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77 Super-Cute Treats That Will Be The Highlight Of Your Christmas Party

Guaranteed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

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stacked reese's to make a christmas tree with icing and sprinklespinterest
PHOTO: RYAN LIEBE; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

We’ll admit to going a bit overboard this time of year with our love for Pinterest-worthy, absolutely adorable creations shaped like everything from trees to candy canes, all covered in a healthy amount of red and green sprinkles. There’s a time and a place for super-fancy desserts, like chocolate soufflé, tiramisu, or macarons, but for us, Christmas ain’t it. If you too want to get in on the holiday spirit with your baking, check out our 77 best Christmas treats—they’re cuteness personified, in the most festive way possible.

The perfect way to create delightful holiday desserts is to make ones that are shaped just like all your favorite holiday things, like Christmas trees, Santa, his reindeer, snowmen, and more. Check out our ugly sweater cookies (or cake!), our Santa hat cupcakes, our Christmas tree brownies, our candy cane cookies, our Oreo coal, or our snowman cupcakes for ideas, then get creative. Our plan is to make cookies shaped like Santa this year (plus some Milano reindeer cookies too) to guarantee our spot on the nice list, but you do you. 😊

Less into the personification of your baked goods, and more into the red and green color scheme of the holiday? Try our Christmas fudge, our Christmas pinwheel cookies, our Christmas blondies, or our Rice Krispie snowballs. They use food dye, colorful candy, or red and green sprinkles to great holiday effect. Snowy blue and white is also fair game, so we’ve included it in our igloo cake, our snowflake cookies, and our frozen fudge here too.

And don’t forget about peppermint! Peppermint bark is classic, so we’ve included it in everything from cheesecake to brownies, but that’s not all the mints are good for. Our peppermint meringues, peppermint meltaways, and peppermint patty stuffed cookies are all great ideas. Try adding peppermint to any of your favorite bakes to make them extra festive (but start small if you’re using extract to avoid them tasting too toothpaste-y!).

Want even more holiday inspiration? Check out our favorite Christmas cookies, our best Christmas cakes, and our top Christmas no-bake desserts too.

1

Christmas Blondies

christmas blondies
Parker Feierbach

We can't think of a better way to celebrate the holidays than these festive blondies loaded with M&M's, crushed Oreos, and chocolate chips.

Get the Christmas Blondies recipe.

2

Reese's Trees

stacks of mini reeses peanut butter cups decorated with white and green royal icing and red green and white nonpareil and star sprinkles to look like christmas trees
PHOTO: RYAN LIEBE; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

In true Delish fashion, Reese's Trees couldn't be simpler to create. All you need are both sizes of Reese's peanut butter cups (regular and mini), melted chocolate to act as your glue, a Hershey's kiss as a tree topper, and lots of fun sprinkles.

Get the Reese's Trees recipe.

3

Snowman Cupcakes

snowman cupcakes topped with shredded coconut snow, marshmallow faces, candy scarves, and peanut butter cup hats
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

Baby, it’s cold outside! We can’t think of a better way to welcome the first snow of the season than with these adorable snowman cupcakes. Marshmallow snowmen sit atop sweet, frosted coconut cupcakes to create a dessert guaranteed to put you in a festive mood.

Get the Snowman Cupcakes recipe.

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4

Sugarplums

sugared balls of sugar plums
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER

If you have “visions of sugarplums dancing in your head” this Christmas season, make the dream a reality with these festive and easy holiday treats. Made of nuts and dates, they've got warm spiced and just a touch of sugar to bring out the fruit’s natural sweetness.

Get the Sugarplums recipe.

5

Cornflake Wreaths

green marshmallow and cornflake treats that look like wreaths
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

Deck the halls! It's time to get your Christmas wreaths out. And we're not talking the kind you hang on the door. No, it's time to make a batch of cornflake wreaths. Perfect for lovers of Rice Krispies treats, these Christmas cookies are as simple as they are delicious.

Get the Cornflake Wreaths recipe.

6

Christmas Tree Brownies

christmas tree brownies
Andrew Bui

These adorable Christmas trees are perfect for when you don't have a ton of time but still want to make something cute and festive. They're easy to assemble and the kids can even help decorate! Use your favorite brownie recipe or keep it simple and use a boxed brownie mix like we did here.

Get the Christmas Tree Brownies recipe.

