I bake more in December than in the other 11 months combined, and I have stopped pretending that is a reasonable amount of butter. Christmas desserts have to fight the roast for oven space and the leftovers for fridge space, so the ones I keep making can be finished 1 or 2 days ahead. Everything here is built around that: cookies that keep in a tin, custards that set overnight, and a few showpieces worth the room. Nothing needs a candy thermometer.
1) Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
The cracks are the whole point, and they come from rolling each ball of dough in granulated sugar first and powdered sugar second. Skip the granulated layer and the powdered sugar melts into the cookie, leaving a grey blob instead of that white crackle. I chill the dough for at least 4 hours, because warm dough spreads before the tops can set. They keep for 5 days in a tin, which is why I make them first.
2) Gingerbread Cookies
I roll gingerbread dough between 2 sheets of parchment and chill it flat, which saves me from flouring the counter and toughening every cookie. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8 to 10 minutes and pull them while the centers still look slightly soft. They firm up on the rack. Decorating is optional, and in my house it is mostly an excuse for the kids to eat icing out of the bag.
3) Eggnog Panna Cotta
This is what I make when I want something that looks like effort and takes about 15 minutes of actual work. Warm the eggnog with a little cream, whisk in bloomed gelatin, pour it into glasses, and walk away. It needs at least 6 hours in the fridge to set, so overnight is easier. A pinch of fresh nutmeg on top does more than you would expect.
4) Raspberry Panna Cotta
Same method as the eggnog version, different mood. A plain vanilla panna cotta sets in ramekins, then gets topped with fresh raspberries right before serving so the berries do not weep into the cream. The red against the white is about as Christmas as a dessert gets without trying. I used to unmold these onto plates for guests and I have stopped, because they taste exactly the same in the ramekin.
5) Mini Cheesecakes
A full cheesecake cracks, sinks, and needs a water bath. Minis baked in a muffin tin skip all 3 problems and finish in about 20 minutes at 325°F (165°C). Let them cool in the tin, then chill them for at least 4 hours before you try to pop them out. This is the step most people rush, and then they wonder why the bottoms stayed behind in the pan. Top them with crumble, fruit, or nothing at all.
6) Chocolate Lava Cakes
Lava cakes have a reputation for being fussy, and the only fussy part is the timing. Fill buttered ramekins, refrigerate them up to a day ahead, then bake at 425°F (220°C) for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still wobbles. A minute too long and you have a perfectly nice chocolate cake with no lava. I serve them with raspberries because the tartness keeps the whole thing from being too much.
7) Raspberry Mousse Cake
This is the showpiece. A thin cake base, a raspberry mousse layer set in a springform pan, and whole berries pressed into the top in rings. It has to set overnight, which means the work is done before the day starts. Run a knife under hot water between slices and every cut comes out clean.
8) Creme Brulee
The custards can be baked 2 days ahead, which surprises people. Bake them in a water bath at 325°F (165°C) until the centers jiggle like set gelatin rather than liquid, then chill them uncovered so the tops stay dry. The sugar crust goes on right before serving. Torch it any earlier and the sugar pulls moisture from the custard and turns sticky. That part is non-negotiable.
9) Red Wine Poached Pears
I like having one dessert on the table that is not built on butter. Firm pears get peeled and simmered in red wine with a cinnamon stick, orange peel, and sugar for about 25 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance. Let them cool in the liquid overnight and the color works its way toward the core. Reduce the poaching liquid to a syrup and spoon it over the top.
10) Shortbread Cookies
Three ingredients, if you do not count salt, and I always count salt. Butter, sugar, and flour get pressed together, chilled, and baked low at 325°F (165°C) until the edges are barely golden. Shortbread should be pale. If yours come out brown all over, the oven was too hot or they stayed in too long, and they will taste more like toast than butter.
11) Churro Bread Pudding
Stale bread is not a problem in December, it is an ingredient. Cube it, soak it overnight in a cinnamon custard, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 45 minutes, then shower the top with cinnamon sugar while it is still hot so it sticks. It tastes like the inside of a churro with none of the frying. I serve it warm with a spoonful of whipped cream and nobody has ever asked for anything else.
12) Lemon Ricotta Cake with Blueberries
Every Christmas dessert table needs one thing that is bright instead of rich. Ricotta keeps this cake moist for 3 days, and the lemon zest cuts through a week of cookies better than anything chocolate could. Frozen blueberries work fine here. Toss them in a spoonful of flour first or they all sink to the bottom.
