Food
December 3, 2021
75+ Sweet Treats To Bake This Holiday Season!
One of the most highly anticipated holiday activities, baking cookies, bars, cakes and pies has the added bonus of filling your home with the sweet smell of buttery goodness. From spiced gingerbread cookies with a rosewater cream cheese glaze to hazelnut amaretti and dark chocolate and toffee-filled shortbread, here are the best recipes from the House & Home archives to add to your holiday sweet list.
Eggnog Basque Cheesecake
With flavors of eggnog, spiced rum and nutmeg, this recipe for basque cheesecake is the perfect end to your holiday meal.
Get the recipe here.
Cream Puffs With Cider-Caramelized Apples & Bourbon Cream
Making cream puffs is easier than you think! This festive dessert is the perfect ending to your holiday meal. The cream is lightly sweetened and flavored with bourbon.
Get the recipe here.
Lemon Angel Cake
“We’re a huge chocolate family, but once you find something really good that’s lemon, it’s hard to beat,” says chef and cookbook author Trish Magwood. “It’s an airy angel cake with my grandmother’s lemon glaze, and then fresh or cooked fruit on top. In the fall, I don’t love eating raw plums, blackberries and currants, but once you quickly cook them, they’re so delicious. Then you have leftovers to put on ice cream.”
Get the recipe here.
Eggnog Tiramisu
Celebrate this holiday season with a festive twist on a creamy and delicious classic. This eggnog tiramisu not only tastes delicious, but visually stuns with its intricate layers.
Get the recipe here.
Jim’s Pi Pie
This salty, sweet and fluffy pie is a dream dessert invented by Queer Eye culinary expert Antoni Porowski. With its sentimental origin and delectable taste, it’s sure to pull at the heartstrings.
Get the recipe here.
Spiced Rum Chocolate Caramel Eggnog
While no baking is required, what better way to warm up this winter than with a festive drink in hand! Keep cozy this holiday season with a sweet and spicy spin on this classic holiday cocktail from chef Lynn Crawford.
Get the recipe here.
Semolina & Coconut Cake
Nammoura is a fudgy, moist coconut cake with semolina and yogurt as a base. Don’t be afraid of the syrup quantity. The cake will absorb it and it creates the essential nammoura texture without being overly sweet.
Get the recipe here.
Eggnog & Caramel Holiday Pancakes
Take the time to make this decadent pancake recipe, complete with homemade eggnog and caramel sauce. It’s perfect for a holiday brunch.
Get the recipe here.
Pistachio Olive Oil Cake
“Anyone who’s been to Emmer or seen our Instagram feed knows that pistachio is probably my favorite thing in the world. We go through hundreds of pounds a month. This cake is a showstopper for its simplicity. It’s decadent, bordering on a custard, and lasts for a good week without changing texture,” says bakery owner Philip Haddad.
Get the recipe here.
Strawberry Mousse On Pistachio Sponge
Widely considered the bible of authentic Italian cuisine, The Silver Spoon has sold more than three million copies in Italy and is now translated into 12 languages. From the same authors, The Italian Bakery shares the secrets of Italian pastry chefs in a collection of 140 delicious recipes from bakeries across Italy. Try this Strawberry Mousse On Pistachio Sponge from the new cookbook.
Get the recipe here.
Chocolate Cake With Cherries In Barolo Chinato
Try this decadent chocolate cake which is also from the new cookbook, The Italian Bakery. It has a smooth sponge, festive cherry-red syrup and rich mousse.
Get the recipe here.
Sesame Challah Monkey Bread
“Balls of (not overly sweet) challah are rolled in butter and a cinnamon sugar and very-lightly-toasted sesame mix before getting packed into a Bundt pan so it develops a deeply sweet caramelized shell as it bakes,” says Top Chef Canada host and cookbook author Eden Grinshpan.
Get the recipe for Sesame Challah Monkey Bread.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Mont Blanc Tarts
Named after the snowy mountain they resemble, Mont Blanc tarts — with their white meringue, whipped cream and tan-colored chestnut purée can often taste more fabulous than they look, with all that beige and white.
Get the recipe here.
Nutty Tart
“Try this spin on a classic pecan pie,” says celebrity chef Lynn Crawford. “Our version has a buttery, toffee-like, gooey filling with a variety of toasted nuts in a sweet dough crust. Sometimes we vary the recipe by adding a 1⁄2 cup of chocolate chips — very acceptable, in our opinion!”
Get the recipe here.
Ginger Florentines
Studded with almonds, hazelnuts, crystallized ginger and sultanas (golden raisins) they are a delicious nutty treat to serve alongside a fresh fruit salad or simply to eat on their own.
