I have a weakness for anything sweet, and the holidays are no exception! We asked recipe creators to share their favorite holiday desserts from around the world. I can’t wait to try these recipes during the holidays and I have a feeling you will want to try them too!
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If you are looking to celebrate this holiday season, consider trying one of these holiday desserts from around the world. We love learning about other cultures and a great way to teach your kids is through their stomachs! Save these holiday dessert recipes and be sure to share your favorites!
1
Classic Tiramisu Without Eggs - Italy
Photo Credit:www.thepetitecook.com
Learn how to make classic Tiramisu, one of the most traditional Italian desserts takes only 20 minutes to make and it’s perfect for holiday parties!
2
Christmas Sweet Mince Pies - UK
Photo Credit:culinaryginger.com
Sweet mince pies are a classic British, Christmas dessert. Sweet filling of dried fruit, apple & citrus soaked in brandy is baked in easy crusts beautifully decorated with a festive design and powdered sugar.
3
Brigadeiro - Brazil
Photo Credit:tornadoughalli.com
Brigadeiro is a traditional Brazillian confection that is not quite considered fudge, truffle nor a bonbon, but something completely in and of itself. Kids will love making and eating this delicious dessert.
4
Turrón de Alicante Recipe (Spanish Hard Almond nougat) - Spain
Photo Credit:thethingswellmake.com
One of Spain’s most popular Christmas treats, turrón is an almond nougat made with almonds and honey. This hard, white almond nougat is popular in many Latin American countries during the holidays.
5
Buñuelos - Mexico
Photo Credit:inmamamaggieskitchen.com
Buñuelos, or Mexican fritters, are crispy pieces of fried dough topped with sugar and cinnamon. They are incredibly delicious and an absolutely must during the Holidays.
6
Nanny’s Christmas Cherry Balls – Canada
Photo Credit:www.baconismagic.ca
Maraschino cherries wrapped in coconut and tossed in graham cracker crumbs. As a newer country, one of Canada's most popular desserts during the holidays appeared in the last 100 years and the recipe is passed down through generations. It's a no bake dessert that is easy to make with younger kids too.
7
Vegan Coconut Barfi With Blue Spirulina - India
Photo Credit:shahzadidevje.com
Coconut barfi is the ultimate Desi~licious sweet delight. It's saturated with coconut love and delightfully sweet and creamy to the core. I adore it for its coco-nutty flavour. My twist uses blue spirulina to give it a dazzling blue colour - radiating all the celebratory vibes. Plus, it's 100% vegan and contains zero added sugar.
8
Easy Holiday Walnut Kiflies Recipe - Poland
Photo Credit:www.all-thats-jas.com
Everyone loves traditional Eastern European Christmas treats - especially these Polish kiflies, which are easy walnut crescent Christmas cookies. They are delicate, addictive, and buttery - they just melt in your mouth!
9
Coquito Tres Leches Cake Recipe - Puerto Rico
This festive holiday dessert is the best of everything. Coconut, tres leches cake, and coquito, a Puerto Rican eggnog. Top it with maraschino cherries and it's festive for any holiday occasion!
10
Linzer Cookies - Austria
Photo Credit:www.everyday-delicious.com
Linzer cookies are traditional Austrian cookies that are especially popular during Christmas time. They are perfectly crumbly, buttery, and filled with delicious raspberry jam.
11
Risalamande (Danish Rice Pudding) with Cherry Sauce - Denmark
Photo Credit:www.fabfood4all.co.uk
Traditional Risalamande (Danish Rice Pudding) with Cherry Sauce is a creamy and delicious rice pudding laced with sherry and almonds, served with a sweet, warm cherry sauce.
12
Ricotta Cookies - Italy
Photo Credit:bigflavorstinykitchen.com
This simple dessert recipe makes lots of pillowy soft, tender cookies that are sure to be a family favorite! Perfect for cookie exchanges & holiday parties.
13
Easy French Apple Cake Recipe - France
Photo Credit:savorthebest.com
This French apple cake recipe is nearly magical, like a cross between a custard, a pie, and a cake. This dessert is wonderfully delicious and surprisingly easy to make.
14
Rum Glazed Scandinavian Almond Cake - Finland/Sweden
Photo Credit:www.smartypantskitchen.com
You’ll find versions of this Scandinavian Almond cake mostly in the northern United States, where a great majority of Finns and Swedes initially immigrated years ago. It’s easy delicious and makes a lovely holiday presentation!
15
Apricot Rugelach - Hanukkah
Photo Credit:veronikaskitchen.com
Rugelach Cookies are a classic bite-size pastry filled with apricot jam and chopped walnuts. This recipe is so easy to make and will be a great treat to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season!
16
No-bake Vanilla Christmas Cheesecake - UK
Photo Credit:www.amytreasure.com
Here in the UK we love no bake cheesecake! This is a beautiful vanilla cheesecake with festive reindeer decoration that will bring Christmas cheer to all!
17
No-Bake Milk Tart - Melktert - South Africa
Photo Credit:www.all-thats-jas.com
This simple no-bake milk tart (melktert in Afrikaans) is a classic South African dessert. The creamy milk-based custard is cooked on the stovetop, poured into a cookie crust, and then dusted with cinnamon.
