These days there are so many different Christmas treats out there that it’s hard to figure out which ones are the best to make. I like making an assortment to please everyone’s palate. Plus, it’s nice to have an assortment of treats and choices varying from chocolate peanut butter balls to chocolate chip cherry cookies. The Top 8 Christmas Desserts are listed below for you to include at your friend or family gatherings. Some recipes are made on the stove top while others require you to put more effort and bake. I’ve also included a vegan raspberry thumbprint cookie recipe for those of you who can’t eat wheat, milk or eggs. They are delicious and can be eaten by anyone who doesn’t have dietary restrictions.
Table of Contents
1. Chelsea Cookies (Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies)
My first favourite item in the top 8 Christmas Desserts is Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies. In my house, we call them Chelsea cookies as I love them! They are so delicious! Be sure to grab one before they’re gone! They are similar to a chocolate chip cookie, with a twist. The green and red maraschino cherries add a flavourful chewy texture when you bite into a cookie. I like adding both Christmas colours, to make it more festive. The shredded coconut adds a sweet taste.
These are simple to make and the recipe produces 3 ½ dozen cookies. It’s always nice to include cookies on a Christmas platter. This fantastic recipe will keep your guests fascinated with the different ingredients in this cookie. They’ll wonder where you got this wonderful recipe; be sure to refer them to my site!
Sign up to my newsletter below to get your FREE download of the recipe!
2. Chocolate Oatmeal Drops
You can easily double the recipe if you need more chocolate oatmeal drops, for a bigger crowd. It won’t require a lot of extra time to double the batch. They are chewy and easy to eat after being stored in the fridge. They thaw quickly after being taken out and put on the counter.
Second on the top 8 Christmas Desserts are Chocolate Oatmeal Drops. These don’t require any baking. They are super easy to make and don’t require very much time. You can start the process and put the dessert away in under an hour. They are made on the stove top and need to be refrigerated for them to set. You can make these ahead of time. Take some out when you need a few to put on a plate or as a grab-and-go snack.
Tip: Make sure to use a big pot to fit all the oatmeal needed to mix up later in the recipe. Pecans are optional. If you like them, go ahead and add them. If you don’t, you can omit them.
Sign up to my newsletter below to get your FREE download of the recipe!
3. Chow Mein Chocolate Christmas Desserts
Chow Mein Chocolate Cookies are a favorite in our family and made the top 8 Christmas Desserts for that reason. They are crunchy and sweet with the chocolate and butterscotch combo covering the rest of the ingredients: chow mein noodles and peanuts. The chocolate and butterscotch chips are melted on the stovetop or in the microwave before coating the other ingredients and placing on wax paper in the fridge. They can be made ahead of time as well and pulled out whenever they are needed. They are easy to make and don’t require many ingredients. You might have most of the ingredients available on hand, other than the chow mein noodles (not something I usually keep in stock), to create as a snack or offering for a family gathering or party.
Tip: They can be a bit difficult to eat if the drops are too big, as the chow mein pieces can jab you in the mouth. Make small clumps, otherwise you might regret it. They can be more of a clumsy shape if you use big peanuts. It depends what’s available at the store as well as your preference. Just note, they can look slightly different than mine. I used chopped peanuts in the picture above.
Even with them being slightly awkward to eat, chow mein chocolate cookies are so tasty! They offer a crunchy dessert.
4. Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
Do you love peanut butter and chocolate as much as I do? Someone decided to create a Christmas treat that includes those two main ingredients. Genius! I’m sold. This is why it was required to be included in the top 8 Christmas Desserts. It’s another simple dessert to prepare at the last minute or ahead of time. You might need to head to the grocery store ahead of making these, though, to make sure you have all the ingredients.
Tip: Placing them on a Christmas platter can make a great addition to your other treats. Keep in mind to mention to friends and family who have a peanut allergy to avoid these goodies. These are not recommended to send as a treat with your children at schools that are mostly nut-free.
Sign up to my newsletter below to get your FREE download of the recipe! I’ll share with you the additional ingredient I added for extra flavour and crispiness!
