Christmas Desserts (All Recipes in One Place)

This is every Christmas dessert on the blog in one place: cookies for the cookie box, a yule log and other showstopping cakes, bakes for Christmas morning, hot chocolate, and sweets to give as gifts. There are classic holiday flavours like gingerbread and peppermint alongside a few with a hint of Asian inspiration, like matcha crinkles and the Japanese Christmas strawberry cake.

New holiday recipes are added here as they are published, so check back through December.

Christmas cookies

Cookies are the heart of holiday baking, and these cover iced, crinkle, chocolate and spiced styles for cookie boxes and swaps.

• Christmas Sugar Cookies: Soft cut out sugar cookies topped with icing, with tips for cutting clean shapes and icing them neatly.
• Chocolate Peppermint Cookies: Soft centred cookies with crisp edges, stuffed with white chocolate, dark chocolate and crushed candy canes.
• Gingerbread Latte Cookies: Chewy, deeply spiced gingerbread cookies with a shot of espresso in the dough and a coffee glaze.
• Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies: Soft, fudgy red velvet cookies rolled in powdered sugar for a crackly finish.
• Matcha Crinkle Cookies: Soft matcha cookies with a crisp, sugary outside and a fudgy centre; the bright green makes them a festive addition to a cookie box.

Christmas cakes and puddings

Showstoppers for Christmas Day, from a classic log cake to the strawberry cake eaten at Christmas in Japan.

• Chocolate Yule Log: A soft chocolate sponge rolled around vanilla whipped cream and covered in chocolate ganache, decorated to look like a log.
• Japanese Strawberry Shortcake: A fluffy sponge layered with fresh strawberries and lightly whipped cream, the cake traditionally eaten at Christmas in Japan.
• Sticky Date Pudding: Also known as sticky toffee pudding: a moist date sponge soaked in butterscotch sauce, best served warm with ice cream.

Christmas morning bakes

Soft, rolled and filled bakes for a slow Christmas breakfast.

• Soft Homemade Cinnamon Rolls: Super soft, fluffy rolls with a gooey brown sugar filling and cream cheese frosting.
• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls: Fluffy rolls with a rich chocolate cinnamon filling, topped with swirls of toasted meringue.
• Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls: Soft sweet rolls filled with strawberry cinnamon jam and topped with cream cheese frosting.
• Gingerbread Donuts: Yeasted donuts fried golden, rolled in cinnamon sugar and filled with a gingerbread cream cheese filling.

Hot chocolate

Two very different cups for cold nights: one thick and bittersweet, one with a hint of peppermint.

• French Hot Chocolate: Thick, bittersweet chocolat chaud made with melted dark chocolate, made for dipping croissants.
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate: Rich, creamy hot chocolate with a hint of peppermint.

Sweets for gifting

Candy that keeps well and packs neatly into jars and boxes for presents.

• Soft and Buttery Miso Caramels: Soft caramels with miso in place of salt, for a sweet, salty and umami balance.
• Snowflake Crisp: A no bake Taiwanese nougat candy of crackers, Oreos, freeze dried strawberries and pistachios set in a soft marshmallow base.

More recipe guides

Planning Thanksgiving too? Every pumpkin, apple and pie recipe is in the Thanksgiving desserts guide. For more by type, browse all cookie recipes, bread recipes and cheesecake recipes.