16 Homemade Treats That Make Great Holiday Gifts

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Forget heavy fruitcake and go with these heavenly meringue snowballs. They're as light as air on the outside and delectably chewy inside.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.