Christmas baking is one of my favourite parts of the holidays, but I am definitely not interested in spending three straight days in the kitchen making 47-step desserts.
Give me easy Christmas squares, cookies and bars that taste amazing, look good on a Christmas baking tray and, ideally, can be made ahead of time.
This collection has a little bit of everything: peppermint and candy cane treats that scream CHRISTMAS, old-fashioned squares that have been showing up on Canadian Christmas trays forever, classic cookies everyone loves and plenty of chocolate. Because obviously.
Whether you're putting together Christmas treat boxes, heading to a cookie exchange, feeding a house full of people or just want something sweet in the freezer for December, these are some of my favourite easy Christmas baking recipes.
Easy Christmas Squares, Cookies and Bars
1. White Chocolate Candy Cane Cereal Bars
These are probably the most obviously Christmas-y recipe on the list. They're an easy cereal bar loaded with white chocolate and crushed candy canes, so you get that perfect combination of chewy, sweet and pepperminty.
They're also a great option when you need another Christmas square but really don't want to turn on the oven.
2. Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate and peppermint are one of those combinations that just belong at Christmas.
These chocolate cookies are soft and chewy with enough peppermint flavour to make them festive without crossing that very dangerous line into toothpaste territory. Add white chocolate chips and they look extra pretty on a Christmas cookie tray too.
3. Chocolate Pecan Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
If you want one cookie on your Christmas tray that looks like you tried REALLY hard, make these.
Chocolate cookies, pecans, caramel and chocolate come together in a cookie that basically tastes like a Turtle. They look impressive enough for gifting or a Christmas party but are still made with simple steps.
4. Puffed Wheat Squares
If you grew up in Alberta or anywhere on the Canadian Prairies, there is a good chance you've eaten approximately one million puffed wheat squares in your lifetime.
They're chewy, chocolatey, inexpensive and ridiculously easy to make. They might not have candy canes on top, but they're absolutely at home beside all the other Christmas squares.
5. Eatmore Bars
These homemade Eatmore Bars are one of those recipes that immediately takes me back to childhood.
They're chocolatey, peanut buttery, chewy and only require a handful of ingredients. They're also no-bake, which is exactly the kind of recipe you need when every available rack in your oven is already occupied with Christmas baking.
6. Magic Bars
Magic Bars belong on a Christmas square tray. I don't make the rules.
They're rich, sweet, incredibly easy to throw together and one of those desserts where a small square goes a long way. They're especially handy for Christmas because you can make them ahead instead of doing everything the day before company arrives.
7. S'mores Rice Krispies
No, s'mores aren't technically a Christmas food. But chocolate + marshmallow + an easy cereal square? I'm allowing it.
These S'mores Rice Krispies are especially great if there will be kids around during the holidays, although I have yet to see an adult turn one down either.
8. Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Every Christmas cookie tray needs at least one classic.
These chocolate chip cookies have soft centres, crisp edges and the option of a little flaky salt on top to balance all that sweetness. They're a good one to add when your tray already has lots of peppermint, caramel and heavily decorated treats going on.
9. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
White chocolate already feels a little fancy, and paired with macadamia nuts it makes a great addition to a Christmas cookie box.
These cookies have that soft and chewy bakery-style texture everyone loves, with chunks of white chocolate and macadamia nuts throughout. They're familiar enough for everyone to love but different enough from your standard chocolate chip cookie.
10. Brownie Cookies
Can't decide whether to make brownies or cookies? Don't.
Brownie Cookies give you the fudgy chocolate centre and crackly top of a brownie in cookie form. They're rich, chocolatey and look especially good mixed into a Christmas platter with lighter-coloured cookies and squares.
11. Fudgy Brownies
Sometimes you just need a really good brownie.
These are dense, fudgy, chocolatey and made with basic ingredients, which is exactly what I want during the busiest baking month of the year. Cut them into smaller squares for a Christmas baking tray and suddenly one pan goes a LONG way.
12. Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Christmas baking can get very chocolate, caramel, chocolate, peppermint, chocolate...
Enter the Lemon Crinkle Cookie.
They're bright, soft and rolled in icing sugar for that pretty crinkled finish. The citrus gives your Christmas dessert tray something completely different and the snowy icing sugar exterior fits right in with the holidays.
13. Dark Chocolate Hot Honey Bourbon Brownies
These are for the grown-up Christmas dessert table.
Rich dark chocolate brownies with a little extra depth make a nice change from the traditional Christmas squares everyone has eaten five times already by December 20th. Cut them into small pieces because they are rich—in the very best possible way.
What to Put on a Christmas Baking Tray
You definitely don't need to make all 13 recipes. Unless you want to, in which case I fully support your decisions.
For a really good Christmas baking tray, I like having a mix of flavours, colours and textures. Pick a peppermint treat, a chocolate square, something chewy, a classic cookie and one slightly fancier cookie.
For example: White Chocolate Candy Cane Cereal Bars, Chocolate Pecan Caramel Thumbprints, Puffed Wheat Squares, Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies and Lemon Crinkle Cookies would give you a little bit of everything without making Christmas baking your new full-time job.
Make Your Christmas Baking Ahead
My biggest Christmas baking tip is simple: do not leave it all until Christmas week.
Cookies and squares are some of the easiest holiday desserts to make ahead. Make a recipe when you have time, let everything cool completely and freeze it in an airtight container. If you're stacking cookies or squares, separate the layers with parchment or wax paper so they don't freeze together.
You can build up a surprisingly impressive Christmas baking stash a few recipes at a time.
Just remember to hide it well.
December has a way of making “the Christmas baking in the freezer” mysteriously disappear.
More Easy Christmas Baking Ideas
You don't need complicated recipes or perfectly decorated sugar cookies to put together an amazing Christmas dessert tray.
Pick a few favourites, make them ahead and call it done. Christmas is busy enough already.
If I had to choose just three from this list, I'd start with the White Chocolate Candy Cane Cereal Bars for something festive, Chocolate Pecan Caramel Thumbprint Cookies for the showstopper and Puffed Wheat Squares because, well... Alberta.
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