18
Classic Pavlova Recipe - Australia/New Zealand
Photo Credit:houseofnasheats.com
An Australian & New Zealand classic, Pavlova is a heavenly dessert confection that is light as a cloud with a crunchy meringue outside and soft, marshmallow-like interior. Topped with sweetened whipped cream and piled with fresh fruit, this dessert is naturally gluten-free, always a crowd-pleaser and the perfect finish for any meal!
19
Tamales Dulces (Sweet Tamales) - Mexico
Photo Credit:inmamamaggieskitchen.com
Tamales Dulces, or sweet tamales, are a favorite in Mexico during the holiday. This desert is made of pineapple and raisins and steamed to a yummy perfection.
20
Crema de Fruta Recipe - Phillipines
Photo Credit:theunlikelybaker.com
Crema de Fruta is a Filipino dessert made of delicious layers of soft fluffy cake, rich creamy custard, and fruit blanketed in gelatine. Fun, festive, definitely deserves a place in your celebrations.
21
Slow Cooker Scottish Cloutie Dumpling - Scotland
Photo Credit:https://www.farmersgirlkitchen.co.uk
Slow Cooker Scottish Cloutie Dumpling is an updated recipe for a delicious traditional Scottish steamed ‘pudding’ dessert.
22
Delicious Breudher Cake with Blood Orange Glaze - Sri Lanka
Photo Credit:www.theflavorbender.com
This Sri Lankan Breudher Cake is a yeasted cake that’s very popular in Sri Lanka during festive times. This Breudher Cake strikes a great balance between delicious buttery richness and the fruity, citrus flavour of blood oranges, with a hint of boozy sweetness from the brandy soaked raisins.
23
Great Grandma Francesca Cardile's Cookies - Italy
Photo Credit:bigflavorstinykitchen.com
These elegant, lightly sweet cookies are a Calabrese tradition, passed down through the generations and enjoyed annually at Christmas and Easter.
24
Cocadas - Mexico
Photo Credit:thegingeredwhisk.com
Cocadas are coconut treats from Latin America. These soft, chewy coconut mounds are mixed with dulche de leche and studded with macadamia nuts. Cocadas are like macaroons, but much better! These are so simple to make, kids will love helping and eating them!
25
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake with Toffee Sauce - UK
Photo Credit:houseofnasheats.com
Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake is a deliciously moist, date cake drenched in a warm butterscotch-toffee sauce. It’s a classic and iconic British dessert popular in all of England, Scotland and Ireland, and it’s easy to see why!
26
Walnut Crescent Cookies - Hungary
Photo Credit:mypureplants.com
Hungarian Christmas cannot be complete without small Walnut Crescent Cookies. They melt in your mouth sugary treats with a generous layer of powdered sugar
27
Butter Tart Bundt Cake - Canada
Photo Credit:foodmeanderings.com
Butter tarts are a Canadian tradition, especially at Christmas. And this Butter Tart Cake is easy to make and has butter tart filling is swirled into a delicious butter bundt tart cake. It's then smothered in a creamy brown butter maple glaze. It's a delicious butter tart in the form of a cake. The perfect dessert for your Christmas dinner!
28
Gluten Free Swiss Brunsli Cookies - Switzerland
Photo Credit:www.fearlessdining.com
Swiss Brunsli Cookies are a naturally gluten free cookie that is full of chocolate flavor. They are traditionally shaped like stars and are a popular cookie to make around the holidays.
29
English Christmas Trifle - UK
Photo Credit:whatagirleats.com
English trifle is a traditional dessert or “pudding” served at Christmas throughout Britain. This dessert has layers of pound cake, Creme Anglais, fresh fruit, and whipped cream. Raspberries and poached pears, make this dish a festive accompaniment to any holiday meal.
30
Stollen - Germany
This easy to make holiday bread is similar to a fruitcake, but not as moist. The best thing about this recipe is the secret ingredient in the middle, marzipan (also known as almond paste). Once you taste it, you will want to make this holiday recipe year round.
31
Apple & Fig Polenta Torta - Bustrengo Cake - San Marino
Photo Credit:www.all-thats-jas.com
Bustrengo cake - this ancient cake with roots in San Marino, a microstate surrounded by Italy, was traditionally prepared by locals in a fireplace in a copper pot and served especially on winter holidays or Sundays.
32
Pepper Cookies - Piparkokur - Iceland
Photo Credit:veggiedesserts.com
These Icelandic Pepper Cookies, also known as piparkokur or pepparkokur, are a popular Scandinavian Christmas cookie similar to gingersnaps. They are beautifully chewy and easy to make from scratch with no unusual ingredients!
33
Lazy Apple and Honey Pull-Apart - Hanukkah
Photo Credit:thelazyslowcooker.com
It is tradition to eat apples dipped in honey at the start of the Jewish new year, to ensure a sweet year ahead. This crockpot recipe was created as an easy, delicious and different way to make an apple and honey dessert when your oven is already fill dishes for the holiday dinner.
