Recipes the World Forgot: The Ultimate Holiday Baking List
Well, I couldn’t help myself. I compiled all of my favorite holiday baking recipes in one spot.
Here you go.
This list is nearly a decade in the making…and if it seems long, feel better knowing I actually narrowed it down quite a bit.
There’s a lot of yumminess that happens when one food blogs for nine holiday seasons in a row. Hopefully this ultimate holiday baking list can offer some much-needed inspiration if you find yourself in a baking rut!
And now…inquiring minds (ok, one mind…my mind!) want to know: what’s on your holiday baking list? Like I’ve mentioned before, spill the beans! I eat this kind of stuff up (haha).
I made about 45 half pints of jalapeño jelly in late summer when my jalapeño plants were over producing and I’m giving it out as gifts with some artisan crackers and cream cheese. Not very bake-y, I know, but maybe it will help cut the sugar rush everyone is having this time of year. Of course, I always make caramel apples for the kids’ teachers, and homemade caramels will be made by the dozens to fill in the gaps for anyone I’ve missed…so I’m doing my part to sweeten up the universe, too.
Thanks for the list! I made the orange cranberry bars and they were absolutely amazing. Yum!
So happy to hear that, Sherri!
I made cinnamon rolls for the office and only ONE PERSON ATE THEM!!! Like a dagger to the heart. I am no longer in a baking/giving mood for fear of lack of appreciateion! Ugh
Oh, that’s the worst, Sarah! I’m sorry.
Divinity is my favorite thing to make this time of year. It is the only time we make it which makes it extra special. We always do banana bread, sugar cookies, snicker doodles, millionare fudge, caramel corn, ginger snaps, caramels, candy cane cookies, sometimes I get around to making various cake balls, we use to make homemade cherry cordials but haven’t done that in a while. No shortage of baking going on in this household! Looking forward to trying your peppermint patties this year!
We make your Baked Kettle Corn to hand out for neighbor and friend gifts. People love it!
Sugar cookies dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes, milk chocolate brownies, and I really want to try those peppermint cookies you had in your newsletter last week. And I may do one of your giant cookies. We gave those to our neighbors last year, and everyone loved them. And I have a feeling my sister may ask me to make your twixsters again this year. Everyone loved them last Christmas!
I’m planning pumpkin pie. my husband’s favorite, and maybe some penuche or some of my Mom’s date bars with date filling sandwiched between layers of brown sugar spritz dough, my favorite. I might make some brown sugar drop cookies frosted with brown butter glaze and top some of them with pecan halves or candied cherry pieces. They are my grown sons favorite and I could send some home with him. With just two of us at home now I try not to overdo it too much. Even if I freeze some of them too many goodies are too much of a good thing.
Always lots of switcheroos! And Lion House Almond Danish which is pretty much to die for!
I’m baking gluten free for my husband’s side of the family because my father-in-law has Celiacs. I’m making peanut butter cups and caramel truffles and want to make your newest caramel recipe, but my sister-in-law always makes caramels and I don’t want to be THAT person!
I’m going to make twixsters because my husband loves Twix candy bars. I’m also going to make your scottish shortbreads and put chocolate and heath on some and colored sugar on others. We also decorate sugar cookie cut outs with royal icing which works surprisingly well with kids! My girls have been using the squeeze bottles since they were like 3 and they do well with them…better than trying to use a butter knife while decorating with buttercream frosting for sure! I’m also feeling like some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and Christmas is as good a time as any for them!
I never go a Christmas without the cherry shortbread!! They are everyone’s favorite and look cute too!
You forgot the regular peanut blossom cookies! I end up making two batches of those each year, one for ME and one for sharing. Haha! I always wish I had more!
Oh, yikes! How did I forget those??
I love all the baking we get to do this time of year! I’ll be making your sugar cookies with my kiddos (my 4 year old has been asking me everyday for those), your homemade peppermint patties, homemade egg nog ice cream and peppermint bark ice cream. I’d also like to try the new caramel recipe you just posted, and maybe that peppermint cheesecake. I kind of love peppermint!
All that peppermint…yum!
We always do chocolate mint brownies, addiction (which is a chex cereal, golden grahams, coconut and sliced almonds mix which really is addicting!) sugar cookies, your gingerbread cookies, white chocolate covered pretzels and a huge batch of the best rice pudding you have ever had in your life for Christmas Eve dessert. Oh my, need to up my exercise after typing all that 🙂 Bless you and yours this holiday season because your recipes bless me and mine all year round. Thank you!!!! You are a rock star!
Sounds amazingly delicious, Jen!
I always make frosted sugar cookies, molasses crinkles (grandma’s recipe!), fudge and soft peanut brittle. After seeing your recipe for vanilla bean caramels, I want to add them to my list.
What a great lineup, Jennifer!
