For as long as I can remember, I have loved baking, especially at the holidays. However, the holidays are busy, and there isn’t always time to bake an elaborate dessert. So, this year, I decided to bake and share five easy holiday recipes that anyone can make-whether you’ve never touched a whisk before or are simply a baker in a time crunch. 

To classify my recipes, I chose six categories of easiness: 

Scroll down to the bottom of the article to view the recipes.

Note: Some of these recipes, like the peppermint bark and vegan mushroom pies are all my own, while others, like the apple cake, are adapted from websites. The cranberry gingerbread is the only recipe that isn’t adapted or an original recipe. For all of these recipes, I made sure to state whether it is an original recipe, adapted or someone else’s recipe, and for the last two, included the links so that the creator gets credit and so you can check out their recipes.

Cranberry gingerbread

This Thanksgiving, I helped my aunt bake her cranberry gingerbread. While most American gingerbread is a cookie, this gingerbread is made from a more traditional ginger cake dotted with tart, juicy cranberries. This cake is absolutely packed with warming, spicy ginger, which contrasts well with the cranberries’ sharpness. Plus, it’s a great way to use up any leftover fresh cranberries from your Thanksgiving baking.

Although this recipe calls for a little more hands-on time, requiring you to reduce fresh cranberries to a compote and bring a milk, ginger, sugar and butter solution to a simmer, none of the techniques used are difficult. Anyways, making these two mixtures fills your house with a festive smell. 

Apple cake

This recipe is one of my favorite recipes to make any time of the year, but it is especially delicious in the fall and winter since it uses cozy spices and the ultimate fall fruit, apples. It is super easy to make because you just combine all of the ingredients in one bowl, stir, and pop it in the oven in a cake pan. Baked, the cake is deliciously moist, fluffy and spicy, bringing to mind images of fall and winter. The homemade cream cheese frosting with ginger pairs well with the apple cake, but you can choose to omit it if you would like to serve the apple cake as bars or a sweet bread.

Vegan mushroom mini-pies

A take on traditional holiday meat pies, my miniature mushroom pies are a vegan alternative. Despite not using any meat, dairy, or eggs, these pies are surprisingly hearty from the use of mushrooms, which give the pies a comforting richness. Using fresh winter herbs like sage, thyme and rosemary fills the house with a lovely smell and complements the mushrooms, bringing out their umami flavor. These mini-pies are a perfect appetizer for a holiday party, but can also be served for dinner with a warm soup and fresh salad.

Pumpkin chai snickerdoodles

I first made pumpkin snickerdoodles at the beginning of the calendar fall with the hope that the 95-degree heat would tune itself down to match my fall spirit. While my wishes weren’t granted, these cookies were certainly scrumptious. Now that the weather is actually autumnal, it is the perfect time to enjoy pumpkin snickerdoodles. This time, I decided to add chai tea by mixing ground chai tea leaves into the batter and the traditional cinnamon sugar topping. I find that incorporating chai tea provides an extra layer of complexity, flavor, and warmth, adding to the pumpkin snickerdoodles’ festive spirit.

Peppermint bark

My mom and I first came up with this recipe after I discovered a love for the Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark’s taste but a dislike for its high price. Since then, it’s become a staple around Thanksgiving and Christmas that my whole family loves to snack on. 

Additionally, this peppermint bark is by far the easiest recipe in this holiday baking guide, satisfying all the “FALALA” qualifications. Simply melt chocolate, sprinkle over crushed candy canes, and chill for a few hours and you have a delicious treat. Its ease of baking-or rather, chilling- means that I can easily make it with my younger cousins, making it a fun family activity. Alternatively, it is easy enough to prepare by yourself in a flash. Despite being such a quick recipe, this peppermint bark is delicious, made with a rich, almost bitter dark chocolate that marries well with the candy cane’s sweetness.

While I thought all of the baked goods were delicious, I think that some of them were definitely better. So, to help you decide what to bake this holiday season, I ranked them from fifth to first place based on both ease and taste.

Although I liked some of these recipes more than others, whichever recipe you decide to make should turn out good, because I find that all of these bakes are pretty similar in quality. It was especially hard to rank the last three because they are some of my favorite recipes ever. I only hope that you have as much fun baking and eating as I did!