Christmas Desserts 101

Christmas desserts are the perfect finish to your holiday feast. Get the best Christmas cakes, pies, tortes, and no bake recipes for your holiday baking.

The photo collage shows a yule log, cannoli dip, oreo pie, and an almond crunch cake that are great Christmas desserts.

The perfect Christmas dessert is the show stopping finish to your holiday feast.

Place these delicious (and easy) Christmas desserts at the center of that dessert table and get back to making memories with your family.

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Traditional Christmas Desserts

Channel your inner Charles Dickens and place one of these elegant and traditional Christmas desserts at your table.

You'll be surprised just how easy they can be.

Yule Log Cake

My easy make ahead yule log cake can be prepped in advance and stored in the fridge until Christmas dinner.

Yule Log Cake

This festive chocolate and cream yule log cake roll is the perfect Christmas Eve dessert to bake for your family. Stunning and elegant, you'll be surprised at just how easy it is to make ahead the day before.

5 from 53 votes

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A chocolate and cream Christmas yule log cake roll with sugared cranberries sits on a cake platter.

Panettone Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce

You could just make my panettone bread pudding by itself but I highly encourage you to make the homemade amaretto sauce to go with it.

Make-Ahead Panettone Bread Pudding

This delicious panettone bread pudding can be served as a Christmas breakfast or a holiday dessert. Warm and fresh from the oven, dust it with powdered sugar and drizzle each serving with a bit of easy homemade amaretto sauce or vanilla creme anglaise.

5 from 1 vote

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There's no need to make an extra Christmas dessert when you've got an epic Christmas cookie tray filled with a variety of homemade goodies.

Get all the best Christmas cookie recipes here:

Christmas Cookies 101 {Start Here!}

Homemade Gingerbread House

The most classic, most traditional Christmas cookie of them all has got to be a gorgeous homemade gingerbread house.

If you've never tried this incredible tradition with your kids, be sure to stop by my recipe and see just how easy it can be:

Homemade Gingerbread House

This delicious and completely edible homemade gingerbread house is the perfect Christmas baking day to enjoy with kids. The recipe is specially created to work hand-in-hand with the gingerbread house molds listed below.

5 from 49 votes

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The finished gingerbread house has been assembled and decorated by a young girl with gumdrops, candy canes, and sprinkles.

Christmas Cakes

I think a cake makes an excellent Christmas dessert choice. In our family, we just call it a Birthday Cake for Jesus!

These are excellent and worthy options for your holiday menu.

Almond Crunch Cake

This elegant sponge cake is covered in whipped cream and a toffee crunch candy with slivered almonds. You can make several elements of the almond crunch cake in advance and then just assemble before serving.

Almond Crunch Cake

This light and airy almond crunch cake is the perfect elegant dessert for a special event like a birthday, wedding shower, or baby shower. Vanilla cake topped with whipped cream, toasted almonds, and crunchy espresso candies.

5 from 1 vote

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The almond crunch cake has candy crunchies and almonds on top. A slice is missing so you can see the light and airy sponge cake underneath.

Tres Leches Cake

This cinnamon topped tres leches cake is truly a dessert for any occassion.

It's a perfect make ahead party dessert since it needs time to soak up all that three milks goodness.

Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches cake, a classic Latin American dessert, can be made from scratch or from a boxed cake mix. Soak the vanilla cake in the traditional three milks sauce and frost with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

5 from 1 vote

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A square slice of tres leches cake is on a plate with a fork. You can see the three milks drizzling down the side of the vanilla cake and cinnamon is sprinkled on top of the whipped cream frosting.

Classic Almond Cake

This easy almond sheet cake can be dressed for any occasion.

For Christmas try sprinkling mini chocolate chips over the top or add a few festive sprinkles to the almond icing before it sets.

Almond Cake

This old fashioned almond sheet cake has a delicious fluffy almond icing. Serve it with fresh raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries for a quick and easy dessert in under 30 minutes.

5 from 1 vote

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A square of almond cake with white almond icing is on a blue plate and topped with fresh strawberries. A fork is taking a bite.

Christmas Pies

I love to make a pie for Christmas since you can make them ahead and just keep them in the fridge before serving.

Easy Pecan Pie

With just a touch of bourbon in the mix and an easy store bought pie crust, this pecan pie can be made the day before and be just as delicious.

You could use either a store bought pie crust or my homemade butter crust here.

Easy Pecan Pie Recipe

This easy pecan pie recipe can be made with or without corn syrup if you use the simple substitutions. A splash of bourbon adds depth of flavor but could also be omitted if you desire. This classic holiday pie is filled with salty crunch and an ooey-gooey filling everyone will love.

5 from 6 votes

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The homemade pecan pie is in a white pie dish on a blue background.

Oreo Cream Pie

This easy Oreo cream pie just takes a few minutes to prep, can definitely be made ahead, and is the most thoughtful thing to add to a Christmas dessert buffet for the picky eaters at your table.

It uses an easy oreo cookie crust and is so cool and creamy.

Oreo Cream Pie

This easy no bake OREO cream pie uses up one family-sized package of Double Stuffed Oreos. Cool and creamy and filled with chocolate wafer cookies and vanilla creme filling in the Oreo cookie crust and Oreo cream center, this easy pie is a huge hit with kids.

5 from 7 votes

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The oreo cream pie has one slice missing so you can see the cookie crust, oreo cookie cream center, and whipped topping.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

If you've never tried making homemade vanilla bean creme brulee, Christmas is the time!

With a hint of orange to the vanilla custard, this would be an elegant and easy make ahead dessert for Christmas dinner.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

This elegant restaurant quality dessert is shockingly easy to make right in an average home kitchen with a few simple tricks. Serve as a special treat for a dinner party or Valentine's Day and let your loved ones torch their own caramelized sugar crust.

5 from 1 vote

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A serving of creme brulee with fresh strawberries. A spoon has cracked through the sugar topping.

No Bake Christmas Desserts

Sometimes a no bake Christmas dessert is just what you need to balance your busy schedule and all the holiday prep work you've got on your hands.

These sweet treats are always a winner in my book.

Cannoli Dip

This rich and creamy cannoli dip tastes amazing for Christmas with mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios on top.

Cannoli Dip

This is the best cannoli dip ever! The authentic cannoli cream base has mini chocolate chips folded in and chopped pistachios for crunch. Serve it with buttery waffle cookies and fresh strawberries for an easy dessert dip that your family will love.

5 from 7 votes

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A ruffled bowl of cannoli dip has mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios on top. A waffle cookie is being dunked into it.

Easy Tiramisu

This make ahead easy tiramisu is the perfect Christmas dessert for an Italian themed Christmas dinner!

Easy Tiramisu

This cool and creamy no-bake recipe is a classic Italian dessert. Tiramisu, or "pick me up," is so easy to make ahead for your party.

5 from 1 vote

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A slice of tiramisu is on a white plate, a spoon has a bite on it showing the cream filling and spongey cookie layer.

Banana Pudding (No Bananas!)

If you've ever been to a party in the south, you'll know how crucial the banana pudding is!

Not sure it belongs at Christmas? Well have I got a trick for you. Make my banana pudding with no bananas and it fits right in at the holiday table!

Banana Pudding {No Bananas}

This easy potluck dessert recipe is a classic southern church dessert. While it usually features fresh bananas layered in the creamy pudding mix, this recipe is completely banana free for anyone who has an allergy or strong aversion to banana flavor.