34
Easy Classic French Cream Puffs - France
Photo Credit:houseofnasheats.com
Cream puffs are made from a choux pastry (aka pâte à choux) which is just a light pastry dough made with flour, eggs, butter, and water. The puffed up hollow shells are perfect for filling with pastry cream or whipped cream for an easy, elegant dessert!
35
Swedish Sticky Cake - Kladdkaka - Sweden
Photo Credit:ramshacklepantry.com
You can make this Swedish Sticky Cake in no time flat and it is very tasty. Quick, easy, chocolatey, and called Kladdkaka in Sweden, this is a great dessert. We also include a raspberry sauce that is a perfect combination for this recipe and can be done in minutes.
36
Bethmännchen Marzipan Cookies - Germany
Photo Credit:veggiedesserts.com
This traditional recipe for Bethmännchen marzipan cookies is one of the most famous German Christmas cookies. The outside is firm and crisp, the inside is chewy, and they're studded with three crunchy almonds. Gluten-free. You only need 6 ingredients and 20 minutes.
37
Nana’s Potica - Slovenia
Photo Credit:www.trialandeater.com
My Nana's Potica recipe - a Slovenian nut roll dessert traditionally served at Easter and Christmas.
38
Traditional Swedish Saffron Buns - Sweden
Photo Credit:alwaysusebutter.com
Lussekatter is the most vital part of a Swedish Christmas! Made in time for Saint Lucia day these sweet saffron buns are eaten all through the holidays, and usually made in the traditional shape shown here.
39
Krumkake Norwegian Christmas Cookie - Norway
Photo Credit:ramshacklepantry.com
The Krumkake is a delicious Norwegian cookie made with a specialty iron and is a great Scandinavian recipe tradition. Often times it has a cardamom flavor and its cone shape is perfect for a whipped cream filling.
40
Orange Almond Cake - Spain
Photo Credit:www.endofthefork.com
This orange almond cake from Spain is one of our favourite winter cakes while oranges are in season, and it’s always a hit over the holidays. The fresh citrus flavour and pudding-like texture are a perfect way to end a rich meal or holiday feast.
41
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake - Japan
Photo Credit:drivemehungry.com
Japanese Christmas cake is made of soft, fluffy layers of sponge cake, fresh strawberries, and fresh whipped cream! It’s traditionally enjoyed during the holiday season in Japan!
42
Keto Flan - Cuba
Photo Credit:www.fittoservegroup.com
In the Cuban community a flan must grace the holiday table. This keto flan is silky smooth, creamy, and features a perfectly clear, amber-colored caramel sauce. It’s a traditional classic with a keto twist.
43
Christmas Honey cookies (melomakarona) - Greece
Photo Credit:scrummylane.com
If you visit Greece close to Christmas, you’ll eat far too many of these delicious Christmas honey cookies. Imagine a cross between baklava and an ooey, gooey pecan pie and you’ve got these. They’re so perfect for giving as gifts to your neighbours and friends.
44
Sacher Torte - Austria
Photo Credit:kellystilwell.com
This Sacher Torte recipe from Austria may look gourmet, but you only need seven ingredients to make it! It's is best topped with a large dollop of fresh whipped cream.
45
Natilla (Colombian Custard) - Colombia
Photo Credit:insearchofyummyness.com
Natilla is a Colombian custard-like dessert made with milk, cinnamon and coconut. This sweet treat is traditionally served alongside fried Buñuelos at Christmas time.
46
Pignoli Cookies - Italy
Photo Credit:www.texanerin.com
These pignoli cookies are incredibly quick and easy to make and are a typical Italian cookie with a crisp exterior and chewy interior. They can be made with or without almond paste and there’s even a paleo option. Regardless of which version you make, there are only five ingredients!
47
Sans Rival Cake - Phillipines
Photo Credit:bellyrumbles.com
Sans Rival is a decadent cashew meringue cake. Layers of light and chewy toasty cashew meringue filled with rich and creamy rum French buttercream. A popular and classic dessert from The Philippines.
48
Mexican Chocolate Trifle with Orange Curd and Pomegranate Pudding - Mexico
Photo Credit:beyondmeresustenance.com
A hint of cinnamon and red chile in a brownie provide the base for this indulgent Mexican Chocolate Trifle with Orange Curd and Pomegranate Pudding. The fresh orange curd gets a hint of cinnamon, and the pomegranate pudding with its pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, and pomegranate arils gets thickened with tapioca. The result is a festive, holiday trifle with vibrant and fresh Mexican flavor! Fantástico!
49
Rustic Black Forest Yule Log - Germany
Photo Credit:www.littlesugarsnaps.com
Naturally gluten free, this Black Forest Yule Log is the classic combination of chocolate, black cherries and Kirsch all wrapped up in rustic Christmas style.
50
Cherry Almond Clafoutis (Gluten Free) - France
Photo Credit:www.thefoodblog.net
Cherry clafoutis is a classic French dessert. Cherries are baked into a thick batter to form a custard like dessert that can be enjoyed warm or cold.
