Looking for Christmas recipes to make your holiday sparkle? One of the best parts of the holiday season is creating festive food with families and friends. Get excited for Christmas with these festive cookies, beverages and more!
Here are some recipe choices for you to play around this Christmas!
Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberry Santas
https://www.instagram.com/p/he-iOjg2Ii/
Strawberry Santas may not seem new, but food and lifestyle blogger Laura Fuentes has shared her unique way of making this Christmas dessert. A lot of people are having trouble with the whipped cream in the original recipe because it melts really fast, therefore Fuentes has shared another way as she replaces whipped cream with a mix of cream cheese, honey (or powdered sugar), and vanilla.
Check out her blog for this cheesecake stuffed strawberry Santas recipe that you should try for this Christmas.
Ingredients:
16-ounce package fresh California strawberries. Washed
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature*
4 tablespoons honey, or 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
mini chocolate chips, to decorate
Instructions:
On a cutting board, slice the stem off the strawberry (try to cut it as ‘flat’ as possible since the Santa-berries will use that as a base).
Cut the top third of the strawberry, this will be used as the ‘hat.’
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, honey or powdered sugar, and vanilla. The mixture will be thick so it’s best that the cream cheese really is at room temperature.
Place creamed mixture inside a zip bag (or a piping bag) and snip one corner off. Make this first cut a bit larger since you are filling the ‘faces’ first.
Top strawberry base with cream mixture, top with the strawberry hats and squeeze additional mixture on top of the hat.
Snip the opposite corner or the bag (or change your piping tip) and make a smaller opening. Use this end to decorate ‘Santa’s’ jacket buttons.
Use mini chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles to decorate Santa’s eyes. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Sugar Cookie Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95nlxPwgWmM
Lena Abraham from Delish shared her own Christmas cookie tree recipe that is not just simply pile up a bunch of cookies. These cookies look so elegant and super festive!
Check out the original recipe on Delish:
Ingredients:
1 tube sugar cookie dough
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. heavy cream
green food coloring
1/2 tsp. salt
Christmas nonpareils
Yellow mini m&ms or sprinkle stars
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F and line a medium cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make balls 1, 2, and 3 teaspoons large. Place on baking sheet and bake 5 minutes, remove smallest cookies and bake 3-4 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined, then add vanilla, heavy cream, food coloring, and salt and beat until combined. Add more food coloring until desired color is reached. Transfer to a piping bag with a medium star tip.
Onto the largest cookie, pipe a circle of frosting. Top with the medium cookie, pipe another circle of frosting, and top with the smallest cookie. Pipe a point on the smallest cookie. Decorate with sprinkles and top with a sprinkle star or a small yellow m&m.
Merry ‘Grinchmas’ Cookies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbVKRvVPcSk
Here’s some Grinch-inspired dessert for this Christmas if you want to play with something different. Sure he’s a mean one, that Mr. Grinch. But you can still learn how to make recipes and treats inspired by the villain.
See how you can make these “Grinchmas” desserts for your guests:
Ingredients:
1 white cake box
1/2 cup softened butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon mint extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
Heart sprinkles
Edible adhesive
Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, throw in the white box cake, 1 stick of softened butter, 1 tablespoon of oil, 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of mint extract.
Add the green colored to the mix and stir it till you get that ‘Grinchy’ color
In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of cornstarch. Then use your scooper and make a small dough ball, throw it into your sugar. After covering your dough with sugar, throw the dough on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
Heat up the oven to about 375° F, then put all the dough in. Bake for about 8-10 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for a few minutes. After they’re completely cool, take out your heart sprinkles and edible adhesive.
Brush the adhesive on the sprinkle and just stick on the cookies.
Dairy-Free Eggnog
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqpXKuPF6kl/
This eggnog drink looks perfect for Christmas. Erin of the Wooden Skillet, who is a food photographer and blogger, shares her festive eggnog drink that both looks and tastes like Christmas–and it’s dairy-free.
