60+ Christmas Dessert Recipes for a Sweet Holiday Celebration

When it comes to Christmas desserts recipes, it’s not all sugar and butter. They transport memories, moods and that special holiday warmth you experience only once a year. Read this as: your dessert table is the mood board for feeling good at your party. If you nail this part, people will remember your party long past when the lights go down.

Christmas Dessert Recipes That Make Every Holiday Table Feel Special

So let’s break it down. Below are 60+ Christmas dessert recipes, organized into four nifty categories: Classic Bakes Chocolate Lovers’ Picks No-Bake & Quick Treats Global Christmas Dessert Recipes. Each idea is presented a Christmas Dessert Recipes on a single line, with a short, workable description.

Classic Christmas Bakes

• Gingerbread Cookies – Spiced, crisp and warm cookies giving you that instant holiday feeling, great for decorating.

• Old Fashioned Fruitcake – A success with me, dense and rich, packed with dried fruits soaked in rum…or juice if you prefer to postpone this cake for a couple of weeks.

• Cinnamon Rolls – Soft swirls of bread smothered in butter, sugar and cinnamon, then topped with a glaze so good they will make you smile. And your house smell like Christmas Eve!

• Pumpkin Pie – Smooth, spiced filling in a buttery crust brings sweetness and earthy warmth.

• Apple Pie – Sweet apples baked between golden layers of pie crust; a slice of comforting nostalgia.

  

• Pecan Pie – Rich, buttery and crunchy this pie becomes a holiday favorite that seems indulgent with trying.

• Click here for Red Velvet Cake – Rich and velvety with a slight acid burn, slathered in tangy cream cheese frosting.

• Carrot Cake – Tender, moist and spiced just right with warm cinnamon, this one is topped with cream cheese icing.

• Snickerdoodle Cookies – Soft, buttery cookies covered in cinnamon and sugar that you can’t help but eat.

• Sugar Cookies – Easy, buttery cookies that are great for icing and decorating.

• Shortbread Cookies – Soft shortbread cookies that melt in your mouth and are great served with tea.

• Christmas Cupcakes – These adorable Christmas cupcakes are decorated with piped icing and candy.

• Eggnog Cheesecake – Creamy cheesecake with a hint of nutmeg and eggnog for a delicious holiday dessert.

• Cranberry Bliss Bars – Soft, chewy bars with tart cranberries and white chocolate in a buttery dough and topped with a creamy frosting.

• Bread Pudding – Custardy dessert recipe with leftover bread and warm spices.

  

• Rum Cake – A soft cake drenched in buttery rum syrup, adding flavor to each and every bite.

• Banana Nut Bread – Moist, nutty with a hint of sweetness, perfect for the cold mornings or dessert tables.

• Apple Cinnamon Muffins – Soft, fluffy muffins that are packed with apple chunks and cozy cinnamon.

• Yule log Cake (Bûche de Noël) – A sponge cake filled with chocolate spread, and rolled to look like a Christmas log.

• Pumpkin Bread – Moist and soft spiced loaf for drinking down with coffee on cold Christmas mornings.

Chocolate Lovers’ Christmas Desserts

• Chocolate Fudge – Smooth, creamy squares of heaven that dissolve the second they hit your tongue.

• Chocolate Truffles – Creamy morsels rolled in cocoa, nuts or sprinkles.

  

• Hot Chocolate Brownies – Squidgy brownies topped with marshmallow to give them that warm holiday vibe.

• Chocolate Peppermint Bark – Candy canes smashed over white and dark chocolate creates a minty crunch.

• Triple Chocolate Cake – An intensely rich, moist cake with pops of creamy, melty chocolate.

• Chocolate Chip Cookies – The old standby never disappoints on a Christmas sweets table.

• Molten Lava Cake – A warm fudgy cake with a lava flow of molten chocolate will drown your valentine in pleasure and wish making you feel like you’re dining at a fancy restaurant.

