63 Delicious and Festive Christmas Dessert Ideas for 2024

We’re never far from that time of year when the whole family opens presents, sets up a Christmas tree and thinks about delicious Christmas dessert ideas. There are many health benefits to making desserts, from the chance to be creative and bonding with others whilst baking. To make your life a little easier, we have created a very large list of just some of the Christmas desserts you could make this year.

There are many types of Christmas desserts, from easy-to-make desserts to classic ones and the more fancy Christmas dessert ideas. Whatever type of Christmas dessert you want to make, we have you covered here. You’ll be mulling over which of these amazing desserts to make!

Christmas is a time of love, family and celebration. Alongside, making Christmas desserts, there are many Christmas crafts ideas and unique Christmas gifts to have a look at, whilst you think about the dessert you and the family will make on Christmas. 

Christmas desserts show how creative and even more delicious seasonal desserts are becoming. We hope that this list inspires you to get creative, you might even try out some of these desserts. Before moving on to the creative and grand desserts for Christmas, we will look at the easy and traditional Christmas desserts to make.

Jump to Section

• The 13 Desserts of Christmas
• Easy Christmas Desserts
• Traditional Christmas Desserts
• Luxury Christmas Desserts

Easy Christmas Desserts

1. Black Forest Gateau

One of multiple Christmas dessert ideas that are cake-based, this traditional dessert is a combination of chocolate, cream and a cherry filling. We think the origin of this cake is Germany, but many or unsure about this.If you want to learn to make Christmas desserts like this have a look for cooking classes near you, including cooking classes in Scottsdale, cooking classes in Orlando and cooking classes in Asheville.

2. Gingerbread Cupcakes

Who doesn’t like gingerbread and cupcakes? In this recipe, you have the chance to combine gingerbread with cupcakes. These spicy cupcakes with gingerbread men on top are a festive treat. If you are searching for easy-to-make desserts for Christmas, then these cupcakes might be the answer. 

3. Christmas Tart

Full of nuts and dried fruit, this classic Christmas Tart is a brandy-soaked dessert that combines seasonal tastes with perfect pastry. A must-try for those who love a sweet tart.

4. Tropical Mendiants

Mendiants are a French tradition and are made with a chocolate disc decorated with nuts and dried fruit. This take on mendiants adds tropical fruit to these amazing open-faced chocolate candy bars.

5. Sticky Toffee Pudding

This dessert is eaten throughout the year, but it does make a delicious Christmas treat. This British cake is spongy and filled with dates. It is covered with toffee sauce as you’d expect and is often served with vanilla ice cream.

6. Butterscotch Pudding Parfait

Butterscotch pudding is one of the most famous Christmas dessert ideas out there. But why not add a twist to it by adding whipped cream and spicy gingersnap to make it a parfait.

7. Biscoff Trifle

Biscoffs are an outstanding biscuit during coffee hours, but they can also play a big part of Christmas dessert ideas. Adding Biscoff to a trifle will add the sweet seasonal taste to a classic trifle to get fully into the season. 

8. S'mores Linzer Cookies

S’mores are toasted marshmallow and chocolate waffle sandwiches which always go down well in the winter. Linzer is a baked buttery torte from Austria and made with almonds, jam, sugar and spices. As you can imagine, this dessert combines both of these creations together to make a unique yet easy Christmas delight.

9. Cranberry Bread Pudding

This version of bread pudding is a wonderful Christmas take on the dessert. Filled with cranberries, almonds, custard, orange and sweet icing, this winter treat is worth making as it will make many people happy.

10. Coca Cola Bundt Cake

A bundt cake is made in a distinctive Bundt pan that helps the cake get a donut-like shape. The shape is inspired by the traditional European cake called Gugelhupf. In this idea, you’ll add Coca-Cola to the icing to make a delicious Bundt cake.

11. Cookie Brittle

This is at the top of the list of the most fastest and delicious Christmas dessert ideas to do. These sugary treats are a great way to serve many people sweet treats efficiently.

12. Christmas Muffins

Instead of making classic English chocolate muffins, transform your muffins into a zesty and spicy treat for Christmas. These are easy to make and will go down like a treat.

13. Triple-Ginger Rye Cookies

These easy-to-make cookies are packed with powdered, candied and fresh ginger to make spicy and flavorsome holiday treats.

14. Sugar Cookie Pieces

Many of these Christmas dessert ideas are great to follow with kids, but these will almost certainly entertain your kids. The cookies might just be classic vanilla biscuits, but you’ll have to make them look like traditional Christmas items by shaping and decorating them.

Traditional Christmas Desserts

15. Christmas Pudding

This sweet dried-fruit pudding is a British tradition at Christmas and it is well worth the effort to make it. Christmas pudding can taste even better if you let it settle for a few days just in time for Christmas.

