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46 Easy Christmas Treats the Whole Family Can Help Make

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…which means you have approximately 2,896 batches of holiday cookies to bake before the new year. Instead of shooing everyone out of the kitchen, try these 46 easy Christmas treats—from cutout cookies to festive Chex mix—that the whole family will be thrilled to help you make (yup, even your “please don’t speak to me in public” middle schooler).

45 Christmas Dessert Recipes That Can Get Anyone in the Holiday Spirit


1. Brown Sugar Cookies With Dulce De Leche

You’re cool with gold sprinkles getting all over your kitchen, right? (It’s *technically* still decorating.

The best part? The decorating opportunities are endless.

3. 4-ingredient Lemon Cookies

These cookies are so simple, they practically bake themselves.

4. Cake Batter Cookies

For kids (and adults) who love sprinkles. (Psst: It starts with boxed cake mix.)

5. Ina Garten’s Black & White Cookies

Yes, even an Ina Garten recipe can be kid-friendly. You do the baking and they can handle the frosting.

6. Heart Thumbprint Cookies

How much do we love Christmas? A whole batch of thumbprint cookies’ worth.

7. Peppermint Patties

These require a measly six ingredients to make, don’t require the oven and will be ready in the amount of time it takes to watch A Christmas Story.

8. Chocolate Peppermint Icebox Cookies

Designate a cookie assembly line—baking, dipping, dusting—and they’ll be ready to eat in record time.

There’s nothing more satisfying than smooshing these sandwich cookies together (other than eating them, you know).

10. Butterscotch Icebox Cookies

Set out a batch and let your kid play Jackson Pollock with a pastry bag of melted butterscotch chips.

11. Mini Caramel Pecan Pies With Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust

The crusts have a secret: They’re made from store-bought cinnamon rolls, so even budding bakers can handle this project.

12. Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Cookies

Our prediction: Your little cookie monsters will devour these.

Everyone will fight over the fun part, aka showering these babies in the festive sprinkles of your choice.

14. Glazed Doughnut Cookies

SO much easier than whipping up a batch of homemade doughnuts.

15. Christmas Tree Cookies

What’s more fun, the decorating or the eating?

16. Holly Jolly Santa Cookies

No two Santas are alike (and when you’re baking with little kids, that’s kind of the theme).

17. Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

They’re a Kris Kringle-approved version of the classic peanut butter blossom, and so easy to make.

18. Gingerbread Cookies

Idea: Make a batch, then hold a decorating contest to see who can make the most elaborate (or eccentric) gingerbread brood.

19. Snowball Cookies

Let your kids make a (contained) mess by dipping these cute little guys into a bowl of powdered sugar.

20. Eggnog Scented Sugar Cookies With Easy Vanilla Icing

Tip: Best if you’re sipping actual eggnog while you’re making them.

21. Mint Snowman Marshmallows

They’re almost too cute to eat. (Keyword: almost.)

22. Loaded Christmas Bark

Gather up everyone’s favorite red and green treats and let them go to town.

23. Christmas M&m Cookies

These take all of 20 minutes to make, so you can bake a batch to eat now and batch to eat later.

24. Soft Cinnamon Cut-out Cookies With White Chocolate Peppermint

The crushed peppermint topping is as easy as can be, but it still manages to look pretty darn fancy.

25. 3-ingredient White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels

The key to holiday baking success is to start with something store-bought and simply dress it up a bit.

26. Chex Christmas Mix

Case in point: This is just a mix of cereal and salty snacks coated in white chocolate, but you won’t be able to put it down. Trust us.

27. Easy Chocolate Peppermint Truffles

How easy, you ask? There are six ingredients, no baking and you can go as wild as you want with the decor.

28. Mini Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Some of the sprinkles will end up on the cookies, some in your mouth and some on the floor…but that’s part of the fun.

29. Homemade Peppermint Bark

It’s so much better than the overpriced stuff you can buy at the store.

30. Easy Oreo Balls

You can do a lot with a box of Oreos and a block of cream cheese, it turns out.

31. Chai Spiced Santa Cookies With White Chocolate Frosting

It’s all fun and games until Santa’s beard gets eaten mid-frost.

32. Peppermint Mocha Blossoms

We can’t guarantee your kids will love the taste of mocha cookies, but they’ll have a blast pressing the peppermint candies into the soft dough.

33. Thumbprint Cookies

If you don’t eat red and green food dye at least once this holiday season, we suggest you reprioritize.

34. Chocolate Covered Pretzels

There’s really nothing to these salty-sweet cuties, but they’ll disappear by the handful. Just watch.

35. Soft Cut-out Sugar Cookies

These happen to be gluten- and grain-free, in case you have food allergies in your family.

36. Easy Chocolate Fudge

Would you believe this comes together entirely in your microwave? A Christmas miracle.

37. Crinkle Cookies With Peppermint Cream

Assign your kitchen elves the tasks of smooshing the sandwiches together and dipping them in peppermint dust.

38. Crock-pot Candy

This chocolate-peanut recipe is so simple, ever you don’t have to do any of the work. Thank you, slow cooker.

39. Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Emergency sugar cravings call for ten-minute peanut butter fudge.

40. Christmas Tree Brownies

They’re like those pre-wrapped brownies you used to eat as a kid (you know, the ones with the sprinkles) but so much tastier.

41. Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Your kids aren’t “helpers.” They’re cookie couturiers.

42. Hot Chocolate Spoons

Buh-bye powdered hot cocoa mix. These chocolate spoons make the richest, creamiest cocoa this side of the North Pole.

43. Christmas Sugar Cookies

There’s nothing wrong with going the classic route at Christmastime. (And yeah, you can use store-bought frosting if you want.)

44. Reindeer Chow

Dasher and Dancer called, and they’re tired of that glittery oatmeal stuff you’ve been leaving out on Christmas Eve.

45. Hot Cocoa Cookies

To be eaten with a piping hot mug of cocoa, of course.

46. Eggnog Frosted Chai Snickerdoodle Snowmen


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Former Senior Food Editor

  • Headed PureWow’s food vertical
  • Contributed original reporting, recipes and food styling
  • Studied English Literature at the University of Notre Dame and Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education