Fun and Festive Christmas Treats

October 25, 2018
Photo: 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

Photo: 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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Giant Marshmallow and Cornflakes Christmas Tree Treat

Photo: Ryan Moriarty; Styling: JK Denim
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

Photo: 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

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl
Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe

Gingerbread Men Cookies are a favorite holiday tradition. involve the little ones in your family by letting them decorate these spice cookies. Use a variety of cutter sizes, if desired.

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Christmas Cookie Pops

Photo: JK Denim
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

Photo: 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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Easy Snowgie Treats from Frozen

Photo: JK Denim
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

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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White Chocolate Snowmen Apples

Photo: JK Denim
White Chocolate Snowmen Apples

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

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Stacked Snowman Cookies

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

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

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

Photo: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Mindi Shapiro
Cute Snowman Cookies Recipe

Dress up refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make these super-cute snowmen.

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Silver Bells Cookies

Photo: Formula Z/S
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

Photo: 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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Ultimate Holiday Cutout Cookies

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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Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies

Ralph Anderson; Mindi Shapiro Levine
Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies
These fun and simple sugar cookies are the perfect treat for Santa.

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Poinsettia Cheesecake

Photo: 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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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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Olaf Cookies

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

Photo: 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

Photo: 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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