20 Christmas Treats for Cookie Trays, Gift Tins and Parties

Every December my kitchen turns into a little sweet shop, and these Christmas treats are the ones I make on repeat: buttery cookies, glossy fudge, sparkly truffles, crunchy bark and a few no-bake candies the kids can roll themselves. All twenty come from my own kitchen, so every link below takes you to a recipe I have tested, photographed and happily eaten far too much of.

In short, this list gathers 20 festive recipes in five groups: cookies, no bake truffles and candy, fudge and bark, bars and cakes, and dips, snacks and a drink. Grinch dip, peppermint puppy chow and gingerbread chai take 15 minutes, most of the longer recipes are simply chilling or setting, and the biggest batch is about 60 pieces of gumdrop nougat from one pan.

I have grouped them the way I actually plan my baking. First come the cookies, then the candy and fudge that keep for weeks, then a few showstoppers for the table. After that you will find a make-ahead plan, my tips for packing gift boxes and the questions readers ask me most every year.

Christmas Cookies to Bake and Swap

Cookies are the backbone of any festive tray, so I always start here. Most of these freeze beautifully, which means you can bake in November and still serve them fresh.

1. Italian Christmas Cookies

These soft, cakey little domes taste of vanilla and almond, and the glaze sets with a gentle crackle under a shower of sprinkles. Honestly, they are the cookie my neighbours ask about first. Better yet, the flavour deepens after a day, so they are perfect for baking ahead.

Get the Italian Christmas Cookies recipe →

2. Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies

Cream cheese, butter and a box of white cake mix make these gooey butter cookies from a dough so simple it feels like cheating. Rolled in powdered sugar, they bake into crinkly tops with a gooey, almost fudgy centre and a hint of orange. That said, do chill the dough for the full hour; it is the secret to a thick cookie.

Get the Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies recipe →

3. Christmas Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies

This is proper buttery shortbread, studded with jewel-red cherries and dark chocolate chips. Because it is a slice and bake log, I keep one in the freezer all month and cut a few rounds whenever someone pops in for a cuppa. Just pat the cherries really dry first.

Get the Christmas Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies recipe →

4. Santa Claus Macarons

These are my weekend project bake: crisp red almond shells piped into little Santa bellies, complete with black belts and golden buckles. Of course they take patience, yet nothing on the table gets more gasps. In fact, they taste even better after an overnight rest, when the shells turn chewy.

Get the Santa Claus Macarons recipe →

5. Sugar Cookie Icing That Hardens

This sugar cookie icing is not a cookie, I know, but it is the reason my decorated cookies survive a trip in the post. A spoonful of corn syrup gives a glossy finish that dries hard enough to stack, so your snowflakes and gingerbread men stay pristine.

Get the Sugar Cookie Icing That Hardens recipe →

No-Bake Christmas Treats: Truffles, Balls and Candy

When the oven is full of something else, these are my saviours. Most need nothing more than a microwave, a bowl and a little fridge space.

6. Blue Christmas Truffles

Four ingredients, a splash of blue curaçao and a roll in sanding sugar give you truffles that glitter like frost on a window. They are creamy, a little boozy and wonderfully different from the usual red and green. For a family version, simply leave out the liqueur.

Get the Blue Christmas Truffles recipe →

7. Mom’s Christmas Jello Balls

These jello balls need three ingredients and zero cooking: cream, a packet of jelly powder and desiccated coconut. They are soft, squishy and fruity, and my little helpers love rolling them almost as much as eating them. Meanwhile, you can swap the jelly flavour to make a second colour for the tray.

Get the Mom’s Christmas Jello Balls recipe →

8. Butterfinger Balls

Butterfinger balls are peanut butter, graham crumbs and crushed Butterfinger rolled together, then dipped in chocolate. The trick is thirty minutes in the freezer before coating, so the centres hold firm and the shell goes on thin and glossy. As a result, they look far fancier than the effort suggests.

Get the Butterfinger Balls recipe →

When it comes to coating, a set of candy dipping tools lifts each ball out cleanly and leaves a much neater shell than a fork ever does.

9. Christmas Gumdrop Nougat Candy

White chocolate, butter and marshmallows melt into a soft nougat that holds chopped gumdrops like little stained glass windows. It is pure nostalgia for me, and the colours do all the decorating. Still, chill the gumdrops before chopping or they will glue themselves to your knife.

Get the Christmas Gumdrop Nougat Candy recipe →

10. Cool Whip Candy

For Cool Whip candy, melted milk chocolate folded through whipped topping turns into a light, mousse-like filling, and a dark chocolate shell makes it look like something from a posh box of chocolates. Because they live in the freezer, I always have a stash ready for unexpected guests.

Get the Cool Whip Candy recipe →

11. Crock Pot Christmas Crack

Peanuts, three kinds of chips and white almond bark go into the slow cooker, and two hours later you spoon out glossy clusters by the dozen. It is the easiest big batch candy I know, which is exactly why I make it for school fairs and office tins.

Get the Crock Pot Christmas Crack recipe →

Fudge and Bark for Gift Boxes

Fudge and bark are sturdy, slice neatly and travel well, so these three Christmas treats fill most of my gift tins.