Check out the original recipe here:
Ingredients:
2 cans coconut milk (full fat) (I highly recommend using Thai Kitchen’s organic coconut milk -it has the best texture)
¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
¼ Teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ Teaspoon ground turmeric (for coloring)
4½ Teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar + 1 Teaspoon
garnish: cinnamon stick, star anise, ground nutmeg
Meringue:
2 egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
⅓ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions:
Place coconut milk in a large mason jar (or other tall containers) and use an immersion blender to fully incorporate.
Pour coconut milk in medium saucepan.
Add sugar and bring to medium heat, stirring fairly constantly until sugar dissolves–whisk together as it combines and sugar dissolves.
Turn down heat to med-low and add remaining ingredients.
Whisk/stir until fully combined and let sit on med-low heat for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and store in an airtight container overnight–and yes, it definitely tastes the best if it can sit for a while and let the flavors blend.
Shake well before serving after letting it sit, nutmeg and other ingredients will settle.
In a stand mixer, add egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar.
Beat on high for approximately 1 minute; whites will become very frothy and start to rise.
Keep motor running and gradually add granulated sugar and then continue beating for approximately 5 minutes.
Continue to keep the motor running and gradually add powdered sugar; continue beating for 8-10 minutes or until very stiff peaks form and mixture is glossy-looking.
Pour eggnog into a glass and swirl meringue in circles using a spoon and scoop swirl out of bowl and place on top of eggnog. If desired, safely use a small blow torch to lightly burn the meringue.
Garnish with cinnamon stick, star anise or more ground nutmeg.
Kranky Cupcakes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHvpSzOFmB0
Another Grinch inspired dessert that will definitely catch your children’s eyes. If they like Mr. Grinch, they’ll have fun seeing and eating them. And if they think he’s mean, well, eating your villain’s face off must be one of the best things.
Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients called for on the box
1 c. butter, softened
4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. heavy cream pinch of kosher salt
36 yellow m&ms Red, green, and black food coloring
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° and line two cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners. Prepare cake mix according to package instructions.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely.
In a large bowl using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined, then add vanilla, heavy cream, and salt and beat until combined. Divide mixture into 4 bowls: 1/3 of the frosting in one (dyed green), 1/3 frosting in another (dyed red), and the rest divided evenly between the other two bowls (black and white). Place into 4 separate piping bags.
Using the red frosting, place small dots in the center of the yellow M&Ms. Start with a thick layer of green, then top with red to form the hat. Add white where the red and green meet, lining the bottom of the hat. Top with a dollop of white on the top of the hat. Place the two eyes under the hat and finish with black for the eyebrows. Serve.
Grinch Punch
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/58335757651149035/
What a creative recipe that presents both Christmas (white) and Grinch (green). It would be hard to imagine anyone who’s not impressed by this festive drink–and it’s so sweet, not mean at all!
Check out the original recipe of the Grinch Punch here:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
12 drops neon green food coloring
1 bottle (2 liters) lemon-lime soda, chilled
2 pints vanilla ice cream
Instructions:
In a large saucepan, combine sugar and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved; remove from the heat. Stir in milk and extract. Transfer to a bowl; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Just before serving, transfer milk mixture to a punch bowl. Stir in the food coloring and soda. Top with scoops of ice cream.
Drunk Jack Frosties
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqn_Wl3n_lg/
This blue drink that combines vodka, champagne, blue curacao, lemonade and ice can bring you into the “Frozen” mood immediately. Especially with the sugar frost on the top.
Check here for the original recipe from Delish:
Ingredients:
1 cup vodka
1 cup Champagne
1/2 cup Blue Curacao
1/2 cup lemonade
3 cup ice
Lemon wedge
White sanding sugar
Instructions:
In a blender, combine vodka, champagne, blue curacao, lemonade and ice. Blend until combined.
Run a lemon wedge around the rim of each glass then dip in sanding sugar.
Pour frosties into rimmed glasses and serve immediately.