13) Berry Fruit Tart
A fruit tart in December is mildly ridiculous and I make one anyway. The shell and the pastry cream can both be made a day ahead, and the fruit goes on within a few hours of serving. Brush the berries with warmed apricot jam so they shine and stay put. Assemble it too early and the crust goes soft under the cream.
14) Sugared Cranberries
These are half dessert and half decoration. Simmer a simple syrup, let it cool, soak fresh cranberries in it overnight, then roll them in granulated sugar and let them dry for 1 hour. They sparkle like frost and pop with tartness. I scatter them over cheesecakes and cakes, and then people eat them straight from the bowl.
15) Chai Spice Cupcakes
Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and clove are already the flavors of the season, so a chai cupcake feels right at home on the table. I use a cream cheese frosting with a little cinnamon in it rather than anything sweeter. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Frost them only after they are fully cool, or the frosting slides right off.
16) Lemon Bars
A shortbread crust, a tart lemon curd baked right on top, and a heavy snow of powdered sugar, which is about as close to Christmas as lemon gets. Bake the crust first, at 350°F (175°C) for 18 minutes, then pour the filling over it while the crust is still hot so the 2 layers fuse. The filling is done when the center no longer ripples when you nudge the pan. Chill them completely before cutting, or the knife drags the curd across every square.
17) Strawberry Crepes
Crepes are my answer to the dessert that happens after everyone said they were too full for dessert. The batter rests in the fridge overnight, which is the step most people skip and then wonder why their crepes tear. Fill each one with sliced strawberries and whipped cream and fold it into quarters. They take about a minute each in a hot pan.
18) Red and Green Mousse Cups
Small glasses solve the problem of a dessert table where everyone wants a taste of 6 things. Make one batch of mousse, split it, and tint half red and half green, or flavor them raspberry and pistachio if you would rather be honest about it. Pipe them into shot glasses and chill for 2 hours. They look like I spent all afternoon. I did not.
19) Red and Green M&M Cookies
This is the cookie the kids ask for, and the one I could make half asleep. It is a plain chewy chocolate chip dough with the chips swapped for holiday M&Ms. Save a handful and press them into the tops of the dough balls right before baking, otherwise all the color ends up buried inside. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 11 minutes and let them finish setting on the pan.
20) Brown Sugar Cookies
Not every cookie on the tray needs to be decorated. These are soft and chewy and taste like caramel because the dough uses only brown sugar and a little extra vanilla. Pull them at 9 minutes, when the middles still look underdone. They set as they cool, and 1 extra minute in the oven is the difference between chewy and crisp.
21) Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
Technically this belongs on the Christmas morning table, but I have never seen a slice go uneaten after dinner either. The streusel should be about as thick as the cake. Bake it at 350°F (175°C) until a skewer in the middle comes out clean, around 40 minutes. It is better on the second day, which makes it the rare dessert that rewards planning ahead.
22) Snowball Cookies
Butter, powdered sugar, flour, and finely chopped pecans, rolled into balls and baked at 350°F (175°C) for about 12 minutes, just until the bottoms turn light golden. They get rolled in powdered sugar twice: once while still warm, so a thin layer melts on and acts like glue, and again once they cool. Skip the warm roll and the second coat slides right off in the tin. I have been told these are also called Russian tea cakes and Mexican wedding cookies, and I have stopped arguing about it.
23) Baked Cinnamon Apples
This is for the person at the table who swears they do not want dessert. Core the apples, fill the centers with butter, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for about 40 minutes, until they slump and the skins wrinkle. A scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the pan juices is the correct way to serve them. They also reheat well, which matters in a week of leftovers.
24) Peanut Butter Blossoms
I press the candy into the center the second the tray comes out of the oven, while the cookie is still soft enough to crack around it. Wait even a couple of minutes and the cookie crumbles instead of cradling it. Roll the dough balls in sugar first and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8 to 10 minutes. Let them sit somewhere cool for 1 hour so the centers firm back up before they go in a tin.
25) Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes
Donut holes are the first thing gone every time, which says something about my guests or about donut holes. A quick dough gets fried at 350°F (175°C) for about 2 minutes, then tossed in cinnamon sugar while still hot. They do not keep, so I fry them last. If you need something to dip them in, warm chocolate sauce has never once been turned down.
26) Decorated Christmas Sugar Cookies
Cut-out sugar cookies are a project, so I treat them like one and split the work over 2 days. Day 1 is dough and cutting, and the shapes go into the freezer on the tray for 10 minutes before baking so the edges stay sharp. Day 2 is icing, a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze tinted red and green. Let the icing dry overnight before stacking, or every star sticks to every tree.
