16 Homemade Treats That Make Great Holiday Gifts
There's a lot to enjoy about the holiday season, but one of the best parts of the festivities is getting to show loved ones—both near and far—that you're thinking of them. And what better way to do so than with some homemade confections?
Our sparkling selection of gift-worthy sweets runs the gamut of irresistible and arresting flavors, textures, and shapes. There are thumbprint cookies and nougat, chocolate-dipped orange slices and sparkling sugar cookies, cookies that look like acorns, and meringue-like confections. Each is a delicious jewel; combine them as you like and cause a happy commotion at your cookie swap or pack up a box as a heartfelt gift.
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Lemony Brown Butter Crinkle Cookies
Powdered sugar-dusted cookies are a classic during the holidays. Nutty homemade brown butter and tart lemon juice and zest are the special ingredients we didn't know these sweets needed (but they so do).
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Chocolate-And-Nut-Crusted Candied Orange
They look fancy, but these chocolate-dipped treats are actually one of the easiest holiday gifts to whip up. If you have 10 minutes, you can make them.
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Vanilla-Bean Sugar Cookies
What would the holidays be without a batch of flavorful, chewy sugar cookies? Shape the dough into a log, coat it in sugar, and then chill, slice, and bake. It doesn't get easier—or more delicious—that that.
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Holiday Divinity
These flawless Christmas confections are a cumulus cloud of meringue full of glacéed cherries, candied citron, and pecans. They look like individual snow mounds peppered with eye-catching warm hues.
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Meyer Lemon Shortbread Wreath Cookies
No frosting needed! Meyer lemon brightens the shortbread dough and the glaze and these treats are finished with sugared herbs and red, white, and green candies for the full wreath effect.
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Spiced Cashew Coconut Brittle
Punctuated with black pepper, cinnamon, and coconut, this cashew brittle shatters lightly when you bite into it. That's all thanks to baking soda, which unleashes tiny air bubbles as it cooks.
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Orange-Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprint cookies get their delicate crumb from almond flour and confectioners' sugar. Fill their little wells with warm marmalade or the jam of your choice.
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Tropical-Fruit Biscotti
Stuck in a blizzard, but dreaming of the beach? These cookies will take you straight to the tropics. They're studded with dried papaya, spicy candied ginger, and pistachios for a crisp and chewy bite.
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Chewy Fruitcake Meringues
Forget heavy fruitcake and go with these heavenly meringue snowballs. They're as light as air on the outside and delectably chewy inside.
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Chocolate Spice Cookies
Packed with chopped semi-sweet chocolate and rolled in sanding sugar for sparkle, these are a sweet and spicy upgrade to a classic chocolate chip cookie. We have another version laced with cocoa, embossed with a cookie stamp, and brushed with an orange-butter glaze.
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Gingerbread-Cookie Letters to Santa
Here's a fun take on gingerbread cookies. Instead of cutting into individual shapes and outfitting them with facial features and accessories, cut the dough into large rectangles and pipe royal icing to resemble an envelope.
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Triple-Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
For chocolate-peppermint lovers and fudge lovers everywhere, this trifecta of unsweetened chocolate, cocoa powder, and white chocolate—plus a crushed peppermint candy topping—sets this holiday fudge recipe apart.
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Cinnamon-Log Slices
Whimsical and warm, these cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate cookies make a fun and delicious gift. They're like an amped up snickerdoodle and we can't get enough.
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Coffee-Meringue Acorns
These adorable acorns are easy to create and fun to eat—make a simple meringue, then pipe and bake. After they're cooled, dip them in melted chocolate and pistachios.
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Hazelnut Tricolor Cookies
An homage to the Italian-American classic, these triple-deckers owe their subtle hues to matcha powder and pulverized freeze-dried raspberries, and their unique flavor to ground hazelnuts.
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Easy Pistachio-Cranberry Nougat
Using mini marshmallows and milk powder are two of the ways this easy nougat recipe skips the usual scary pot of molten sugar on the stovetop. You don't need candy-making credentials or even a candy thermometer for this irresistible treat.