16. English Trifle

This boozy dessert is another British delight and is eaten in many households at Christmas. The pieces of cake are soaked in sherry, which is layered with fruit, jelly, whipped cream and custard.

17. Rum Balls

Rum balls are cookie-cutter cakes that taste like truffles. These moreish golf-sized balls are flavored with chocolate and rum. The bowl will soon become empty once you serve these!

18. Panetonne

Panettone is a traditional Italian sweet bread and fruitcake. It is one of the most popular fruitcakes and desserts to have at Christmas. This bread originated from Milan but is loved across the world at Christmas. This is just one of many traditional Christmas dessert ideas to choose from.

19. Baked Alaska

This dessert consists of ice cream, meringue and cake all in one, so if you love sweet desserts, then this powerful creation is worth making. If you feel brave, you could even torch the meringue, but be careful!

20. Sugarplum Christmas Candy

These delightful sugarplums are famous in Christmas tales, such as The Nutcracker. They are fruity and nutty balls of hardened sugar that are a Christmas treat.

21. Christmas Stollen

This dessert originates from Germany and is filled with marzipan and fruit. The sweet bread is topped up with jam and is a delicacy for the Christmas holidays.

22. Spiced Fruitcake

Add some spices to your Christmas cake as you make a splendid spiced fruitcake. Christmas dessert ideas do not get much tastier than this. With brandy, orange and lots of fruit and spices, this is a wonderful treat.

23. Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin cake might be associated with autumn and Halloween more than Christmas, but it is still the right time of year to enjoy a slice of pumpkin cake. This pumpkin cake has swirls of cream cheese in it and is a delight to have throughout the Christmas holidays.

24. Eggnog Truffles

Eggnog is a custard sauce that is very popular at Christmas. Many Christmas dessert ideas incorporate eggnog into their recipes. Eggnog truffles are quite a unique dessert idea, but they are undeniably tasty. The eggnog is combined with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and gorgeous cream in white chocolate to make terrific truffles.

25. Cannoli

Cannoli is a pastry made of fried dough in tub-like shapes. These Sicilian treats are normally filled with sweet, creamy ricotta cheese. Carefully made cannoli are a great Christmas treat.

26. Peppermint Bark

Many Christmas dessert ideas involve cake, but there are lots of candy-based desserts out there that are great as a Christmas sweet treat. This chocolate and peppermint bark is topped with candy to make a delicious snack.

27. Peppermint Ice Cream

You might think Christmas is not the time for ice cream but think again! Make a batch of seasonal peppermint ice cream to celebrate the festive season. Whether on its own or with brownies, peppermint bark or whipped cream, this ice cream is a wonderful treat.

28. Gingerbread Men

Many of these Christmas dessert ideas in this list are creative takes on traditional treats. But sometimes simplicity is best. You cannot go wrong with gingerbread cookies shaped in the classic shape and filled with cinnamon, cloves and grounded ginger.

29. Panettone and Clementine Tiramisu

Panettone is a Christmas tradition for many households. This idea combines panettone with tiramisu and clementines, creating a coffee-soaked and mascarpone cocoa-layered dessert that is sure to hit the spot.

30. Fruit and Cream Layer Cake

Combine panettone and pandoro, an Italian sweet bread together to make a classic and delectable fruit and cream layer cake. This cake will provide a delicious treat for the whole family.

31. Kourampiedes

Also known as qurabiya amongst other names, it is a shortbread-like biscuit normally made with almonds. These Turkish and Greek cookie balls are coated to look like snowballs and are piled on to make a tower.

Luxury Christmas Desserts

32. Tiramisu

Luxury Christmas desserts might take some extra time to make, but they are worth the effort. Tiramisu is loved across the world, so why not make it as a special treat for Christmas? Combining espresso with mascarpone, this magnificent dish is a staple in our top 5 Christmas desserts.

33. Baileys Ice Cream

A popular drink at Christmas, Baileys is a part of many Christmas dessert ideas. It makes a magnificent ice cream, which goes very well with Christmas pudding. A tub of this would make the list of great gifts for foodies at Christmas.

34. Vegan Christmas Cake

This cake might look like a traditional Christmas cake and even taste like one. But it is vegan, so everyone can have some of this dessert. This cake can be baked and matured up to eight weeks before Christmas to provide you with time to make the cake.

35. Cozonac

This incredible dessert is a sweet bread made with raisins, chocolate, nuts, rum and Turkish delight and is itself, an absolute delight to savor.

36. Gingerbread Pie

This is a masterpiece of a dessert. It might take a while to create but it is worth the effort. This gingerbread-inspired cake combines ginger, nutmeg, allspice and marshmallows, making it a magical festive treat.

37. Spiced Pavlovas With Oranges and Mulled Wine Caramel

A gorgeous yet complicated-looking pavlova, this tastes absolutely delicious. There is a Bavarian influence on this dish with toasted almonds, spiced cookies, cinnamon meringue, citrus and mulled wine added together with fresh quark.

