It’s an annual tradition of ours to make Christmas treats for our neighbors. In preparation for our annual treat fest, we’ve rounded up our 17 best Christmas Treat Recipes to Make this Season. These recipes are the ones we go back to every year that get rave reviews, and become part of our tradition of treat giving. We know you’ll love these Christmas treats as much as we do!
Christmas Treat Recipes
When I put this list together, I wanted to feature recipes that had great flavor, leaned towards the easy side, and were desserts you don’t see in every dessert box you receive. Of all of these recipes, I really love the rosemary shortbread the most. It’s different, and the flavor tastes like a home smells during the holidays. Sweet, herby, and aromatic. They always get rave reviews! When I put my cookie boxes together, I use these ones from Amazon, along with a piece of pre-cut parchment paper inside. I tie them with a big piece of tulle into a bow, and a hand written note. I really love the tradition of a hand written note, it just isn’t something you see all that often anymore.
Hope you enjoy these easy snack, and holiday appetizers as much as we do. Don’t forget to tag us if you make our recipes @laughingspatula on instagram! – Kathi and Rachel
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
Kicking off our Christmas treat recipes is our gingerbread cookie bars. We love these so much! It’s like if a brownie and a gingerbread had a baby. Chewy cookie bars, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. These make your home smell like a Christmas bakery.
Thin Mint Style Cookies
A delicious flakey, crispy cookie is infused with a touch of mint extract before it’s coated in a mint chocolate cookie coating. The best part? You can decorate them as you like with sprinkles and some chocolate drizzle!
Coconut Shortbread
Full of butter and toasted coconut, the flavor is rich but light at the same time. I love how festive they look and the toasted coconut reminds me of snow. Perfect for a Christmas time treat!
White Chip Chocolate Cookies
White Chip Chocolate Cookies with a crackly top and a soft inside! Kicked up the flavor with a sprinkle of salt. Grown ups and kiddos will love these. The color contrast of them is beautiful in a holiday cookie box, too.
Salted Caramel Rice Crispy Treats with Chocolate Ganache
A traditional rice crispy treat meets caramel sauce, salt, and topped with an easy microwave ganache. These feel so much more sophisticated than a regular old rice crispy treat, and the effort to make them special is not much more. You can cut them into small squares for cookie boxes, like a rice crispy petit four.
Honey Roasted Nuts
My guests always go crazy for these. As in- they eat all of them, until the bowl is empty. These are a welcome savory but sweet treat that are very Christmas-y in a special old-timey way. The chopped rosemary gives them serious aromatics and they are a great neighbor gift in a small cellophane bag. Festive, and fun for the best holiday treat.
Rosemary Shortbread
Rosemary Shortbread Cookies are every foodie’s dream. These buttery, crisp, not too sweet cookies are infused with fresh chopped rosemary. They make the house smell delicious, and they bake up fast. We love them any time of the year, but especially during the holidays. Your friends will ask you “omg what are these?!” as they gobble them up!
Gingerbread Biscotti
Biscotti are a twice baked Italian cookie. They were originally developed as a cookie to send to family and troop members due to the long shelf life. These have that distinct gingerbread flavor everybody loves. Enjoy with cup of tea at night and it’s a slice of heaven on a cozy holiday evening!
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
If Christmas was a flavor, this cake would be it. Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and fluffy white cake meet tangy tart cranberries. This recipe is one of my favorite Christmas sweet treats to serve with vanilla ice cream!
Grinch Cookies
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and what other way to celebrate than with cookies? Grinch Cookies are delicious cakey sugar cookies with a green hue and a candy sprinkle heart.
Peanut Butter Cookies
You may not associate peanut butter with Christmas, but I sure do! My mom crafted this recipe when I was a kid. Bad day? Peanut butter cookies. Holiday? Peanut butter cookies. Good day? Peanut butter cookies. Peanut butter cookies are the answer to everything in our world. They taste like home, a warm, savory, sweet, hug.
Cinnamon Apple Bread
This Cinnamon Apple Bread is the perfect snack, breakfast, or even dessert. It is easy to make and uses fresh cut apples, covered in a crumbly cinnamon streusel topping and topped with a light glaze. We love this recipe not only for how it tastes, but how good it makes the house smell! Wrap it up in parchment paper and give it to your office bestie, your neighbor, or just enjoy it yourself.
Easy Cranberry Bars
These Easy Cranberry Bars are perfect for the holidays! We used the same recipe as our Easy Blueberry Pie Bars because we know it works so well. Fresh cranberries are the star of the show in these holiday cookie bars.
Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
Nothing is better than homemade and this is no exception to that rule! It whips up in 10 minutes and uses ingredients you likely already have in your fridge. I love to give this in jars to friends and family at Christmas time. Better yet, invite them over for a holiday sundae bar with all the treats and trimmings.
Mrs. Fields Style Cookies
If you’re going to leave out cookies for Santa, I strongly encourage you to use this recipe. My husband loves Mrs. Fields cookies so much I figured out a way to replicate them! Rumor has it, my husband and Santa have the same taste in cookies.
One Bowl Cinnamon Apple Bars
Whip up these delicious Apple Bars in just a few minutes…using one bowl! This is the perfect recipe for those fixer-upper, or even bruised apples you have hanging around but just can’t throw away. Everything is all made in one bowl, spread in a pan, and topped with a little cinnamon sugar and caramel drizzle. These taste like a holiday treat should!
Loaded Brownie Mix Cookies
Loaded Brownie Mix cookies are made with boxed brownie mix and bake up quickly. They are thick, fudgey, chocolatey, and we kick them up a notch by adding 3 kinds of chocolate chips. These are a must have for holiday treat boxes!
More Holiday Treat Recipes We Love:
- No Bake Peanut Butter Balls
- Christmas Chex Mix
- Christmas Pretzel Treats
- Christmas Crackers
- Christmas Crunch
- And if you need appetizers, here’s a post showing our favorite easy snacks for Christmas.
Let’s eat!- Kathi and Rachel
What do you think about this recipe? Have questions? Comment below! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, and connect with us on Instagram and tag your @Laughingspatula recipes with #laughingspatula,while you’re at it…We love to see your pics!
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The Best Christmas Treat Recipe: Gingerbread Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 1 9x13 inch pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line a 9x13inch pan with parchment paper & set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and molasses.
- Add egg and stir until completely incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt and mix until well combined, and a gooey dough forms. Press dough evenly into the parchment lined sheet pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until fully baked through. Allow to cool completely before icing.
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream butter and cream cheese together in a large mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and cream.
- Frost the bars and serve!
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