Get the recipe here.
Salted Fudge
Fudge can be finicky; the success is in the time and temperature to get the right consistency. Bring the mixture to about 112°C on your candy thermometer, or drop a bit into a cup of cold water — it’s ready when it forms into a soft ball.
Get the recipe here.
Blueberry Nut Butter Cookies
This is a simple yet delicious recipe for a chewy cookie recipe without any leavening agents, wheat or eggs. Occasionally Eggs author Alexandra Daum suggests using chocolate if you don’t have blueberries on hand.
Get the recipe here.
Earl Grey Shorties
These delicate and delicious shortbread sandwich cookies are lightly flavored with Earl Grey tea leaves. Use a highly flavored tea for the best results. If you have a silicone baking mat with a textured surface, roll your dough out on the mat to “stamp” a simple design on top of your cookies.
Get the recipe here.
Toffee Pecan Dark Chocolate Shortbread
This shortbread is very buttery and is baked in a mould. Roselle uses round silicone moulds that are about 6.5 cm wide and 1.5 cm deep. If you have a similar mould, you can make individual round shortbreads using lightly flattened 2.5 cm balls of dough (bake for 12 to 14 minutes). Otherwise, bake shortbread in one big pan and cut into small bars.
Get the recipe here.
Gingerbread With Rosewater Cream Cheese Glaze
This is an adult gingerbread! Cocoa powder and spices make for a dark and flavorful dough that isn’t overly sweet. The cream cheese glaze is a perfect counterpoint, but it will soften the cookies slightly. Glaze the cookies the day before you plan to serve them.
Get the recipe here.
Speculaas
Speculaas are crisp Dutch spice cookies often embossed with a windmill design. Blackbird Baking Co. makes its version as small rounds and etches them with a windmill-like pattern, but you can use the tines of a fork to make a simpler design.
Get the recipe here.
Hazelnut Amaretti
This is a delicious and satisfying cookie that’s very simple to make! If you want to keep the sugar content down, don’t roll the cookies in icing sugar. Decorate instead by pressing a whole almond into the center of each cookie before baking.
Get the recipe here.
Frollini Cannella
These crisp and lightly spiced cookies are studded with sliced almonds. Cut them into rectangles or into whatever shape you desire. Let this cookie get deeply golden for the best flavor.
Get the recipe here.
Honey Madeleines
These pretty mini cakes are a perfect way to wow your guests. Use flavorful wildflower honey, if possible, and dust with icing sugar right before serving, if desired. It’s best to have two pans so you don’t need to clean and re-grease pans while making a single batch.
Get the recipe here.
PB Thumbprints With Mocha Ganache
Peanut butter and chocolate — need we say more? Think of these thumbprints as peanut butter cookies for adults (like we need an excuse). A rich, sophisticated ganache complements the peanut butter flavor in these melt-in-your-mouth bites.
Get the recipe here.
Tahini Shortbread
An intoxicating, nutty aroma will fill your kitchen when you bake this recipe. Dried rose petals (edible, of course) add a touch of elegance, making this shortbread ideal for a hostess gift or cookie exchange.
Get the recipe here.
Peppermint Brownie Cookies
These cookies are like eating a cookie and brownie all at once! A touch of peppermint extract and crushed candy cane make these chocolate treats extra festive for the holidays.
Get the recipe here.
Coconut Snowballs
The flavor combination of orange and coconut is the winter version of a piña colada — in other words, perfect for the holidays. Beware: these snowballs are deliciously addictive.
Get the recipe here.
Cherry Snowflake Pie
Intimidated by all the gorgeous pies you see on Instagram? Here’s a little secret: they aren’t hard to master. All you need is a fantastic, fruit-packed recipe (like this one), some cookie cutters and, before you know it, this dessert will be Insta-worthy, too.
Get the recipe here.
Grandma Julie’s Date & Walnut Maamouls
This Lebanese recipe is from Lynda Reeves’ grandma Julie. “Grandma would fill big movie-reel tins with these powdery cookies and hide them under a bed until Christmas Eve (I always found them!). Buttery, flaky and delicious, these cookies say Christmas to me,” says Lynda.
Get the recipe here.
Carol’s Cocoa Caramel Brownies
These old-fashioned cocoa brownies, from former food editor Kristen Eppich’s mom, are fudgy and decadent. The batter comes together easily in one pot — much appreciated when home cooks are at the height of holiday baking.
Get the recipe here.
Granny Thelma’s Christmas Fruitcake
A traditional British cake, this festive treat comes from editorial director Alice Lawlor’s grandmother! It cooks more evenly in a wooden box, which results in a cake that’s just as moist at the edges as it is in the center.
Get the recipe here.
Pearl’s Scottish Shortbread
Originally from food writer and columnist Lucy Waverman’s grandmother, this shortbread cookie has a crispy bottom and melt-in-your-mouth center. Get creative and mix flavors into your shortbread, like finely chopped ginger, chocolate or crushed candy canes.
Get the recipe here.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Pastries
The rich, flaky and slightly tangy pastry of these crescents works perfectly with the brightness of the raspberry jam.
Get the recipe here.
Salted Chocolate Caramel Bars
These bars deliver a decadent contrast of delicate shortbread and chewy caramel under a roof of bitter salted chocolate.
Get the recipe here.
Eric’s Famous Brownies
Former food editor Eric Vellend shares his recipe for moist and intensely chocolatey brownies — no need for nuts or icing.
Get the recipe here.
Chipotle Peanut Brittle
This beautiful brittle is crunchy without being too sticky. A hit of chipotle adds spicy smokiness to the traditionally sweeter-than-sweet treat.
Get the recipe here.
Maldon-Salted Caramels
Soft, buttery and sprinkled with sea salt, these caramels simply melt in your mouth.
Get the recipe here.
Cake Truffles
Rolled in coconut, chocolate, nuts and cookie crumbs, these addictive treats are two-bite balls of your favorite cake. Use this recipe as a guideline and let your imagination run wild when it comes to flavors and coatings.
Get the recipe here.
Mint Sails
These one-bite brownies deliver deep chocolate flavor with a surprising minty hit!
Get the recipe here.
Pineapple Squares
This old-fashioned dessert made frequent appearances in community cookbooks of the 1950s. Its moist cake and crunchy topping are just as delicious today.
Get the recipe here.
Butter Tart Squares
These squares have all the delicious flavor of a true butter tart but require half the effort, as the crust and filling are simply layered in the a baking pan. For added holiday color, try swapping out the raisins for chopped maraschino cherries.
Get the recipe here.
Spitzbuben
Their little windows, along with their generous dusting of icing sugar, make these Swiss cookies a pretty and delicious addition to any holiday spread.
Get the recipe here.
Orange-Cranberry Sticky Toffee Puddings
This decadent dessert can be made a week or two in advance, so freeze them until Christmas Eve. You and your family will be in for a sweet surprise.
Get the recipe here.
Mexican Wedding Balls
Lynda Reeves loves these holiday shortbread-style cookies with a sweet cherry inside. Bake these up to serve at seasonal events or to give as Christmas gifts.
Watch Lynda whip up this festive dessert on H&H TV and get the recipe here.
Cinnamon Rugelach
This traditional Jewish pastry can be served at any time of day, from a brunch, to an afternoon coffee break, to dessert.
Get the recipe here.
Glazed Pumpkin Cookies
Sweet and spicy pumpkin cookies are perfect for enjoying with a coffee on a chilly, winter afternoon.
Get the recipe here.
Jamaican Christmas Pudding
This recipe requires advanced planning for a few steps and stages but the result is a rich, boozy dessert that is the perfect finish to a holiday meal.
Get the recipe here.
Dora Bradley’s Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs
This is food editor Kristen Eppich’s great-grandmother’s recipe. They’re sweet and buttery like traditional sugar cookies, but have the firmness of shortbread, which makes them perfect for decorating.
Get the recipe here.
Turkish Delight
These are all about texture. It begins with a powdery coolness that melts in your mouth, followed by bright flavors and a delectable chew. Here, we’ve put a twist on the conventional flavors of rosewater and citrus with some new combinations: pomegranate-pistachio and mango-coconut.
Get the recipe here.
Buckeye Balls
These are essentially chilled, rolled-up balls of peanut butter, icing sugar and chocolate — and the best part is they’re no-bake!
Get the recipe on H&H TV.
Chocolate-Caramel Ginger Cookies
When you bite into these cookies, you get a taste of this gingery chocolate, and in the center, there’s the gooey caramel.
Get the recipe here.
Orange-Cranberry Snowballs
“Everyone in my family adds different extras to their snowball cookie dough. My sister adds pecans to hers, and I add grated orange in mine — I love the flavor of orange at Christmastime. I also toss in lots of pistachios and cranberries, so they’re a really decadent, firm cookie,” says former food editor Kristen Eppich.
Get the recipe here.
Salted Ginger Caramels
The ginger in this recipe leaves a lovely residual warmth on the palate. These caramels can be cut into any shape you want and wrapped individually for gifting or served on a tray along with your Christmas cookies.
Get the recipe here.
Eggnog Nanaimo Bars
This recipe takes classic Nanaimo bars up a notch with a base that tastes like a dense brownie and an eggnog-spiced custard filling, which gives you a nice hit of nutmeg and cinnamon with every bite.
Get the recipe on H&H TV.
Chocolate-Dipped Sponge Toffee
The magic of sponge toffee happens when you add the baking soda to the golden sugar syrup and it puffs and expands, creating this airy delight. The slightly bitter tones of dark chocolate complement the sweet toffee.
Get the recipe here.
Hazelnut-Cherry Shortbread
These cookies are the perfect make-ahead treat, since the dough can be stored for about a month in the fridge. Make a large batch of dough and keep them on hand for last-minute holiday guests.
Get the recipe here.
After Eight Shortbread Thins
Think of a peppermint chocolate, made better by the crunchy, buttery texture of a shortbread cookie. The shortbreads are topped with the chocolates for the last minute of baking, just enough to slightly melt and adhere to the cookies. These are great served after dinner with coffee.
Get the recipe here.
Cherry Squares
The squares, which hail from Newfoundland, have an old-school East Coast charm with their mix of cherries and nuts.
Get the recipe here.
Popcorn Cookies
Popcorn in a cookie? Yes, indeed, and it only takes one bite to make all the sense in the world.
Get the recipe here.
Nuts & Bolts Clusters
We always need at least one recipe that can be thrown together in a snap, and this is exactly that. If you make your own nuts and bolts, they would be great here. Otherwise, grab a bag at the grocery store, like I do, and you’re set. The perfect festive bar snack.
Get the recipe here.
Goody Bars
These bite-sized sweets have got everything you want in a square: chocolate, Skor bar bits, nuts and a sticky coat of sweetened condensed milk.
Get the recipe here.
Christmas Biscotti
These Christmas Biscotti wear their holiday colors proudly with pistachios and dried cranberries.
Get the recipe here!
Gingersnap Snowflakes
Sweetened with molasses and perfumed with cloves, delightful Estonian-style Gingersnap Snowflakes add yuletide charm to any cookie plate.
Get the recipe here.
Chocolate Caramel-Corn Fudge
This fudge is the classic smooth texture, with the tiniest hint of chewiness. Dark chocolate is used to balance out some of the sweetness that comes from the sugar. Not a fan of peanuts? Toasted almonds would be a great substitute.
Get the recipe here.
Festive Squares
A winning combination of peanut butter, oats and chocolate, these simple squares take just minutes to prepare — and they never stay around for much longer than that!
Get the recipe here.
Triple Ginger Cookies
A crackling coat of coarse sugars gives way to a soft, spiced cookie singing with Christmas flavors.
Get the recipe here.
Famous Fudge Cake
This decadent chocolate cake makes the perfect holiday bar. Both heavenly and indulgent, it’s equally naughty and nice.
Get the recipe here.
Nutella Sandwich Cookies
Rich, delicate wafers encasing gooey chocolate-hazelnut spread, the dark Nutella Sandwich Cookies demand a cold glass of milk.
Get the recipe here.
Gingerbread Squares
Soft on the inside with a crackly finish on top, these gingerbread squares are packed with dried fruit and warm, bold spices. They’re the ideal holiday treat with a pot of tea.
Get the recipe here.
Golden Pecan Balls
These snowy orbs are rich, buttery and crunchy with nuts. Golden syrup gives them a unique, toffee-like flavor.
Get the recipe here.
Nanaimo Bars
This now-classic recipe was entered into a contest held in the city of Nanaimo, B.C., in 1986 for the best bar recipe, and its buttery middle layer and thick chocolate crown made it an undeniable winner.
Get the recipe here.
Polenta Shortbread
Fortified with cornmeal and redolent of oranges, these crumbly Italian-style Polenta Shortbreads give the denser Scottish version a serious run for its money.
Get the recipe here.
Chocolate Compost Cookies
Satisfying both a sweet tooth and the munchies, soft cocoa-loaded Chocolate Compost Cookies are studded with salty surprises: crisp corn chips and crunchy pretzels.
Get the recipe here or watch H&H’s Lynda Reeves bake them fresh!
Lemon Squares
Suzanne Dimma’s best friend, chef and caterer Melanie Dunkelman, always brings these Lemon Squares to her holiday dinners. Not only are they delicious, but they also make the perfect hostess gift.
Get the recipe here.
Raspberry Thumbprints
Enriched with nuts and bursting with butter, delicate shortbreads yield to sweet-tart jam.
Get the recipe here.
Peppermint Snowcaps
Made with ground almonds instead of flour, these minty morsels are the best gluten-free cookies you’ve ever had.
Get the recipe here.