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7

Brownie Brittle

brownie brittle
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

If you love candy brittle and are as obsessed with brownies as we are, then this will be your new favorite snack. Crisp and crunchy with deep cocoa flavor, this sweet snack bark is both easy to make and incredibly tasty. Beware—you won’t be able to stop at just one piece!

Get the Brownie Brittle recipe.

8

Peanut Butter Snowballs

peanut butter truffles covered in white chocolate and red green and white nonpareil sprinkles
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These holiday treats coat peanut butter balls in sweet melted white chocolate, before being decorated with festive holiday sprinkles. Bite-sized and too adorable, this easy dessert is a perfect last-minute addition to your holiday spread, or as the sweetest homemade food gift for any PB + chocolate lovers in your life.

Get the Peanut Butter Snowballs recipe.

9

Strawberry Love Notes

strawberry jam filled cookies that are folded and baked to look like love notes
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: FRANCESCA ZANI

Sending sweet cards to loved ones shouldn't just be for Valentine's Day! These strawberry "love notes" are the perfect twist on letters to Santa, and will be a fun, unexpected treat in your holiday cookie exchange. Feel free to change up the jam if you like!

Get the Strawberry Love Notes recipe.

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10

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

christmas pinwheel cookies
Emily Hlavac Green

These pinwheel cookies are beyond mesmerizing but also so easy to make. Make a batch of our easy sugar cookie dough, then dye one half red. Then simply roll them together to create the swirl. The sprinkles are optional, but they add so much extra fun!

Get the Christmas Pinwheel Cookies recipe.

11

Oreo Coal

oreo coal vertical
Lindsay Conchar

These Oreo truffles shaped like coal will make you wish you were on the naughty list! Make a batch and trick your friends and family this Christmas.

Get the Oreo Coal recipe.

12

Cannoli Bites

individual cannoli bites topped with chocolate chips, crushed pistachio and powdered sugar
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: LENA ABRAHAM

The combination of the crunchy exterior and creamy filling of a cannoli is one of the world’s best bites, and these bite-sized treats make it even easier to indulge. They're the perfect way to serve the classic Italian treat to guests this holiday season without all the mess and stress.

Get the Cannoli Bites recipe.

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13

Santa's Trash Cookies

santa's trash cookies
Lindsay Conchar

Even Santa has a snacky side. These cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, sprinkles, pretzels, and potato chips for the salty-sweet dessert of your (and his!) dreams.

Get the Santa's Trash Cookies recipe.

14

Ugly Sweater Cake

cake decorated like an ugly christmas sweater

Unlike our ugly sweater cookies, which involve some pretty serious piping skills, all you need to do for this cake is pipe a few thick lines on a store-bought (or homemade cake) to make it look like somewhat like a sweater, then go crazy with the décor!

Get the Ugly Sweater Cake recipe.

15

Candy Cane Cookies

candy cane cookies
Andrew Bui

These cookies look so much more complicated than they are. They're actually just a simple sugar cookie where half of the dough gets dyed red and then twisted together. So simple!

Get the Candy Cane Cookies recipe.

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16

Peppermint Meringues

red and white swirled peppermint meringues dipped in chocolate and crushed peppermint
PHOTO: DANE TASHIMA; FOOD STYLING: JASON SCHREIBER

A cookie box filled with a wide assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors is such a treat to gift during the holidays. These peppermint meringues are the perfect addition to add a pop of color and fun. They practically scream “holiday!” and they taste fantastic as well.

Get the Peppermint Meringues recipe.

17

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites

red velvet cheesecake bites
Ethan Calabrese

Covered in red velvet cake crumbs, these sweet cheesecake balls are the perfect small bite for any holiday party. Just try and eat only one!

Get the Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites recipe.

18

Christmas Light Cupcakes

christmas lights cupcakes
Parker Feierbach

These cupcakes look so impressive but are actually so easy to make. You could have these done before your aunt can finish decorating her first sugar cookie.

Get the Christmas Light Cupcakes recipe.

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19

Sugar Cookie Bars

sugar cookie bars
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER
20

Christmas Fudge

christmas fudge
Parker Feierbach

Nothing says the holidays quite like Christmas fudge. We made ours more chocolatey and less sugary, and it might just be the best fudge we've ever had.

Get the Christmas Fudge recipe.

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