Looking for easy, festive treats to make this holiday season? Here are 30+ delicious sweets from around the world to inspire your Christmas baking and gifting.
I usually avoid holiday music and decorations until after Halloween, but I start planning my Christmas baking early. I love making seasonal sweets—cookies, cakes, breads, and candies—to share with family and friends.
To get started this year, I reached out to food bloggers for their favorite Christmas dessert recipes from around the globe. The list includes simple no-bake treats, classic regional specialties, and a few unique ideas if you want to try something new. Below are highlights and brief descriptions to help you choose what to bake next.
Bûche de Noël Cake (French Yule Log Cake)
Bûche de Noël is a traditional French dessert that resembles a forest log. Typically made with a light sponge cake rolled with chocolate buttercream, it can be decorated with meringue mushrooms, fresh fruit, or small fondant branches for an impressive centerpiece that’s easier to make than it looks.
Moist Maple Sweet Potato Walnut Butter Cake
A dense, comforting cake made with sweet potato, walnut butter, and brown sugar, finished with a maple syrup drizzle. It’s rich, warmly spiced, and perfect for a cozy holiday dessert table.
Honey Cake Slices – Slovakian Petite Fours
Slim layers of honey-flavored pastry, traditionally filled with jam and custard then coated in chocolate. These Slovakian petit fours offer a delicate, creamy texture and a sweet, nutty finish.
Cranberry Lush Cake
A layered dessert with a graham cracker crust, sweetened cream cheese, whipped cream, and candied cranberries. Bright, creamy, and a great contrast of textures and flavors.
Maamoul Cookies (Date Filled Cookies)
Traditional Middle Eastern cookies filled with dates, figs, or nuts. Maamoul come in many regional variations and are lovely for gifting or serving with tea.
Cardamom Chickpea Cookies with Pistachios
A gluten-free cookie option made with chickpea flour, fragrant cardamom, rose water, and topped with chopped pistachios. They’re aromatic, slightly chewy, and subtly sweet.
Easy Peppermint Bark
A simple, no-bake favorite made from layers of dark and white chocolate topped with crushed peppermint candy canes. Quick to make and great for last-minute gifts or a festive treat with coffee.
Honey Gingerbread Cookies
Chewy cookies flavored with honey, cinnamon, and ginger. They’re delightful to decorate with powdered sugar, icing, chocolate, or festive sprinkles.
Rugelach
A Jewish pastry made from rolled dough filled with raisins, nuts, fruit preserves, poppy seeds, or chocolate. Rugelach are flaky, buttery, and endlessly adaptable.
Dutch Almond Bars
Buttery, almond-flavored bars with a chewy texture. These are a simple, crowd-pleasing treat commonly enjoyed in the Netherlands during the holidays.
Hungarian Christmas Cookies
Traditional Hungarian cookies filled with apricot, cherry, or nut fillings, then rolled in powdered sugar. They’re festive, fruity, and perfect for sharing.
Classic Buckeye
A Midwestern U.S. favorite: a peanut butter center dipped in dark chocolate to resemble the buckeye nut. Rich, addictive, and ideal for cookie exchanges.
Butter Cookies with Hazelnuts
Simple, buttery cookies enhanced with toasted hazelnuts. Shape them into festive forms for gifting or platter arrangements.
German Rum Balls
No-bake chocolate truffles spiked with a splash of rum and rolled in cocoa or sprinkles. Rumkugeln are a classic German holiday confection—rich, boozy, and easy to make.
Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam
Delicate sandwich cookies from Austria filled with raspberry jam. The cut-out top reveals the jam and makes them as pretty as they are tasty.
Polish Gingerbread Cookies
A Polish take on gingerbread that uses honey instead of molasses, giving these cookies a distinct flavor and tender texture.
Portuguese Custard Tarts
Crisp, flaky tarts filled with rich, creamy custard. These tarts are loved year-round and are a special treat during the holidays in Portugal and parts of Latin America.
Fruit Pavlova Wreath
A light, show-stopping dessert with a crisp meringue base, whipped cream, and fresh fruit arranged like a festive wreath. Popular in Australia and New Zealand for summer Christmas celebrations.
Swedish Ischokolad (Ice Chocolate)
A traditional Swedish treat: small chocolate pralines made with coconut oil that melt in the mouth. Simple to prepare and wonderfully chocolatey.
Mini Mince Pies
Small, flaky pies filled with a spiced mixture of raisins, currants, apples, citrus peel, and warm spices. A quintessential British holiday pastry—addictive and full of festive flavor.
Saffron and White Chocolate Christmas Tree Bread
A braided, pull-apart bread scented with saffron and studded with white chocolate. It’s decorative and cozy—perfect for a holiday brunch or dessert table.
Cranberry Orange Bread
Bright and zesty loaves with intense cranberry and orange flavor. This bread offers a refreshing contrast to richer holiday desserts and makes a lovely gift loaf.
German Stollen Bread
A dense, festive bread studded with almonds, rum-soaked raisins, currants, and dried cranberries. Coated with powdered sugar, stollen is a holiday market classic.
Traditional Cherry Balls
Maraschino cherries mixed with graham cracker crumbs and coconut, then rolled into festive bite-sized balls. Simple, nostalgic, and kid-friendly.
Eggnog Flan
A creamy custard infused with classic eggnog flavors. This flan offers a smooth, rich dessert option inspired by South American holiday traditions.
Sea Salt Cashew Brittle
Crunchy brittle featuring toasted cashews and a sweet-and-salty glaze. It stores well and makes excellent homemade gifts.
Holiday Biscotti
Twice-baked Italian cookies with dried cranberries, almonds, and lemon zest. They’re perfect for dipping into coffee or hot cocoa and can be decorated with white chocolate for a festive touch.
Chocolat Torrone
An Italian-style chocolate nougat filled with hazelnuts and Nutella for a creamy, nutty confection that’s decadently satisfying.
Christmas Ice Cream Pudding
Layers of vanilla ice cream, mixed dried fruit, and chocolate combine into a chilled dessert that’s especially welcome in Southern Hemisphere summers during Christmas.
German Gebrannte Mandeln (Cinnamon Sugar Almonds)
Crunchy, cinnamon-sugared roasted almonds that evoke the aromas of German Christmas markets. Easy to make at home and ideal for gifting or snacking throughout the season.