There are many good reasons to spend a little time making and storing Christmas sweets and desserts before the holidays. For one thing, you’ll be able to spend more time enjoying your family over the holidays and less time in the kitchen. And secondly, you will have lots of homemade recipes from your kitchen to give as gifts. Here are 16 top-rated Christmas desserts you can make ahead of time, including tips for freezing or storing in the fridge.
Auntie Teen’s Creamy Chocolate Fudge
home make fudge This can be a great make-up dessert, no matter the season. Rich, smooth and creamy, it can be wrapped tightly and kept in the freezer for a few months. Reviewer HSMOM26 says, “The secret is to use a candy thermometer to make sure the fudge reaches the soft ball stage (234 degrees F).”
Sweet Potato Pie
Dotdash Meredith Food Studio
This top-rated recipe calls for using fresh ripe sweet potatoes, which you’ll have time to do since you’re not short on time. (Okay, you can substitute canned sweet potatoes if you need to.) Once the pie is baked and cooled, wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil, and then turn it into a Keep in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and serve at room temperature, or reheat in a 350 degree F oven for a few minutes. close it up fresh whipped cream Before serving.
Best Soft Christmas Cookies
Allrecipes/Bahare Naiti
No Christmas would be complete without soft, tender and adorable decorated sugar cookies. Many Allrecipes members, including TARA1972, say the cookies are made even better with butter instead of margarine, only 3 cups flour, and baked at 350 degrees F until set in the center. Learn the best tips and tricks for Freezing Cookies and Cookie DoughLike rolling the dough into logs and freezing them for three months before cooking.
Best toffee ever
When stored in an airtight container at room temperature, homemade toffee can be kept for up to two weeks. If your kitchen is hot, put it in the refrigerator to keep it a little longer. Making toffee can be a little tricky, so Megan Orsini always tests her candy thermometer in boiling water (212 degrees Fahrenheit) to make sure it’s accurate.
Milk Chocolate Peppermint Bark
Allrecipes/Qi AI
This recipe will last for several weeks before the holidays if you wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator. To keep your chocolate from freezing, use oil-based peppermint flavoring, suggests Allrecipes member Susan V. (Don’t mix water and melted chocolate.) And, for a festive (and delicious) treat, add a few candy canes. Don’t forget to crush it finely. ) Topping.
Favorite Old Fashioned Gingerbread
Dotdash Meredith Food Studio
Gingerbread is always a super popular recipe during the holidays. Allrecipes member Dee Dee loves making gingerbread unsulphured jaggery (the sweetest taste) and blackstrap molasses (a stronger taste) are avoided. Bake it, cool and freeze it completely, then let it defrost at room temperature for a few hours before cutting and serving. If you’re feeling extra decadent, top each piece with whipped cream or a drizzle of Caramel Sauce,
White Fruitcake
Love it or hate it, there’s nothing like fruitcake at Christmas. This alcohol-free cake filled with dried fruits soaked in orange juice can be baked, cooled, and frozen for up to a year. Simply defrost it on the counter overnight, cut and serve. Allrecipes member Wanderer refrigerates her fruitcakes in tins to retain as much moisture as possible before wrapping and storing.
Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle
cooking comfort
Stored at room temperature tightly wrapped, homemade peanut brittle will stay fresh for up to 2 months. Allrecipes member Antelope says that if you use roasted peanuts instead of raw peanuts, be careful not to heat the mixture more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, the peanuts will appear burnt.
Eggnog Creme Brulee
To save you time and effort when you’re making a special holiday dinner, Eggnog Creme Brulee can be prepared up to three days ahead of time. Take them out of the fridge about an hour before serving to let them cool down, then sprinkle them with fine white sugar and put them under the broiler until a golden crust forms. If you’re going for more adult flavors, try replacing the vanilla extract with rum, as one reviewer mentioned.
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
Cheesecakes keep great in the freezer and defrost easily in the fridge overnight. But hold off on decorating until just before serving to avoid staining. To save time and money during the busy holiday season, Allrecipes member CLEMSONMAV uses seedless raspberry jam instead of cooking fresh raspberries on the stove for this recipe.
Cranberry Bars
Allrecipes member Jeanette says the trick to getting the bars out of the pan is to “let them cool for at least an hour.” Once they have cooled, you can place them in an airtight container and refrigerate the bars for several days, or deep freeze them for several months. Bring them to room temperature about 30 minutes before serving and they’re ready to go!
Eggnog Cheesecake
Allrecipes/Preeti Venkatram
This no-fuss cheesecake can be frozen until the day you’re ready to eat it. Top it with whipped cream, candy canes, strawberries, or anything else that will make it holiday ready.
Cake Balls
To keep the cake balls moist, wrap them individually in plastic and then in a layer of aluminum foil before storing in a sealed container in the freezer for up to a month. The container will protect them from other foods in the freezer that could crush them. If you take your cake ball game seriously, vacuum seal them and you can freeze the batch for several months.
Russian Tea Cake
Russian Tea Cakes also freeze well. Like the cake balls, you’ll want to store them in a sealed container. Separate them with wax paper to keep them from sticking together.
Gingerbread Cheesecake
“This Gingerbread Cheesecake is the perfect Christmas dessert!” says Allrecipes member Kim. “The cinnamon whipped cream is optional but it really adds a nice touch. Garnish with festive ginger cookies for that extra wow factor.”
Easy No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
“My husband is the chocolate lover in this house, and when he bit into the cookie all I could hear was yummmmm!” says reviewer Lutzflkat. “It’s hard to believe that you can get this kind of chocolate flavor with just cocoa powder. And it’s so easy to make, too. It’s a keeper.”
