30+ Homemade Christmas Candy Recipes to Share the Love in 2020

By Emily Shepherd
December 01, 2020

Few things in life are more festive than whipping up a batch of homemade Christmas candy.  Delicious to eat and perfect for gifting, classic candies like buckeye balls, truffles, peppermint bark, divinity, and brittle are a wonderful way to celebrate the season.  Spread a little holiday cheer this Christmas by making one (or more!) of these sweet treats and sharing with those who have mattered most in 2020, from friends and family to postal, delivery, and healthcare workers.

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Cookie Butter Buckeyes

Credit: Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Jennifer Wendorf, Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Christina Daley
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It doesn't get much sweeter than cookie butter topped with white chocolate—and that's what we adore about these buckeyes. Best of all, the easy balls come together quickly in one bowl: Just beat all the ingredients, scoop, and dip in chocolate. You can get as creative as you want with the drizzle, too, so this would be a perfect baking activity to do with the kids. 

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Mrs. Floyd's Divinity

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Divinity is a classic candy make with granulated sugar, corn syrup, and stiffly beaten egg white. With the addition of chopped pecans, this divinity is crunchy, fluffy, and simply divine.

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Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Credit: Jeffery Cross; Styling: Kelly Allen
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Melt chocolate, spread it out, and add your favorite toppings--that's almost all there is to making bark. We added one important step, though: tempering the chocolate (carefully melting and cooling it to specific temperatures while adding large chunks of unmelted chocolate) so the bark stays shiny and snappy. For other flavor options, try White Chocolate, Pistachio, and Apricot Bark or Nutella Bark.

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Ginger Bourbon Balls

Credit: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer
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This boozy confection headlines many a list of classic Christmas candies, but not everyone knows that it comes in three distinct styles. Chocolate, pecans, and a splash of bourbon figure in each of them, but variations commence from there.  We guarantee you’ll earn compliments throughout the holiday season with this dessert, no matter how your bourbon balls roll.

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Buckeye Balls

Credit: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro, Laura Zapalowski
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The term "Buckeye Balls" is code for delicious chocolate-and-peanut butter candy goodies.

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Peppermint-White Chocolate Candy Slabs

Credit: Oxmoor House
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Make the easiest candy ever for this holiday season's gifts. You only need three ingredients and a loaf pan.

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Homemade Chocolate-Dipped Caramels

Credit: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Buffy Hargett
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The hot caramel mixture needs to be poured immediately after stirring in vanilla, so be sure to butter your pan ahead of time.

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Graham Pralines

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Covered in butter, brown sugar and pecans, Graham Pralines are a decadent, sweet treat.

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Christmas Butter Mints

Credit: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer
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Traditionally colored in a rainbow of pastel hues, butter mints are light and crisp with a buttery richness, a refreshing minty flavor, and a texture that melts in your mouth. The classic recipe is a little tricky and requires expert candy making skills. But with our simplified Christmas Butter Mints, which require no cooking and only a few kitchen staples, you can whip up a batch in no time.

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Gingerbread Fudge

Credit: Aaron Kirk; Prop Stylist: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
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This gingerbread fudge is the perfect “something different” to add to your holiday confections spread. Offering all of the toasty, familiar flavors of gingerbread and the creamy-rich texture of your favorite fudge, it’s the perfect mash-up of two holiday favorites. Plus, in keeping with the classic marshmallow fluff base, we’ve also kept this homemade holiday candy as easy as can be to mix up.

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Salted Chocolate-Pecan Toffee

Credit: Annabelle Breakey
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An extra-crisp toffee with a spark of salt makes a perfect afternoon snack or food gift. This candy keeps well, so feel free to double the recipe.

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Almond Antique Brittle

Credit: Linda Pugliese; Styling: Kaitlyn Du Ross Walker
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When cooking sugar to a high temperature, things move very quickly in the last few minutes or even seconds. To avoid burned sugar syrup, be sure to have the almonds toasted and ready to go before starting. A significant amount of vinegar in this brittle adds complex flavor.

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Homemade Caramel Taffy

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham
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A gift of Homemade Caramel Taffy will be a sure hit for the caramel connoisseur on your list.

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No-Bake Coconut Balls

Credit: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro, Laura Zapalowski
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Make a batch of coconut balls and give them as gifts. As the title says, there is no baking involved and with less than 7 ingredients, it couldn't be any easier to make these treats.

