Calling All Bakers! Here Are 5 Creative Holiday Desserts to Try (Recipes Included)

It’s that time of year again to spread joy through presents, togetherness, and, of course, sweets! Apart from the typical desserts during the holiday season, these desserts are niche and will be sure to bring holiday cheer. These desserts will scale from 1 being the fastest and 10 being the most time-consuming/hardest. 

1. Santa’s Trash Cookies

No, they are not actually dug-up trash with cookie dough, but something so delicious, that it’ll blow your socks off. These cookies mix sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy all in one…and it works. This recipe is from Kroll’s Korner (1). 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, pudding mix, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy (~2-3min), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
4. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
5. Gradually add in the dry ingredients until fully mixed. 
6. Add in the festive M&Ms, chocolate chips, pretzels, crushed potato chips, and caramel or sprinkles (if using). 
7. Place about 6-8 cookies at a time on a baking sheet and gently press a few more M&Ms and chocolate chips on top of the cookies. Gently press down one of the cookies to flatten a little. 
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes of the baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. 
9. Garnish with more potato chips or pretzel pieces.
10. Enjoy! You can store these cookies for up to 3 months in the freezer or 5 days in a sealed container. 

2. White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Bark

Aside from the typical flavors of the holiday-peppermint and eggnog-this bark recipe mixes it up with these other festive flavors. Brown Eyed Baker (2) takes her love of her favorite biscotti flavor and transforms it into bark. 

Notes:

Speaking from experience, the best way to temper or melt chocolate is to use the double boiler method. Please save yourself the clean-up and burnt chocolate tears. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb white chocolate
• ½ cup shelled pistachios
• ½ cup dried cranberries

Instructions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler (do not microwave!). Once the chocolate is melted, remove it from the head and let it sit for a few minutes to cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Add the pistachios and cranberries, and stir to combine. 
3. Spread the chocolate mixture onto the prepared pan in an even layer (depending on the size of the pan and how thick you’d like your bark, you may not need the entire surface of the pan).
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until set. 
5. Using a sharp knife, cut the bark into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

3. Peppermint Patties

I’m a huge fan of York Peppermint Patties! This recipe is a copycat recipe of my favorite sweet treat. AllRecipes (3) always has the easiest directions to follow, so I chose this website to write down. These do take longer than the others, but they come out amazing! 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 ½ tsp peppermint extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chip 
• 2 tsp shortening

Instructions:

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
2. Combine condensed milk and peppermint extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat in powdered sugar a little at a time, to form a stiff dough that is no longer sticky.
3. Form peppermint mixture into 1-inch balls and place on waxed paper. Flatten with fingers to form patties. Let patties dry at room temperature, flipping once after an hour. 
4. Stir chocolate and shortening in a medium saucepan over low heat until melted; remove from heat. Dip patties, one at a time, into chocolate by laying them in using a fork. Tap fork on the edge of the pan to shake off excess. Slide the pattie snack onto the waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator until set. 
5. Enjoy!

4. Hot Chocolate Fudge

This fudge bar is perfect for every lover of hot cocoa. Wonky Wonderful’s take on this recipe (4) proves to be a show stopper with chocolate fudge on the bottom and marshmallow on top.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk – divided
• 1 ½ cups mini marshmallows. 

Instructions:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine white chocolate chips with 5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk. 
2. In a separate bowl, combine dark chocolate with remaining sweetened condensed milk. 
3. Line 9×9 pan (or 8×8) with parchment paper and generously grease with butter or shortening. 
4. Microwave (or double boil) dark chocolate for 30s, stir. Microwave 15 seconds then stir vigorously until chocolate is smooth. Transfer mixture into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. 
5. Microwave white chocolate 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Spread mixture on top of dark chocolate layer. 
6. Top with mini marshmallows then gently press down.
7. Refrigerate at least 6 hours to set.
8. Remove fudge and parchment from pan. Carefully peel parchment away from fudge. Cut fudge into bite sized pieces and serve.

5. Eggnog Cookies 

Eggnog is arguably one of the best flavors during the holiday season. If you drink too much of it, it can be quite overwhelming. These cookies provide a great solution to this quagmire. Life, Love, and Sugar’s (5) recipe makes this special holiday flavor a soft and chewy cookie. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium (or use a hand mixer on medium) until light and fluffy. You should be able to see the color change happen and know it’s ready. 
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well until combined.
5. Add the eggnog and mix until well combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be sticky but should be workable. Do not over-mix.
7. Create 2 tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll each ball in the additional sugar to coat. Set the balls on the baking sheet.
8. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. The cookies will spread, and the centers will look soft, but there should be browning on the bottoms. The cookies will be slightly puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall as they cool. 
9. Allow them to cool for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. If using the icing, combine the powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of eggnog and nutmeg in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add additional eggnog as needed. 
11. Drizzle icing over the cookies and allow them to dry. The icing will firm up and no longer be sticky, but it will not be as hard as royal icing.
12. Enjoy! Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookies should stay soft and chewy for 3-4 days. 

About Post Author

Elle Mora ('25)

hshafqat27@mlschools.org

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