Looking for easy, delicious holiday sweets to bake this season? Here are more than 30 of the best Christmas desserts and holiday treats from around the world. These recipes include cookies, cakes, pastries, breads and candies—perfect for festive gatherings, gifts, or cozy nights by the tree.
I may resist holiday music and decorations until after Halloween, but I always start planning the season’s sweet treats early. I love Christmas baking—testing new recipes, perfecting old favorites, and sharing goodies with friends and family.
To get started I asked food bloggers to share their favorite Christmas dessert recipes from around the world. The collection includes traditional classics, quick no-bake ideas, and some surprising regional specialties. Read through the list and pick a few to try this holiday season.
Bûche de Noël Cake (French Yule Log Cake)
Bûche de Noël, or the French Yule log, resembles a woodland log and is traditionally made from sponge cake rolled with chocolate buttercream. Decorate with meringue mushrooms, fresh berries, and powdered sugar to mimic snow—an impressive centerpiece that’s easier to assemble than it looks.
Moist Maple Sweet Potato Walnut Butter Cake
A dense, flavorful cake made with sweet potato, walnut butter and brown sugar, finished with a maple syrup drizzle. This hearty dessert is ideal for holiday menus and pairs well with coffee or spiced tea.
Honey Cake Slices – Slovakian Petite Fours
Slovakian honey cake slices feature thin layers of honey-flavored pastry filled with jam or pudding and coated in chocolate. The result is a rich, creamy petit four that’s popular at holiday gatherings.
Cranberry Lush Cake
This layered dessert has a graham cracker crust topped with sweetened cream cheese, whipped cream, and candied cranberries. It’s a creamy, tart-sweet option for holiday dessert tables.
Maamoul Cookies (Date Filled Cookies)
Maamoul are traditional Middle Eastern cookies filled with dates, figs or nuts. Each region has its own variation, but all share a buttery pastry and satisfying sweet filling.
Cardamom Chickpea Cookies with Pistachios
A gluten-free cookie made from chickpea flour, perfumed with cardamom and rose water and topped with chopped pistachios. It’s a fragrant, nutty treat that stands out on a cookie tray.
Easy Peppermint Bark
A simple no-bake favorite: layers of dark and white chocolate topped with crushed candy canes. Quick to make and perfect for last-minute holiday gifting or festive snacking.
Honey Gingerbread Cookies
Chewy cookies rich with honey, cinnamon and ginger. Decorate them with icing or chocolate, or bake in festive molds for a classic holiday activity with kids.
Rugelach
A traditional Jewish pastry made by rolling rich dough around fillings such as raisins, nuts, fruit preserves or chocolate. Rugelach are tender, flaky, and perfect with tea or coffee.
Dutch Almond Bars
Buttery almond-flavored bars with a slightly chewy texture—an easy, crowd-pleasing cookie from the Netherlands that makes a lovely holiday contribution to cookie exchanges.
Hungarian Christmas Cookies
Traditional Hungarian cookies filled with apricot, cherry, almond or walnut fillings and rolled in powdered sugar—delicate and flavorful, ideal for holiday platters.
Classic Buckeye
A beloved Midwestern treat: peanut butter centers dipped in dark chocolate to resemble a buckeye nut. Rich and satisfying, they’re a holiday party staple in many U.S. homes.
Butter Cookies with Hazelnuts
Simple buttery cookies enhanced with hazelnut flavor. Shape them however you like and package as homemade gifts for friends and neighbors.
German Rum Balls
Rumkugeln are no-bake German truffles made with cake crumbs, chocolate and a splash of rum, rolled in sprinkles or cocoa powder. They’re rich, compact, and excellent for gifting.
Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam
Delicate sandwich cookies from Linz, Austria, filled with raspberry jam. Their buttery, nutty dough and pretty cutouts make them a festive favorite.
Polish Gingerbread Cookies
A Polish take on gingerbread that uses honey rather than molasses for a slightly different flavor and chew. These cookies are aromatic and perfect for decorating.
Portuguese Custard Tarts
Flaky puff pastry cups filled with creamy custard—classic Portuguese tarts that are crisp on the outside and silky inside. They make a delightful holiday dessert or afternoon treat.
Fruit Pavlova Wreath
A light, impressive dessert from Australia: a meringue base piled with whipped cream and colorful fresh fruit arranged like a wreath. It’s airy, sweet, and surprisingly simple to make.
Swedish Ischokolad (Ice Chocolate)
Ischoklad are melt-in-your-mouth chocolate pralines traditionally made with coconut oil. They’re a beloved Swedish holiday confection—simple, rich, and addictive.
Mini Mince Pies
Bite-sized pies with a flaky crust filled with a spiced mixture of raisins, currants, apples, citrus peel and warm spices. Mini mince pies are a quintessential British holiday treat—one is rarely enough.
Saffron and White Chocolate Christmas Tree Bread
A decorative pull-apart braided bread infused with saffron and studded with white chocolate. It’s both visually striking and deliciously tender—great for holiday brunch or as an edible centerpiece.
Cranberry Orange Bread
A zesty quick bread bursting with cranberries and orange flavor. Its bright taste makes a refreshing alternative to heavier winter desserts.
German Stollen Bread
Stollen is a rich German holiday bread filled with nuts, rum-soaked raisins, currants and dried fruit, often dusted with powdered sugar. It’s a seasonal classic at Christmas markets across Germany.
Traditional Cherry Balls
Maraschino cherries encased in a mixture of coconut flakes and graham cracker crumbs, then formed into small, festive balls. They’re sweet, portable and perfect for holiday parties.
Eggnog Flan
A creamy custard dessert flavored with classic eggnog spices—an elegant, festive twist on flan popular in parts of South America.
Sea Salt Cashew Brittle
Crunchy cashews coated in a sweet, salty brittle—an irresistible snack that also makes a thoughtful homemade gift.
Holiday Biscotti
Twice-baked Italian cookies flavored with dried cranberries, almonds and lemon zest, often dipped in white chocolate and decorated with sprinkles for a festive touch.
Chocolat Torrone
An Italian-style chocolate nougat filled with hazelnuts and Nutella—creamy, nutty and richly satisfying as a holiday treat.
Christmas Ice Cream Pudding
A chilled layered dessert of vanilla ice cream, dried fruit and chocolate—an ideal, refreshing alternative to hot puddings in Southern Hemisphere Christmases.
German Gebrannte Mandeln (Cinnamon Sugar Almonds)
Gebrannte Mandeln are roasted almonds coated in a crunchy cinnamon-sugar glaze. Their warm, spiced aroma evokes the festive atmosphere of German Christmas markets.
Whether you want traditional recipes or quick, modern twists, this international collection of Christmas desserts has something for every baker. Try a few new recipes this season and share the results—holiday baking is one of the best ways to celebrate and create memories with loved ones.