Festive Desserts to Try This Holiday Season
The holiday season is the best time to try new recipes. If you’re looking to share new ideas with your friends and family or just have a tasty treat for yourself, try these festive recipes to get yourself into the holiday spirit.
Photo: Dane Tashima
1. Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
It doesn’t get more festive than the tasty crunch of peppermint. This is the perfect cookie to leave for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve! Start by heating unsweetened chocolate in short intervals until melted and smooth. In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl whisk eggs, sugar, and oil until combined. Then add the peppermint extract and melted chocolate. Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture and whisk until combined. It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare the cookie dough, but you will want to refrigerate the dough until it is firm — about 3 hours. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, scoop the cookies into balls and place them onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes and let cool. Then, melt semi-sweet chocolate until smooth and dip each cookie into the melted chocolate, covering one-half of the cookie. Finally, before the cookie dries, sprinkle your crushed peppermint candies onto the chocolate-dipped portion. Don’t forget to leave some of these delicious cookies out for Santa to enjoy!
Photo: Amy Stevenson
2. Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This spice-filled cake is the perfect dessert to take to a holiday party, and it is delicious when warmed and paired with some vanilla ice cream. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two 8-inch cake pans. Then, stir molasses into boiling water to create a mixture. To make the cake batter start by mixing the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar and butter and whisk until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Next in small increments, add the flour mixture and molasses mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Pour the batter in equal parts into the baking pans and bake 22 to 27 minutes. After baking, cool the cakes on a rack. To make the frosting combine butter and cream cheese in a bowl and mix until fluffy. Then add the powdered until combined, then add the vanilla. Continue mixing until the frosting is smooth. If the frosting is too thick, add a small amount of milk and mix. After the cakes have completely cooled, ice the cake and decorate it how you like!
Photo: Melissa D’Arabian
3. Apple Crumble with Cardamom-Vanilla Caramel Sauce
Who doesn’t love apples and caramel? This yummy recipe is quick and easy, and it can be enjoyed at any point during the day. There are three parts to this recipe: the apple filling, the crumble topping, and the caramel sauce. For the apple filling, start by slicing apples into thin pieces. Then, toss the apple slices in lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Next, make the crumble topping. In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, oats, and salt with a fork. Using a baking dish, melt butter in the microwave and pour the melted butter into the oat mixture. Then, take the apple slices and arrange them in the baking dish. Take the oat mixture and spread it over the apples. Bake the dish until the apples are soft — about 30 to 45 minutes. Finally, make the caramel sauce. In a pan, mix water and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar mixture is pale golden brown — about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the butter and cream, and stir together. Then, add cardamom seeds and vanilla and mix. Pour the caramel sauce over the baked oats and apples, and enjoy!
Photo: Frederick Hardy II
4. Eggnog Cookies
Eggnog - a holiday classic that is even better in cookies! This recipe is simple and quick, only taking a little over an hour to make. Start by mixing flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Then in another bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and brown sugar into the mixture. Then, add egg, eggnog, and vanilla. Take your flour mixture and slowly incorporate it into the second mixture and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. To bake the cookies, first preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Scoop the dough into 24 balls. Bake the cookies on baking sheets for 13 to 15 minutes. Cool completely. Next, make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Then, add powdered sugar and eggnog until the frosting is smooth. Finally, it's time to frost the cookies! Spread the frosting evenly over each cookie, and - if desired - add sprinkles or other decorations to spruce up your cookies.
Photo: My Baking Addiction
5. Gingerbread Oreo No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes
This 20-minute no-bake recipe is as delicious and as easy as it sounds. First, take gingerbread Oreo cookies and place them into a bag. Take a rolling pin and crush the cookies until smooth. Next, divide the crumble mixture into small bowls and press the crumbs into the bottom of each dish. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, powered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and gingerbread pudding and mix until combined and smooth. Add the cool whip or whipped cream into the mixture. Spoon or pipe the filling into each of the bowls. If desired, you can add more whipped cream onto the top of the filling and decorate with sprinkles or gingerbread men cookies.