• Rocky Road Bars – Chewy, fudgy bars that combine marshmallows, nuts and chocolate into one tasty treat.

• Nutella Cheesecake – Rich, creamy cheesecake that’s so decadent and has no cracks!

• This is probably the easiest chocolate mousse recipe you can get – Light as air and rich at the same time and could be eaten in elegant Christmas glasses.

• Chocolate Pudding Cups – Rich pudding with a dollop of whipped cream to take you back.

• Dipped Strawberries – Fresh strawberries dipped in glossy chocolate for that festive color pop.

  

• Peppermint Hot Chocolate – Classic hot chocolate with a splash of mint to make it the perfect drink-dessert tonight!

• Chocolate Éclairs – Puffy pastries filled with cream and glazed with shiny chocolate.

• Chocolate Icebox Cake – Four-layer, no-bake dessert filled with cookies and homemade whipped cream that soften as the base chills.

No-Bake & Quick Christmas Desserts

• No-Bake Cheesecake – A deliciously light and creamy dessert on a simple biscuit base that’s so simple to make!

• Strawberry Santa Hats – Whipped cream frosting on strawberries makes this a fun, little mini Santa.

• Oreo Truffles – Creamy Oreo center, coated in white or dark chocolate for a bite sized delight.

• Rice Krispies Treats – Kids love to decorate these chocolate-dipped, holiday-colored marshmallow squares.

• Peanut Butter Balls – Sweet and creamy peanut butter centers dipped in chocolate and chilled to perfection.

• Yogurt Parfait Jars – Stacked yogurt, fruit and granola for a less heavy holiday choice.

• Candy Cane Milkshake – A chilly, minty shake with vanilla ice cream and crushed candy canes.

• Fruit Custard Cups – Creamy custard filled with cold fruits, perfect after meal dessert.

• Mini Tiramisu Cups – Coffee soaked biscuits and mascarpone cream in a mini form Great dessert some you can pop it in your mouth!

• Banoffee Cups – Banana Caramel Cream in a cup, an instant delicious dessert.

  

• Ice Cream Sandwiches – Ice cream between cookies and rolled in holiday sprinkles.

• Chocolate Dipped Pretzels – Hard, salty, sweet pretzels dipped in chocolate are an ideal snack.

• Coconut Snowballs – Coconut balls that resemble itty bitty snowballs and are sweet as can be.

• No-Bake Lemon Pie – A super easy and comforting lemon pie with a lemonade filling and a crushed-biscuit crust.

• Marshmallow Pops – Simple party treats: marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sprinkles.

Global Christmas Desserts to Impress Your Guests

• Panettone (Italy) — A tall, airy loaf studded with dried fruits that’s great for coffee.

• Stollen (Germany) – A heavy fruit bread, the centre contains marzipan and they covered with a dusting of sugar.

• Pavlova (Australia/New Zealand) – Meringue with crusty outside and soft inside layered with whipped cream or fresh fruit.

• Tres Leches Cake (Mexico) – Soaked in three milks, each forkful is wonderfully rich and silky.

• Brigadeiros – Brazilian chocolate fudge balls covered in sprinkles, chewy rather than crunchy.

• Mince Pies (UK) – Little pies with spiced fruit filling for classic holiday flavor.

• Turrón (Spain) – Staple candy made from nuts, covering the spectrum of soft and chewy to crunchy and crisp.

• Sticky Toffee Pudding (UK) – A warm cake drizzled with caramel-toffee sauce.

• Sufganiyot (Israel) – Soft jelly doughnuts powdered with sugar.

• Kourabiedes (Greece) – Almond shortbread, its surface dusted with powdered sugar which looks like edible snow.

• Basbousa (Middle East) – A semolina cake drenched in a syrup with coconut.

• Buñuelos (Latin America) – Crunchy fried dough bathed in cinnamon sugar.

  

• Cannoli (Italy) – Italian pastries with sweetened ricotta cream filling.

• Crème Brûlée (France) – Smooth vanilla custard with a crisp caramelized sugar topping.