5. Vegan Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
This recipe is for people who need to eat or prefer vegan food. I found this recipe while on my sensitivity diet last Christmas. I needed new recipes to fill my Christmas dessert cravings. It’s so delicious that I’ve kept it in my standard recipes I make every year and have included it into my top 8 Christmas desserts. They are a fun recipe to include children in the process. Make sure to have those children around to put thumbprints in the cookies. What better way to get kids involved by telling them that they are required to put their thumbs into the dough so that jam can be added before the cookies are baked? Children will be all over helping!
If you often eat vegan food, you might have the ingredients available. If you’re trying this new recipe as a non-vegan, check the list of ingredients and shop prior to making the vegan raspberry thumbprint cookies. This recipe requires more work and planning. Since it’s a recipe that requires baking, it will take more time overall to make these cookies.
This is a delicious recipe. It’s a simple Christmas dessert but with the jam in the middle of the cookie, the tasty flavour burst through! It’s good to have another cookie that looks and tastes different than the first one I mentioned. As an added bonus, it doesn’t have chocolate. I love chocolate but sometimes it’s nice to have a treat that doesn’t include it.
Get the recipe here.
6. Marshmallow Yule Log
This Marshmallow Yule Log was my grandma’s favourite Christmas dessert, for it’s crunchy, chewy and chocolatey flavours. That is why I included it in the top 8 Christmas Desserts to make this season. It contains walnuts, coconut, and multi-coloured marshmallows. White marshmallows can also be used, depending on your preference. I find that the multiple colours give it a more festive feel for Christmas, but it’s up to you. Mix all the ingredients together and then roll the mixture in a log shape on waxed paper. It gets rolled up in the wax paper to create a chocolate log. It’s easy to make and store in preparation for your guests to pop over. This one provides a different crunch with walnuts instead of peanuts.
Tip: Buy small marshmallows instead of cutting up the big ones. Cut-up marshmallows tend to stick and are bit harder to manage when mixing the ingredients together.
7. Rice Krispies Christmas Dessert
This is a staple for many families at Christmas. It’s straightforward to make and you can get your children involved. It only requires three ingredients: butter, large marshmallows and rice krispies. Because it’s such a simple recipe that the whole family can make, it had to be included in my top 8 Christmas Desserts. Follow the directions here. I chose the Holiday rice krispies for December to make it more of a festive treat but the plain colour works as well, if you prefer that one. These can be made all year round as a grab-and-go snack for a pick me up.
Tip: Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large pot. It will get incredibly sticky and otherwise possibly overflow when the rice krispies are added and mixed in.
Enjoy this festive treat!
8. Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares
More marshmallows! I feel like Christmas is a season to include as many marshmallow recipes as possible. I’m not a super big fan of marshmallows over the fire due to their stickiness or making rice krispies is definitely a gooey mess (in my mind) but if it’s including them in their natural form, I’m game. Did you guess that I love peanut butter? Yes, I do! This recipe also includes butterscotch chips, which makes this recipe scrumptious. Normally, multi-coloured marshmallows would be added but I couldn’t find them in the grocery store. I chose to use white ones instead. This recipe is chewy goodness.
Tip: Make sure the peanut butter, butter and butterscotch chips mixture are cooled before adding the marshmallows. Otherwise, if you’re impatient (like I’ve done in the past), the marshmallows will melt into your mixture and you won’t end up with nice fluffy marshmallow squares. The linked recipe mentions adding vanilla. I omitted that ingredient and it tastes awesome without it. It’s up to you if you want to add it or not. I don’t freeze the marshmallows either.
These top 8 Christmas desserts are fantastic to bring with you as a snack on a variety of outdoor activities such as cross-country skiing, or to a family gathering. The treats offer different tastes and textures to please everyone at your next event. If your family and friends love baked goods, you could offer the homemade treats as a gift. As an alternative, you might choose some of the 6 Stocking Stuffers for X-Country Skiers. It’s time to start figuring out what you’ll make and start baking!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I might receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend companies and products that I’ve used and tested myself. If you’d like to support me, I’d greatly appreciate it! It will help pay for the costs to run my website.
Leave a Reply