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Christmas Recipes


Here you’ll find all my favorite Christmas recipes from over the years, including Christmas dinner recipes, easy Christmas cookies, homemade holiday desserts, delicious pies, and more.

It isn’t Christmas without homemade cookies! These are my very favorite recipes for the holidays – and we’ve got cookie flavors to satisfy every taste.


Even MORE Christmas cookie recipes – these ones are creative and unique. Everyone will be begging you for the recipe! These cookie ideas are perfect for any holiday cookie exchanges.


Christmas Dinner Recipes

You’ll love these recipes for your Christmas Menu! We’ve got show-stopping side dishes and main entrees that will be a hit on the Christmas dinner table.







Creative Christmas Desserts

And if you haven’t already found a new recipe to try yet, check out these creative Christmas dessert recipes that are sure to impress a crowd on the holiday dessert table!

Get ready to make cookies that rival your favorite bakery. The Ultimate Cookie Handbook shares the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way allowing you to create & customize your own recipes.

Don’t be surprised if your creations start being requested by EVERYONE at every single event.

Christmas How-To’s

This holiday baking season is going to feel like a breeze with these helpful articles. Tons of tips and tricks inside!

Tessa’s Top Baking Tips

Measure your flour correctly!

Nobody wants tough hockey puck cookies during the holidays! Too much flour can result in tough, dry cookies. Flour compacts easily and you can wind up accidentally adding 20% more flour to your dough if you don’t measure it the professional way. Check out my article for How to Measure Flour here.

Make your holiday cookies ahead of time

Most drop-style cookie doughs can be frozen successfully. Chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate cookies… you name it. Check out my article for How to Freeze Cookie Dough here.

Save room in your oven when you can.

With my Slow Cooker Turkey Breast recipe, you’ll save valuable oven space. Plus, you’ll only need 10 minutes of prep time.

Get my 10 Favorite Christmas Cookies Freebie!

Make the most delicious holiday cookie boxes with this free printable.

Bake With Me!

Step into my kitchen and bake these holiday recipes right alongside me.

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Get Our Make-Ahead Baking Guide!

Download our FREE Make-Ahead Baking Guide to learn how to prepare recipes ahead of time!

All Christmas Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a traditional Christmas dinner?

A traditional Christmas dinner menu consists of turkey (or another alternative protein like ham), vegetables, mashed potatoes, bread rolls, gravy, and cranberry sauce.

How long can you freeze cookies for Christmas?

You can store cookie dough in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Baked cut-out cookies (like sugar cookies) freeze particularly well in airtight containers for up to 1 month. Defrost to room temperature before decorating or serving.

How to store homemade Christmas cookies:

Most cookie recipes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

How early can I bake Christmas cookies?

Since most cookie doughs can be made and frozen up to 6 weeks ahead of time, you can get started around then. This means all you’ll have to do on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day is bake your cookies directly from frozen. Instructions for baking cookies from frozen can be found in my How to Freeze Cookie Dough article.

What to bring to a Christmas party?

Any and all appetizers or casseroles are a great idea, so is anything that can be held in a slow cooker to keep warm. But truly, you can’t go wrong with dessert. Especially one that can be held at room temperature, like homemade cookies, so you don’t require any more space in your host’s fridge.

How to freeze Christmas cookies:

Almost ANY drop-style cookie can be frozen ahead of time. Whether that be chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal, peanut butter, double chocolate… or anything in between.
If you’re making cut-out cookies, such as sugar cookies where you roll out the dough and cut it into shapes with a cookie cutter, those cookies are best frozen after baking.

How to keep cookies fresh until Christmas:

Most cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days after being baked.
Pro tip: add an apple wedge, piece of bread, or a tortilla on the top and bottom of the cookies to the container a day or two after baking them, or whenever you find the texture starting to harden. The moisture from the bread or apple will migrate to your cookies, making them soft and chewy again.

How to decorate Christmas cookies?

You can always practice icing on a piece of parchment paper to test the consistency and to practice your decorating. You can even scrape the designs back into your bowl to avoid wasting! Lots more cookie decorating tips in the pink tip box here.