Fun and Festive Christmas Treats

Updated October 25, 2018
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Susan Vajaranant

Roll up those sleeves and let's get crafty! These fantastic treats are not only delicious, but they're a lot of fun to assemble. For some truly fun holiday treats, these crafty desserts make a great kid-friendly activity. From fun Christmas tree treats, to iced cookies, to edible snowmen, these fun sweet treats make the perfect addition to a holiday party or even on Santa's cookie plate. Spread the holiday cheer by sharing these fun desserts with friends and family. 

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Gingerbread Fudge

Credit: Aaron Kirk; Prop Stylist: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

Gingerbread Fudge Recipe

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. We topped our gingerbread fudge with crushed gingersnap cookies and crystalized ginger for a little added oomph, but you could stir in toasted walnuts or pecans for crunch if you prefer. This holiday fudge recipe yields plenty for sharing, just be sure to store the fudge in the refrigerator when you’re finished snacking. 

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How to Make a Giant Marshmallow and Cornflakes Christmas Tree Treat

Learn how to make a towering edible Christmas tree with this holiday riff on a classic treat.

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Snowmen Donut Sticks

Credit: Ryan Moriarty; Styling: JK Denim

Snowmen Donut Sticks Recipe

Store-bought sugar donuts become impressive holiday snowmen when decorated with chocolate candy pieces, pretzels, chocolate chips, and orange gummy candies. 

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Gingerbread Men Cookies

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl

Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe

The iconic gingerbread man cookie is a favorite holiday tradition. Plus, gingerbread man cut-outs are a great holiday project to get the kids involved with—especially when it comes time to decorate. Though these gingerbread cookies are a little more involved than easy drop cookies, the nostalgic spiced treats are well worth the effort. To break up the process, the gingerbread cookie dough can be made in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to roll; just be sure that it is tightly covered. For more ginger-spiced dessert inspiration, check out these gingerbread desserts that go beyond cookies.

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How to Make Christmas Cookie Pops

Presents, snowmen, and Santa– oh my! JK Denim teaches you how to make a myriad of festive holiday cookie pops.

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Santa and Reindeer Truffles

Credit: Miki Duisterhof

Santa and Reindeer Truffles Recipe

Start with store-bought truffles to make an easy, giftable Christmas treat for friends, family, or holiday visitors. Save one for Santa; we hear he likes truffles too, and certainly deserves one all to himself.

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How to Make Easy Snowgie Treats from Frozen

Marshmallows, Sno Balls, and black and blue frosting are all you'll need to create these easy Snowgie look-alike treats!

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Christmas Tree Cake Wedges

Credit: Photographer: Lee Harrleson; Stylists:  Jan Gautro, Ana Kelly

Christmas Tree Cake Wedges Recipe

Instead of making a Christmas tree cake in a tree-shaped pan, just create Christmas trees from individual cake wedges. Go beyond cake and make a whole christmas tree with marshmallows and cornflakes that will be the perfect ending to your holiday feast. 

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How to Make White Chocolate Snowmen Apples

Kids will love helping to assemble these festive chocolate apple treats!

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Stacked Snowman Cookies

Credit: Jonny Valiant; Styling: Blake Ramsey Murray

Stacked Snowman Cookies Recipe

Kids will love helping to frost and deliver these stackable snowman cookies!

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Fruitcake Cookies

Credit: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro

Fruitcake Cookies Recipe

Instead of baking or giving a traditional holiday fruitcake, make fruitcake cookies instead.  Fruitcake's first cousin in cookie form contains all the ingredients you love in fruitcake--candied cherries, chopped pecans, cinnamon, allspice and rum--just in smaller bite-sized portions.  Santa will be very pleased if you leave a plate of these treats out for him when he stops by your house this Christmas Eve. 

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Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow

Credit: Emma Crist; Styling: Emma Crist

Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow Recipe

A simple cinnamon-sugar mixture tops this variation on Classic Puppy Chow for a treat reminiscent of freshly-baked cookies. Add to Mason jars with a tag and bow, and you've got a giftable Holiday snack.

