-Apart Santa Cake

cupcakes decorated like santa
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Holly jolly and extremely delicious, these pull-apart cupcakes are the holiday showstopper that you’ve been looking for. To make this recipe as simple as possible, I used boxed cake mix so that you can focus on the decoration. Feel free to let your creative juices flow (we certainly did, just look at his sunglasses!).

Get the Pull-Apart Santa Cake recipe.

14

Candy Cane Cookies

candy cane cookies
PHOTO: BRYAN GARDNER; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These cookies look so much more complicated than they are. They're actually just a simple sugar cookie where half of the dough gets dyed red and then twisted together. So simple!

Get the Candy Cane Cookies recipe.

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15

Letters To Santa Cookies

letter shaped pastries filled with chocolate and cinnamon sugar on a plate with milk
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Set out a plate of these cookies for the big guy this Christmas Eve, and they will guarantee to keep you on his nice list for years to come! They’re cute, delicious, and super-simple to make. Sprinkled with warm cinnamon sugar and filled with decadent Nutella, these cookies have an extra touch of Christmas magic.

Get the Letters To Santa Cookies recipe.

16

Elf On The Shelf-Inspired Mischief Munch

chex mix with red and green candy and icing
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Even if you're not well-studied in the arts of elf antics, you can make this mischief-ful Chex mix. Your kids can even make it with you, so they can leave it out to lure their little pal. It just takes a little cereal, some M&M's and holiday sprinkles, but you could modify it to suit your tastes.

Get the Elf On The Shelf Mischief Munch recipe.

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17

Grinchy Christmas Cake Bites

green covered cake bites with red hearts
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

This holiday season, be the who’s who of Whoville with a festive treat that even the Grinch himself couldn’t resist!. These bite-sized delights are the perfect combination of rich red velvet and the mischievous charm of the Grinch, and they’ll make your heart grow three sizes this holiday season.

Get the Grinchy Christmas Cake Bites recipe.

18

Advent Calendar Cookies

sugar cookies decorated with numbers
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

This year, we’re excited to do things a little differently, and bake up a batch of sugar cookies to serve as our advent calendar. This cookie countdown is as fun to decorate as it is to eat, and makes a delightful gift for the holidays too.

Get the Advent Calendar Cookies recipe.

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19

Reese's Trees

stacks of mini reeses peanut butter cups decorated with white and green royal icing and red green and white nonpareil and star sprinkles to look like christmas trees
PHOTO: RYAN LIEBE; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

In true Delish fashion, Reese's Trees couldn't be simpler to create. All you need are both sizes of Reese's peanut butter cups (regular and mini), melted chocolate to act as your glue, a Hershey's kiss as a tree topper, and lots of fun sprinkles.

Get the Reese's Trees recipe.

20

Buddy the Elf Rice Krispies Treats

rice krispies treats with marshmallows, candy, and pop tart pieces
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER

This twist on Buddy the Elf’s breakfast spaghetti is just the thing to add to your Christmas treat bucket list; plus, it's the perfect snack while you curl up on the couch and press play. If dessert for breakfast isn’t your thing, you’ll find the same sticky goodness in Rice Krispies format with crunchy chow mein noodles, chocolate galore, and even Pop-Tarts—no spaghetti required.

Get the Buddy the Elf Rice Krispies Treats recipe.

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