Are you having trouble finding some good holiday baking recipes? Is Pinterest, and its hundreds of posts, so overwhelming that it just makes your head spin? If you answered yes to either question, you’ve found the right article! I’ve compiled some of my favorite festive recipes here to solve your holiday woes (and I promise you, your kitchen does not have to look this festive for you to make some awesome Christmas recipes!)
Peppermint Bark
I’m going to start with one of the easiest holiday desserts out there. Peppermint Bark is really a tried-and-true classic that’s hard to mess up and really, really easy to make delicious. All you need is some baking chocolate, candy canes, and vegetable oil, and I always add in some optional peppermint extract to make it really have that peppermint taste. The recipe I always use can be found here!
White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels
This is another one of the easiest recipes you can find for the holidays. It’s even easier (at least in my opinion) than Peppermint Bark: All you need is chocolate, pretzel rods, and crushed candy canes. These are so fun to make and they also make a cute gift for friends! The recipe I use can be found here
Gingerbread Bars
Now we’re getting into real, yes-you-need-to-put-effort-into-this recipes. If you’re a fan of gingerbread and some of the other holiday spices, these are perfect for you! This recipe does require quite a few different spices that you may not already have, but the payoff at the end is definitely worth it. The recipe I typically use can be found here.
Gingerbread Cookies
Sticking to the gingerbread theme, these are classic and probably my favorite part of the holidays. This recipe has never failed me (although it does require molasses – not the most common ingredient – so it’s maybe not the best recipe for everyone). Based on what you prefer, you can either make these harder (like a gingersnap-type cookie) or softer, which is one of my favorite things about these cookies.
Shortbread Cookies
This is such an awesome recipe because the list of ingredients is so short: flour, butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and some festive sprinkles. I’ve never made the smaller ones but I’ve made full-size shortbread cookies using this recipe before and it’s one of the easiest and best ones out there.
Snowmen Oreo Truffles
This recipe is another one of those painfully easy ones that everyone will love (and calling them truffles makes them seem so much fancier and complicated than they really are). I’ve never made them myself, but they’re incredibly easy and fun to make from what I’ve heard/read. A recipe for these can be found here!
Eggnog Cake
This is another one of those classic, “Wow this tastes like the food version of Christmas” recipes. I haven’t tried this particular recipe yet (although I’ve had eggnog bread before and it’s incredible), but I definitely will be this break. You can find a recipe for Spiked Eggnog Cake here!
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Similar to the Eggnog Cake, this recipe is one of those less-traditional but still delicious recipes. I’ve made these a few times before and my roommates have asked if I could make them again, so I’d say it was a success. The recipe I used can be found here.
Those are just a few of my favorite recipes (and a few recipes I’ll be trying out this season)! Good luck with your own baking endeavors this holiday, and if all else fails, you can always get one of those adorable snowmen cookies from Starbucks.
Looking for more Her Campus Holiday content? Check out another Holiday Guide, this one about Christmas gift shopping, written by my friend Kellyn over at HC Jefferson!