12. Gingerbread Fudge

Gingerbread fudge tastes like a gingerbread biscuit melted into creamy white chocolate fudge, warm with molasses, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. There is no boiling and no thermometer; you simply melt, stir and set. Honestly, the smell alone is worth it.

Get the Gingerbread Fudge recipe →

13. Caramel Pecan Turtle Fudge

Two layers of rich chocolate fudge sandwich a ribbon of soft caramel, then the top gets a scattering of toasted pecans and flaky salt. It is indulgent, sturdy enough to post and cuts cleanly with a warm knife. In addition, it freezes brilliantly.

Get the Caramel Pecan Turtle Fudge recipe →

14. Christmas Pretzel Bark

Salty pretzel sticks, a quick butter and brown sugar caramel and a layer of dark chocolate make the most addictive sweet and salty snap. After that, a handful of festive sprinkles finishes it off. I break it into rough shards and nobody ever complains about the uneven pieces.

Get the Christmas Pretzel Bark recipe →

Christmas Bars, Cakes and Bakes

For the pudding table or a festive afternoon tea, these bakes feel a little more special without being fussy.

15. Christmas Cheesecake Bars

These Christmas cheesecake bars stack a sugar cookie crust, a creamy cheesecake layer, a ribbon of cherry pie filling and a buttery almond crumble on top. They taste like a Bakewell tart met a cheesecake, and they slice into tidy squares for a buffet.

Get the Christmas Cheesecake Bars recipe →

16. White Forest Cake

White forest cake is three tender white sponges layered with a kirsch-scented cherry filling and fluffy white frosting, crowned with more cherries. It is my snowy alternative to Black Forest gateau and makes a gorgeous centrepiece on Christmas Day. However, it does need fridge space, so plan for that.

Get the White Forest Cake recipe →

17. Gingerbread Loaf

Dark, soft and full of molasses, this loaf gets better every day it sits wrapped in the tin. I slice it thickly with a cup of tea on Boxing Day morning, sometimes with a smear of butter. Use dark molasses or black treacle, not blackstrap, for the best flavour.

Get the Gingerbread Loaf recipe →

Dips, Snack Mixes and a Festive Drink

Finally, a few crowd pleasers for film nights and parties, plus something cosy to sip alongside.

18. Grinch Dip

Fluffy, sweet and shockingly green, this cream cheese dessert dip comes together in fifteen minutes and disappears even faster. Serve it with biscuits, strawberries or pretzels, and add the heart sprinkles just before serving so they stay bright.

Get the Grinch Dip recipe →

19. Peppermint Puppy Chow

Peppermint puppy chow is rice cereal coated in white chocolate, then shaken in a bag with powdered sugar and crushed candy canes. It looks like a bowl of snow and tastes like a minty, crunchy dream. Bag it up in clear cellophane and it doubles as a last-minute gift.

Get the Peppermint Puppy Chow recipe →

20. Gingerbread Chai

Every tray of sweets deserves a drink, and this iced chai with homemade gingerbread syrup is mine. The syrup is just sugar, molasses and warm spices, and one batch flavours about ten drinks. Then it is ice, chai, oat milk and a spiced foam on top.

Get the Gingerbread Chai recipe →

All 20 Christmas Treats at a Glance

Here are all twenty treats in one table, so you can plan a cookie tray or a gift box by time and batch size. Times and yields come from the recipe cards, and the longer ones are mostly chilling or setting.

Make-Ahead Plan for Your Christmas Treats

The secret to a calm December is spreading the work out. Here is the timeline I actually follow, starting about three weeks before the big day.

So, by the time guests arrive, all you need to do is defrost, arrange and pour the drinks. In fact, I usually move frozen fudge and bark to the fridge the night before so it slices cleanly.

Packing Christmas Treats as Gifts

A tin of homemade Christmas treats is still my favourite present to give. Here is how I keep everything looking as good as it tastes.

• Choose sturdy sweets for posting. Fudge, bark, shortbread and nougat are dry and firm, so they travel happily. For example, the eatright.org guide on how to safely mail homemade gifts recommends chocolates, cookies and homemade sweets like toffee for exactly this reason.
• Keep the creamy ones local. Truffles, jello balls, cheesecake bars and Grinch dip need the fridge, so hand deliver them instead.
• Layer with parchment. Separate every layer so sprinkles and coatings do not stick together.
• Keep flavours apart. Peppermint and gingerbread are strong, so bag them separately or the shortbread will taste of candy canes.
• Label for allergies. Several of these contain peanuts, almonds or pecans, so a little tag saves an awkward question.

Tips for Better Christmas Treats

• Melt chocolate gently. Use 30 second bursts in the microwave and stir between each; white chocolate and almond bark seize quickly if they overheat or meet a drop of water.
• Chill before you dip. Cold centres hold their shape in warm coating, which is why I freeze truffles and balls briefly first.
• Watch the caramel. The pretzel bark layer is a quick toffee, so keep it at a steady boil and stir. If you love proper toffee, ThermoWorks explains the temperatures that give toffee its flavour and snap.
• Cut with a hot knife. Dip the blade in hot water and wipe it between cuts for neat fudge and bar edges.
• Use gel colouring. It gives bright reds and greens without thinning icing or dips.

If you go on to make proper toffee, a candy thermometer clipped to the side of the pan takes all the guesswork out of knowing when it is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions