If delicious visions of Christmas desserts are dancing in your head, we’re here to help you make them a yummy mouthwatering reality.
From festive fruit pies and biscotti to indulgent cheesecakes and truffles, our scrumptious array of holiday dessert recipes is the perfect place to find your favorite after-dinner Christmas treat.
Nothing says Christmas dessert like a fresh cranberry pie. This Nantucket Christmas cranberry pie -- inspired by Barefeet in the Kitchen -- is a lovely confection featuring a crunchy sugar crust on the bottom and a juicy sweet fresh cranberry and pecan filling that is deliciously topped with a cakey layer on top. This fabulously festive treat also showcases a gorgeous garnish of sugared cranberries. As if being the most elegant holiday dessert on the table isn’t enough, our cranberry pie is made with gluten-free ingredients. We’ve also included directions to adapt the recipe for dessert-lovers who eat gluten. We love serving slices of this pie with big scoops of homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
Chocolate and peppermint are an iconic match of deliciousness during the holiday season. Our chocolate peppermint cake roll -- a showstopping holiday dessert inspired by Tastes Better From Scratch -- is a tongue-tantalizing riff on the classic Swiss roll that will have your family and friends begging for a slice. Featuring a lavish ganache-covered layer of chocolate sponge cake wrapped around a lusciously whipped cream cheese filling embedded with crushed peppermint candies, this dramatic dessert melts in your mouth while reminding you of big mugs of cocoa and Christmas candy canes. Though making a cake roll might seem daunting, we’ve included instructions and photos that will help you master this dessert every step of the way.
For a different apple dessert, create this beautiful rustic apple tart
Looking for a new apple dessert to deliciously surprise your pie-loving holiday guests? Make this rustic apple tart -- courtesy of Rasa Malaysia -- that boasts a fabulously flaky crust tucked around a scrumptiously tender fruit filling featuring apple slices glazed with warmly spiced apricot preserves. Rustic tarts are the perfect dessert to bake when you don’t want to fuss with fluting and shaping a traditional pie crust in a pie plate. For this apple dessert, all you have to do is roll out the buttery dough, wrap it in a free-form fashion around the apple filling, and slide it in the oven to bake. Easy and impressive, this beautiful rustic apple tart will become one of your favorite fruit desserts to make during the holidays.
Pumpkin pecan cheesecake bars combine the best ingredients of all holiday desserts
When your holiday sweet tooth is demanding you indulge in more than one dessert, satisfy your cravings with these pumpkin pecan cheesecake bars. Inspired by Rasa Malaysia, these decadent treats feature a melt-in-your-mouth spiced pumpkin cheesecake filling layered on top of a buttery shortbread-style crust deliciously studded with crunchy pecans. The bars are crowned with a yummy crumb topping that gives way to the luscious filling and nibbly crust. You’ll want to make more than one batch of these irresistible treats -- once you set them out, they won’t last long. Package them up for a special fall gift, tuck them in your kiddos’ lunches, and sneak a few to eat all by yourself. When you need a holiday dessert that everyone will adore, make these pumpkin pecan cheesecake bars.
Traditional, simple and sweet: a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling is perfect for the holidays
Tired of the traditional pumpkin pie and looking for a new and exciting pumpkin dessert? Make our pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling! Adapted from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, this scrumptious cake roll features a lovely layer of spiced pumpkin cake spiraled around a sweetened cream cheese filling. Every dramatic slice of this fall-inspired treat looks like a work of art. If you’ve been intimidated by making cake rolls in the past, it’s time to put your fears aside and follow our step-by-step instructions. You’ll be a pumpkin cake roll pro in no time.
A traditional deep dish apple pie is the perfect finale to your holiday dinner
If you’re yearning for an apple pie that will make you swoon, stop what you’re doing and make our traditional deep dish apple pie. Inspired by That Skinny Chick Can Bake, this over-the-top delicious apple pie is piled high with tender, juicy cinnamon-kissed apple slices nestled in a fabulously flaky pie crust. When a single layer slice of pie simply won’t do, a generously thick wedge of our pie will more than satisfy. The key to thick, neatly-cut slices of deep dish apple pie? Initially cook the apple filling on the stovetop before transferring it into the pie shell. This step cooks off excess fruit juices, which keeps the filling from becoming a soggy mess in the oven. This apple pie is an impressive end to any holiday dinner.
This traditional vintage double-crusted pineapple pie will leave you feeling nostalgic
Deliciously delight your family and friends with an unexpected dessert that gives your holiday gathering a vintage flair. This jaw-dropping gorgeous double-crusted pineapple pie is an heirloom family recipe from our Grateful Ventures chef and food stylist Debbie Elder. A present-day dessert adventure with nostalgic beginnings, this pie is plump with a bright pineapple filling and a fabulously flaky and flavorful crust made with rendered leaf lard. If you’ve never baked with leaf lard before, get ready to turn your usual pie enjoyment into a truly transcendent pie-loving experience. We love this cherished pineapple pie recipe and guarantee that your family will too.
Make this beautiful holiday cheese tart with strawberry glaze for a unique Christmas dessert
Looking for a creamy, dreamy dessert to bring to your holiday table? Stop your search and make this festively decorated holiday cheese tart with strawberry glaze. Inspired by Casa Veneracion, our cheese tart is akin to a traditional cheesecake but is a fuss-free rendition baked in a tart pan rather than a springform pan. It is an eye-catching crowd-pleaser that features a buttery graham cracker crust, a lusciously sweet cream cheese filling, and a decorative topping of fresh berries and strawberry glaze. While everyone else is piling their holiday dessert table with cookies and pies, you’ll be the hostess with the mostest when you show up with this beautiful berry cheese treat.
Pressure cooker salted caramel cheesecake
Cheesecakes rule the dessert table for every festive occasion. This pressure cooker salted caramel cheesecake is no exception. But instead of following the usual oven-baked cheesecake guidelines, this ingenious holiday dessert is prepared in a multicooker. Get ready for a life-altering dessert experience! Velvety, dense, rich, and unspeakably delicious, our Instant Pot cheesecake cooks to perfection in half the time of traditional cheesecakes. As if the cheesecake alone isn’t enough to make you weak in the knees, when it’s time to serve the guests, we lavishly drape the dessert with a homemade salted caramel sauce that is ooey, gooey, and oh-so good. Once you make this Instant Pot dessert, you might never bake cheesecakes in the oven again.
White chocolate-drizzled apricot and hazelnut biscotti
Want to impress your family and friends with a gourmet coffee shop dessert? This white chocolate-drizzled apricot and hazelnut biscotti recipe will become your favorite go-to for holiday entertaining and edible gifts. These fancy, fabulously crunchy cookies are the perfect treat for dipping in coffee, tea, and milk. You can even dip this biscotti in white wine as an elegant evening-with-friends treat. Featuring a lovely vanilla and lemon-kissed cookie studded with nibbly bits of dried apricots and hazelnuts, these crunchy twice-baked biscuits are finished with a decorative drizzle of melted white chocolate. Package your biscotti up in cellophane bags and send them home with your holiday guests as a memorable treat they can enjoy after the holidays are over.
Christmas truffles for chocolate lovers
Need the perfect gift for the chocolate lovers in your life? Delight them with a decadent array of homemade Christmas truffles! Our deceptively simple recipe for Christmas truffles makes over six dozen of these upscale confections. A high-quality bittersweet chocolate is transformed into irresistible orbs of melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate that we individually roll in a dizzying assortment of toppings, including chopped nuts, cocoa powder, holiday-themed sprinkles, or crushed candy canes. Best yet, our recipe can be easily adapted to make milk chocolate or white chocolate truffles. Follow our chocolate-loving lead or get adventurous and create your own scrumptious selection of Christmas truffles. Regardless of the chocolate or the coatings, no one can say no to a truffle.
A Pavlova wreath with sugared cranberries for Christmas
While your friends are hanging up inedible wreaths on their front doors, you can wow your holiday guests with a Pavlova wreath with sugared cranberries. Never heard of a Pavlova? This unique confection -- which is wildly popular in Australia and New Zealand -- is named after the beloved Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured Down Under in the 1920s. The Pavlova dessert is a lovely meringue-like cake that features a soft interior delicately encased in a crisp crust that is traditionally topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. We top our Pavlova with an artistic arrangement of mounds of whipped cream, sugared cranberries, and fresh mint leaves. As a bonus, this festive Christmas treat is naturally gluten-free and a welcome reprieve from the typically heavy desserts served around the holidays.
Eggnog brûlée cheesecake with gingerbread crust
It’s the holiday season and the desserts are aplenty. If you can’t make up your mind which desserts to try, make this eggnog brûlée cheesecake with gingerbread crust. An indulgent collision of eggnog, creme brûlée, cheesecake, and gingerbread, this outrageously decadent dessert lets you enjoy a tasty array of holiday flavors in every single bite. The warmly spiced crust, made with butter and gingersnaps, serves as a yummy platform for the eggnog cheesecake filling that is topped with sugar and torched into a beautiful brûlée. Whipped cream and tasty bits of burned sugar give this impressive holiday dessert a finishing touch.
Photos Via: Thanksgiving.com