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Fudge Ring

Credit: Oxmoor House
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Spooning this cookie-and-candy filled fudge into a homemade ring mold makes a fun project that the kids will want to take part in.

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Almond Toffee

Credit: James Carrier
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This buttery almond toffee is easy and delicious and can make the perfect homemade holiday gift.

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Potato Candy

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
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This old-school candy reminds us of divinity and other traditional homemade Southern sweets. The recipe is a testament to the genius of thrifty cooks who based the confection on leftover mashed potatoes.

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Oreo Truffles

Credit: Beth Branch
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Oreo Truffles are an easy way to impress guests at your next get-together. Guests will never have to know they only require four ingredients!

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Comet’s White Chocolate Crunch

Credit: Oxmoor House
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This holiday snack mix is the perfect blend of salty and sweet flavors. It's made with pretzels, peanuts, cereal, and white chocolate chips, making it a  favorite of children and reindeer everywhere!

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Pistachio and Pine Nut Brittle

Credit: Marcus Nilsson; Styling: Robyn Glaser
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Pistachio and Pine Nut Brittle is a sweet spin on the traditional peanut brittle. This nut candy also includes dried cranberries, giving the brittle a festive color of red and green (from the pistachios) for the holidays.

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Salted-Butter Caramels

Credit: Ryan Benyi; Styling: Stephana Bottom
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These homemade caramels make for a delightful Christmas gift for those on your list with a sweet tooth.  Wrap in holiday-themed cellophane for a festive touch.

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Eggnog Fudge

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Christmas isn't complete without a dose of eggnog. Try your favorite holiday drink in a candy recipe. Eggnog fudge incorporates the rich flavor of eggnog in an already classic holiday dessert recipe.

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Peppermint Divinity

Credit: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer
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How could a plump, snowball-shaped confection with the celestial name “divinity” fall completely out of favor, losing its prized spot on the Christmas dessert table in a few decades’ time? Traditionally studded with pecans and swiftly made from a few simple ingredients, divinity is a delightful turn-of-the-century heirloom worth restoring to its former lofty place. We've tweaked our usual old fashioned divinity recipe by swapping out the nuts for crushed peppermint candies.

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Pecan Bourbon Balls

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
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Think a bourbon ball is a bourbon ball is a bourbon ball? Think again. Try coating them in spiced toasted pecans for a sweet-salty variation and you'll be a convert for life.

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Two-Ingredient Fudge

Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio
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Requiring a mere 2 ingredients (both of which are likely already in your pantry), this is the fudge you can make with one only one hand. Packing an intensely chocolatey flavor, this easy fudge recipe is sure to please. 

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Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy

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Sweet, salty and crunchy all combine in this easy 4-ingredient chocolate candy recipe that's perfect for gift-giving and entertaining. Note that this candy will soften slightly while at room temperature if you're planning to give some as a gift.

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Grandma Weiser's English Toffee

Credit: Oxmoor House
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Six simple ingredients are all you need to create this easy snack. Share this favorite family recipe.

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Chocolate-Speckled Toffee

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr
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A candy thermometer is a must for preparing this rich, buttery treat. The syrup mixture bubbles up when you sprinkle it with baking soda, so use a long-handled spoon for stirring. Because the toffee holds well at room temperature, it also makes a good gift.

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Mocha Balls

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
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These decadent candies get their mocha kick from coffee liqueur, unsweetened cocoa powder, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  

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Nutella Bark

Credit: Jeffery Cross; Styling: Kelly Allen
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Addictive chocolate-hazelnut spread stars in our two-tone version of chocolate bark. Making bark is easy--just melt chocolate, spread it out, and add your favorite toppings. We added one important step, though: tempering the chocolate (carefully melting and cooling it to specific temperatures while adding large chunks of unmelted chocolate) so the bark stays shiny and snappy.

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Smoked Sea Salt Chocolate-Covered Turtles

Credit: Oxmoor House
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Savor the best of both salty and sweet in each bite of these unique candies.

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White Chocolate-Peppermint Jumbles

Credit: Oxmoor House
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Salty pretzel nuggets are coated in white chocolate and combined with peppermints for an irresistible confection.

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Mocha Almond Fudge

Credit: Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Randy Mon
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There are few treats in this world better than a smooth, chocolatey, decadent morsel of fudge, and this recipe is one of the best we've tried.

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By Emily Shepherd