38. Tiramis-choux Tower

This is a part of Christmas dessert ideas that may take a while to create, but the joy you will bring to others will make it worth it. This large half profiterole and half tiramisu cake is stuffed with coffee ladyfingers, choux pastry and pastry cream just to make it even better.

39. Gluten-Free Chocolate Fudge Cake

You’ll find multiple Christmas dessert ideas that are versions of chocolate fudge cake. But this one is a fantastic creation because it allows those with gluten intolerances to enjoy chocolate fudge cake. Coated in ganache and chocolate buttercream, this is a lovely dessert to share with family and friends. This would also be fantastic as Christmas party food because it is gluten-free.

40. Basque Cheesecake

This is a Basque-inspired take on a cheesecake. It is made with whipped cream cheese and a heavy cream that helps to define this cheesecake.

41. Goat Cheese Cake With Wine-Poached Cranberries

Another take on cheesecake, this dessert combines goat’s cheese, mascarpone, pistachios and of course, beautiful cranberries. This is just one of many Christmas dessert ideas that show how amazing cheesecake can be.

42. Coconut Arroz con Leche Tamales

Arroz is a lightly sweetened rice and tamales are made of masa which is a combination of water and grounded corn. This is a powerful rice pudding flavored with coconut and a buttery goat milk caramel.

43. Croquembouche

This high-end-looking dessert is a masterpiece. A chocolate and hazelnut profiterole stack made with Nutella and hazelnut brittle.

43. Struffoli

Struffoli is an Italian delicacy and should be on your list of potential Christmas dessert ideas to do. They are small dough balls flavored with honey, wine and citrus. A delicious deep-fried Christmas treat. Gifting some struffoli should be on the list for fantastic DIY Christmas gifts.

44. Vegan Coconut-Ginger Caramels

These vegan gems are spiced with ginger and chile to make coconut butter caramels. They are very creamy and chewy, exactly what we want from caramels.

45. Snowman Cupcake

Welcome winter with these happy snowmen cupcakes! Made with marshmallows and coconut, these festive cupcakes are a wonderful treat for all ages.

46. Christmas Tree Brownies

Instead of making regular brownies, add a Christmas twist by cutting them into Christmas tree shapes and adding festive decorations.

47. Cranberry Pie

This pie is a combination of coconut panna cotta and raspberry sorbet with a delicious cranberry curd. The Biscoff crust adds to the sweet filling and contrasts well in color with the bright red cranberries.

48. Eggnog Crème Brûlée

A Christmas take on the fantastic French dessert crème brûlée, this is a joy to taste. The base is made with eggnog and you’ll also use some whiskey and nutmeg to add to the flavor.

49. Battenberg Cake

This is one of multiple Christmas dessert ideas that can be made all year round, but you can always add a festive twist to the recipe. Battenberg cake is a sponge cake with a distinctive check pattern, often in pink and yellow. This version uses almonds, apricot jam and marzipan to make a joyous dessert.

The 13 Desserts of Christmas

So, what are the 13 desserts of Christmas? It may mean different things depending on where you are. But the tradition is generally recognized to come from Provence, France. The 13 desserts represent Christ and his 12 apostles at the Last Supper. They are normally eaten after midnight mass and they stay on the table for three days.

1. Yule Log

What is the most eaten dessert on Christmas? The Yule log is probably the answer as it is so widely loved. One of the more famous Christmas dessert ideas on this list, the Yule log represents a burnt log on a hearth. Whether you use Baileys cream or a simple cream to twirl inside the chocolate log, this classic dessert is an absolute delight. This is certainly in our top 5 Christmas desserts.

2. Calissons d'Aix

This Aix-en-Provence specialty is a marzipan-like candy. To make this you need almond paste and candied melon.

3. Fried Bugnes

Fried bugnes are a traditional crisp pastry that is deep-fried and shaped into twisted ribbons. This is another popular sweet option to celebrate Christmas.

4. Pompes à L'huile

Many Christmas dessert ideas in the 13 desserts of Christmas are amazing treats in their own right, such as the Yule log. Pompes à l'huile is also a popular dessert. Also known as fougasse à l'huile d'olive, this is a sweet cake or brioche made with orange flower water and olive oil.

5. Oreillettes

These are simply light thin waffles that take their name from the flap that covers ears in medieval helmets. These are delicious snacks.

6. Raisins

7. Almonds

8. Winter Melon

9. Dried Figs

10. Tangerines

11. Pears

12. Grapes

13. Nougat

We’ve covered a lot of Christmas dessert ideas. From traditional options to simpler choices, whatever you end up picking will certainly be delicious. Many of these desserts would be great presents as well, so if you are looking for Christmas gifts for Mom, think about making a dessert from this list. 

For even more Christmas ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!