The best things in life are tasty. Here’s a list of the top 10 best Christmas treats that you can make at home with friends or family. Having something like cooking to bond over can mean so much to family and friends and eating the tasty treat is a memory in itself.
The gingerbread house. About as old school as it gets when it comes to traditional Christmas treats, gingerbread houses are the ideal treat for appreciators of architecture and sugary goodness. Doing this with friends can be a great way to spend some time together and is a tasty treat too.
“I love learning how to bake untraditional dishes with friends and family.”
— Lily Osbourne
Sugar plums. Tasty enough to bring visions dancing in your head, sugar plums are made from a variety of dried nuts and fruits and coated in sugar or shredded coconut. Sugar plums are made of dried fruit (including prunes, which are specific varieties of dried plums), toasted nuts, warm spices, and a crunchy sugar coating. I love sugar plums because of the fruit that they have and I think they are one of the most tasty treats.
Rugelach. A traditional Jewish pastry that’s traditionally served during Hanukkah, rugelach looks a lot like a crescent roll – only instead of regular dough, cream cheese or sour cream dough is used. Fruit preserves are used as the center filling, or any combo of marzipan, poppy seed, raisins, and walnuts. This delicious rugelach is made from scratch with a buttery pastry recipe and the classic walnut, cinnamon, and raisin filling. You can use chocolate or your favorite jam as a filling if you prefer.
Poppy seed rolls. Served throughout central and eastern Europe and also famous in Israel, poppy seed rolls are essentially coffee cakes with a bittersweet poppy seed filling. The poppy seed roll is a pastry consisting of a roll of sweet yeast bread with a dense, rich, bittersweet filling of poppy seed. An alternative filling is a paste of minced walnuts or minced chestnuts.
Peppermint bark. Chocolate lovers can rarely resist digging into these, an especially sweet concoction that blends a dark chocolate center with a white chocolate outer crust, topped with peppermint candy bits. Peppermint bark is my absolute favorite treat to make and with all of the seasonal flavors, it makes it one of the most festive. This simple recipe for the classic Christmas treat features three layers of white and dark chocolates flavored with peppermint extract, plus crushed candy canes for garnish. The bark sets in an hour, so your holiday treat will be ready for tasting and gift-giving in a snap.
Yule log. This is the kind you eat, not the kind that keeps you warm. Essentially, it’s a sponge cake baked in the shape of a log, stuffed with your choice of filling (like buttercream), and frosted on the outside. The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America.
Gingersnaps. Easy to make and even easier to make disappear, gingersnap cookies blend ginger, cinnamon, and molasses to create one of the all-time greatest hits of holiday baking. Typically I enjoy more of a chewy cookie, but every once in a while I want that satisfying crunch and crispness of something sweet. If you have ever made cookies before then this is a wonderful idea because of the uncommon flavor.
Chess pie. Think cheesecake without the cheese – or custard pie with a bit of cornmeal added. This is a recipe that got its start in old England but didn’t fully blossom until it hit the southern United States, where it became a traditional dessert staple.
Povitica. If you’ve never had povitica, just know that it is a sweet bread with one or two pounds of walnuts, honey, butter, and other goodness rolled up inside. An Eastern European tradition. The povitica, a traditional Croatian and partly Slovenian pastry is made from buttery pastry dough rolled into very thin layers and covered with a layer of brown sugar, spices, and walnuts.
Christmas tree brownies. It’s difficult to go wrong with traditional brownies, but sometimes their presentation can be a bit stale unless you get creative with it. By cutting the brownie into a triangular shape, adding some decorative frosting, and inserting a peppermint candy cane into its base, you can replicate the look of a mini Christmas tree. And then you can eat it. Best of both worlds? Absolutely.
Olivia Dungan • Jan 19, 2024 at 2:49 pm
This festive, holiday story is a great way to bring family and friends together in the kitchen, and around the table. It may be cold outside but it can be warm and fuzzy inside with the Christmas tree brownies, which I will be making even now in January! I appreciate the effort put into this story on Christmas day, thank you.