Christmas is the season of giving, celebrating, and bringing those that you love together. It is a beautiful and festive season and includes many traditions. Sometimes, in the midst of all of the festivities and traditions, it is easy to overlook a part of the classic feast. If you find yourself scrambling for a dessert idea that won’t take all day, you have come to the right place.
Dessert Ideas for Those Short on Time
Christmas is a time for gathering and coming together to celebrate. Many view the Christmas season as the season of giving, and what better way to partake than giving out Christmas cookies? While Christmas cookies are a familiar favorite and a known tradition, there are so many simple and stunning dishes that you can bring to the table, even if dessert slipped your mind until the last minute.
1. Christmas cookies make for the perfect last-minute dessert idea. Cookies are already a simple dessert that takes very little time to make, so why not bring that same classic, delicious spirit to the Christmas table? Nothing says Christmas quite like a Santa-shaped cookie.
2. Another perfect last-minute dessert idea for those that got caught up in the chaos of Christmas includes “the night before Christmas pudding.” This recipe is perfect for those that realized they forgot to make a dessert and don’t want to opt for something store-bought. This recipe is decadent and sweet, and it can be whipped up in as little as three hours.
3. For those opting for a quicker recipe, consider making a delicious gingerbread trifle. This no-bake recipe is sweet, hearty, and perfect for the Christmas spirit. It is so perfect that you only have to set aside thirty minutes of your holiday spirit to whip it up.
4. Pistachio and cranberry brownies make for a sweet and unique twist on everyone’s favorite dessert while also offering the festive colors of green and ruby-red from the pistachios and cranberries.
5. Irish cream mince pies offer a unique twist on a decadent Christmas classic. These little pies are quick and easy to whip up, and they are sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
6. Plum pudding cake pops are an impressive, adorable, and a quite simple way to handle dessert at Christmas time. These can be created using store-bought or homemade cake, so they make for the perfect shortcut to a Christmas sweet treat.
7. Chocolate and walnut slice is another great dessert to bring to the Christmas table. It is so delicious and simple to make that it is like receiving an edible gift. These delicious slices require no baking and are made of just a few simple ingredients.
8. Rum balls are another Christmas classic that deserves to be celebrated. It seems these always make an appearance on the table at Christmas. With a creamy chocolate coating and a tart cherry center, these little bite-sized desserts are perfect for those in a hurry.
9. For a sophisticated and simple spin on dessert, you can opt for a goat cheese tart with roasted peaches and vincotto, a sweet paste created from non-fermented grapes.
10. Since Christmas is already a very sweet season, it can be easy to overlook the amount of sugar we are consuming. Going for a delicious berry-filled, sugar-free Christmas cheesecake is a perfect way to cut down on the high amounts of sugar, and it can be done in no time.
The Important Role of Dessert on Christmas
Dessert is undoubtedly a major part of Christmas celebrations. With the discovery of sweet spices and dried fruits, Christmas desserts increased in popularity, resulting in some of the classic favorites we still enjoy today, including pies, cookies, plum cakes, and decadent puddings.
Christmas feasts have been a tradition for ages, so it is no surprise that special, traditional desserts found their way to the Christmas table, too.
The History of Christmas Desserts
Milk and cookies have been a traditional part of Christmas for decades. It is believed that the tradition of setting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus started during the Great Depression because parents wanted to encourage their children to be generous and giving during hard times. This tradition seemed to stick, and it is still a celebrated tradition all over the world today. Children all over don’t sleep until the cookies are laid out for Santa and his reindeer.
There are many fun ways to make cookies, too. They can be flavored in different ways using an assortment of fruits and spices, and they can be colored and cut into fun shapes to fit the holiday spirit. There are store-bought cookies for those in search of convenience, classic recipes for those that love a taste of tradition, and fun spin-off versions of the classics for those that love to add their own flair to every occasion.
Baking cookies is a simple way to bring loved ones together, too. Gathering in the kitchen with whisks, mixers, bowls, and piles of ingredients is simply a fun way to get together and create something. It’s even better that you are creating something tasty for everyone to enjoy and share as they please.
Holiday cookies have been around for centuries, and they have been celebrated worldwide for what seems like forever. This tradition is often associated with the solstice and the arrival of the first frost. When exploration and trade routes between the east and the west grew in popularity, it seemed that spices and fruits such as nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, apricots, and dates were on the rise as well.
These foods became perfect ingredients to add sweetness and texture to desserts. This seemed to send everyone into a holiday cooking frenzy because families of all types could afford these delicious treats. Making and sharing cookies soon became a traditional Christmas pastime.
In fact, cookies became a Christmas favorite for many cultures because they were easy to make in bulk and store for the season. These treats became the perfect way to share with others when the farming season was slow. The same spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger—that were used in cookies from the beginning are still used today.
Time to Start Baking
Partake in the fun and festive traditions of Christmas, and don’t forget to leave Santa his delicious cookies. In addition to this, use Christmas time as a chance to spend time with those that you love rather than fretting and worrying because you forgot a dessert. Opt for a quick, delicious, and unique dessert, and no one will ever know you forgot.