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Peppermint Bonbon Cookies

Credit: Oxmoor House

Peppermint Bonbon Cookies Recipe

Here's a decadent holiday combination--soft and chewy chocolate on the inside with a little peppermint candy crunch on top. These gems are great plain or we offer a double glaze option, too.

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White Hot Chocolate

Credit: Oxmoor House

White Hot Chocolate Recipe

For a fun holiday treat, serve in thick mugs with whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of cocoa powder, and a candy cane.

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Cute Snowman Cookies

Credit: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Cute Snowman Cookies Recipe

Dress up refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make these super-cute snowmen. This easy recipe requires almost no prep, and allows you to be creative and have fun in the kitchen. Let your kids give them personality by decorating with holiday candies. Using snowflake sprinkles, M&M's mini buttons, and Hershey's Kisses, your holiday cookies are sure to come to life in a fun, exciting way that the kids are going to love. Note: In the photograph shown, we covered the cookies in white frosting and piped red frosting for the scarves. We also added mini-chocolate chips to make the snowmen smile.

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Silver Bells Cookies

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Silver Bells Cookies Recipe

Ring in the holiday season with these sparkly and easy-to-make sugar cookies. Impress your guests with shimmery, show-stopping desserts that taste just as good as they look. Set aside your colored sprinkles and opt for small silver dragees. These little "silver bells" are the perfect way to add a holiday touch to any treat, and they're easy to find in your local party store. Use store bought dough to save time and dedicate all your time spent in the kitchen to fun, kid-friendly decorating.

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Marshmallow Snowmen

Credit: Ryan Benyi; Styling: Karen Tack

Marshmallow Snowmen Recipe

These super-cute snowmen (which rely on melted caramels and royal icing to stay together) are easy for little hands to help put together, and they're a great way to enjoy some family time during the holidays.  Wrap them up in a simple, clear plastic bag for teacher treats or for your children to give to their friends.

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Santa and Tree Pretzel Rods

Santa and Tree Pretzel Rods Recipe

These fun pretzel treats are an easy way to serve grab-and-go desserts to guests at the holiday bash. Decorate the tops of the pretzel sticks with rice treats, icing, and candies for a fun holiday-themed effect. 

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How to Make The Ultimate Holiday Cutout Cookies

For a holiday treat, look no further than these great cutout cookies. With fun and festive shapes, these cookies make the perfect addition to your holiday party.

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How to Bake Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies

These fun and simple sugar cookies are the perfect treat for Santa.

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Poinsettia Cheesecake

Credit: Ryan Moriarty; Styling: JK Denim

Poinsettia Cheesecake Recipe

Decorate a store-bought cheesecake with red petals made of candy melts for a quick and impressive holiday dessert. 

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Iced Browned Butter Sugar Cookies

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr

Iced Browned Butter Sugar Cookies Recipe

With nutty, caramel notes from browned butter and a fair bit of salt to balance the flavors, these cookies will become an instant favorite. You can roll out the dough right after combining all the ingredients—no chilling required. Look for pearlized sugar in gourmet markets or craft stores; the coarse crystals reflect light to give the cookies a sparkly, jewel-like appearance.

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Holiday Trees

Credit: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Holiday Trees Recipe

These trees are the perfect project for kids to create during Christmas break. Let them choose their favorite candies for decorating.

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How to Make Olaf Cookies

Do you want to build a snowman? We do! Let JK Denim from Koalipops show you how. Download your free stencil here. 

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Cookie Trees

Credit: Melanie Acevedo

Cookie Trees Recipe

Make Cookie Trees out of vanilla wafers for a fun holiday centerpiece that the kids can help create.

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Coconut Christmas Wreaths

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Susan Vajaranant

Coconut Christmas Wreaths Recipe

You'll have the merriest cookies of all at your cookie swap when you bring Coconut Christmas Wreaths to the party. Green tinted coconut gives these cookies their wreath-life appearance while Red Hots candies or red M&M's Minis substitute for holly berries.

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