Hi Mel~ Thank you for compiling this list! I have now added to my list of treats to give away! I will be making yeast rolls ( similar to one of your recipes) , the triple chocolate fudge peanut butter cookies ( my kids and co-workers LOVED them last week), now the candied almonds, and since my candy thermometer arrived yesterday ( I love Prime shipping) I will be trying the vanilla caramels this weekend and if all goes well I will giving those out as well. For the parties we are going to I always make white cheddar pimento cheese with crackers. I am soo excited to get to spend so much time cooking in the coming weeks, it is medicine for my soul! Thank you for all your sharing and I hope you have a great holiday season!
We must be soul sisters…all the cooking and baking is medicine for my soul, too. 🙂 That white cheddar pimento cheese sounds dreamy!
Mel, Mel, Mel – you forgot the double chocolate mint cookies with the crushed peppermint on top! 🙂 Just kidding.. I’m sure these are all awesome too. But those ones are amazing! On a side note, I LOVE your gift guide posts and have found so many awesome ideas on there! Love your blog! (the only blog I follow)
Oh duh, they are on there! I just saw them. I didn’t see them the first time through!
Haha, glad you saw them! They are amazing and I wouldn’t leave them off. 🙂
We usually make Poticia, Russian tea cakes, cinnamon almonds, cranberry orange almond cream cheese bread, pecan diamonds (like pecan pie made into cookies), peanut butter cups, and sometimes chocolate truffles. After seeing your treat list, I’m trying to decide what to add and what to eliminate…everything sounds so good!
Oh yum, Shannon! I love the sound of all those goodies (particularly the cranberry orange almond cream cheese bread??? amazing!).
We are having “baking Sunday” this weekend. Most likely sugar cookies and gingerbread kids for the tots to decorate! I will make the cherry cheesecake cookies, and the turtle cookies for my exchange! I love your round-up!
Decorating sugar cookies/gingerbread is the funnest thing I do with my kids this month (even though the mess it creates makes me a little crazy)! Have fun on your baking Sunday!
I’m going to spend the weekend making cranberry white chocolate quick bread and poppy seed bread. My husband bought 5 dozen eggs in preparation! Happy baking!
Have to be prepared! My chickens are hibernating and not laying hardly at all with the reduced daylight and cold temps, so I had to dive in to the 5-dozen tray of eggs at Costco, too, this time of year. 🙂
We always make sugar cookies to decorate and Christmas M&M cookies. My kids are older now (24,21,18, 15) and two are in college far away in Florida but when everyone gets home next week they’ll gather round to decorate–and eat–Christmas cookies. Food is magical in that way, right?
Oh my goodness, seriously. It is so magical. I love the image of your grown-ish kids still gathering around to decorate cookies. That’s the best.
I shared your cranberry salsa recipe with my mom recently, and she is making it for friends and delivering with a bag of chips. 🙂 I want to try your Snappers for teachers this year, and we will make caramels, fudge, sugar cookies, and gingerbread cookies because we make them every year. “Cookie Day” where the kids and their friends cut out and decorate cookies, is a family tradition I grew up with, and we now all do with our kids. I think they’ve invited 20 people already!
What a great idea on using the cranberry salsa for a gift! That’s quite a crowd for your Cookie Day – you are a good momma!
Yum!! We always make a bunch of cream cheese banana bread. I do want to try your caramels but I’m scared!! Trying to be brave
Be brave, my friend. At the very least, I can FaceTime you if you have any serious issues. 🙂
My holiday baking list. I will for sure make at least 1 batch of your dark chocolate sea salt caramel pretzel bark to eat all by myself. No lie, I will eat the ENTIRE batch on my own. No judging. I always make fudge, a delicious recipe from my aunt. I want to try homemade peppermint patties this year. I always make some kind of cinnamon-y, butter-y holiday-y caramel corn. And I usually make way more rolls than normal. I stick pretty religiously to the Lion House recipe.
Never any judging here, you know that! 🙂 That stuff is addictive.
I love this round up! I wanted to share that I actually made your white chocolate gingerbread truffles last year and not only did my family love them, but they actually one first place in a Christmas candy contest I entered!
How awesome is that???
To me of the “not very sweet tooth”, the jalapeno jelly on crackers sounds wonderful. I looked at your recipe and will make that jelly this weekend, I hope. As a black licorice lover, I do want to try the licorice caramels also.
My for sure plan is for your sour cream sugar cookies which I made last year and love.
Homemade peppermint ice cream: chocolate mint layered with “vanilla” peppermint including some crushed mints or candy cane.
And eggnog – your recipe 🙂 !!
Ooh, that peppermint ice cream sounds divine, Liz! My jalapeño jelly didn’t want to set up when I made it because I added some peaches for a different version, but I love that recipe, runny or not! 🙂
So I didn’t get to making anything yet as I have been clearing snow – but I’m happy for the snow!
I did do some reading though. I saw on the jelly recipe that you usually use Pomona Pectin but Aunt Marilyn recommends the liquid for the jalapeno jelly. I happen to have both but I have not yet used the Pomona. A longish comment to say that Pomona Pectin has a cookbook and I bought the Kindle version. They have a Cranberry-habanero jelly and a couple of combo fruit-jalapeno. BUT, even with their pectin, still about the same amount of sugar for the pepper jellies which they also note tend to set softer. I’ll add notes on the jelly recipe here when I get to making it