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The Clarion

The student news site of Hawthorne High School.

The Clarion

The student news site of Hawthorne High School.

The Clarion

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Fun Christmas Dessert Recipes!

Recipe Box
Shimelle
Recipe Box

Are you struggling with thinking about what dessert to have for Christmas Day? I’ve gathered some fun, festive, and delicious dessert recipes to make be a part of your Christmas meal!

Christmas Cracker Candy:

This delicious sweet n salty candy cracker serves 16-20 people. These candy crackers take 15 minutes to prep, and a total time of 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Ingredients that you will need are:

1 sleeve salted Saltine crackers (about 45)
1 cup. unsalted butter
1 cup. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon. vanilla extract
2 cups. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup. Nutella
1 cup. Christmas sprinkles, red and green M&M’s, chopped Christmas candy
1/2 cup. toasted slivered almonds

Baking steps:

1. Take a rimmed half sheet pan. Make sure this is covered completely with tin foil then spray cooking spray over.

2. Take the saltine crackers and spread them in a single layer across the sheet pan. If necessary, you can break the crackers to make sure they fit across the pan.

3. Take a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter.

4. Then add the brown sugar. You can remove this from the heat once it forms an amber caramel and the temperature reaches 300°F, 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Once removing the heat, stir in the vanilla extract and then immediately pour the mixture over the crackers, evenly.

6. Take a microwave safe bowl and microwave the chocolate chips until they are melted and smooth. Then stir in the nutella and microwave for 15 seconds more.

7. Pour this chocolate mixture over the toffee crackers.

8. Add the sprinkles, M&M’s, and the chopped candy over the crackers.

9. Let this sit in the fridge for two hours.

10. Break the crackers apart.

 

Sugar Cookie Fudge:

Do you love sugar cookies but want to try eating them in a different form! Well, this sugar cookie fudge sounds just right for you! This recipe serves 12-16 people, takes 10 minutes to prep, and 2 hours and 15 minutes in all!

Ingredients that you will need are:

Cooking spray
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 1/4 cups. white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups. sugar cookie mix
2 tablespoons. unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups. crushed sugar or shortbread cookies (4-oz.)
1/2 cup. confetti sprinkles, divided
2 teaspoons. vanilla extract

Baking steps:

1. Take a 9-inch square baking dish and cover it with aluminum foil. Spray your cooking spray over this.

2. Take a medium saucepan and heat the condensed milk over medium heat. Make sure to frequently stir the condensed milk to prevent scorching.

3. Stir in the white chocolate chips until melted.

4. Stir in the cookie mix, butter, and salt until smooth.

5. Finally, remove the heat.

6. Fold in the cookies and ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of sprinkles, and vanilla.

7. Pour the fudge mixture in the pan.

8. Add the remaining sprinkles over the fudge mixture.

9. Let this sit in the fridge for 2 hours and then slice into pieces.

 

Snowball cookies:

Snowball cookies are also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies. But in this case, for the holiday, they are called snowballs! This batch consists of 24 cookies. These cookies take 10 minutes to prep and 30 minutes in all.

Ingredients you will need are:

1 cup. salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups. powdered sugar, divided, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons. vanilla extract
1 teaspoon. orange zest, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon. ground cardamom (optional)
2 cups. all-purpose flour
1 cup. pecans (or any kind of nut), very finely chopped

Baking steps:

1. Take a large bowl, add the softened butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, vanilla, orange zest, and cardamom.

2. Take an electric mixer on medium speed and mix until the dough is light and fluffy.

3. Add the flour on low speed until it is mixed in evenly.

4. Add the pecans on low speed until it is mixed evenly.

5. Preheat you oven to 325°F. Position the rack in the top third of the oven.

6. Scoops the dough into mounded tablespoons and spread them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

7. Bake the cookies for 20-22 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly golden. Halfway through, move the cookies to the middle of the rack.

8. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes.

9. Add cookies to a bowl with the remaining 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.

10. Let cookies cool on a single layer sheet and then add additional sprinkles and powdered sugar.

 

Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake:

Not only is this a delicious chocolate cake, but it involves candy canes! Who doesn’t love a good candy cane around Christmas time? This cake serves 24 people, 30 minutes to prep and a total time of an hour and 15 minutes.

Ingredients you will need are:

2 cups. all-purpose flour
2 cups. granulated sugar
1 teaspoon. baking powder
1 teaspoon. baking soda
1/4 teaspoon. kosher salt
1 cup. salted butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup. boiling water
1/2 cup. whole milk
2 teaspoons. peppermint extract
2 large eggs

Baking steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Take a large bowl and whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Take a small saucepan and heat the butter and cocoa powder over medium-low heat. Whis until the mixture is melted and smooth.

5. Add the boiling water to the saucepan. Let it bubble and then remove the saucepan from the heat.

6. Add what was in the saucepan into the large bowl and stir until smooth. Let this cool for 5 minutes.

7. In the large bowl, add the milk, peppermint extract, and eggs. Stir until the mix is smooth.

8. Pour the batter into the pan. Add a toothpick standing up in the middle of the oven and place the cake into the oven for around 20 minutes (until the toothpick comes out clean).

9. To make the frosting, beat the powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on low speed.

10. Mix for about 2 minutes (until it is mixed evenly).

11. Increase the speed of the mixer in the frosting to medium and mix for 2 minutes (until light and fluffy).

12. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes then spread the frosting over the cake.

13. Decorate the cake with candy canes!

 

Hot chocolate cookies:

Do you want to try hot chocolate in cookie form? Well this recipe sounds just right for you! This recipe serves 48 people, 40 minutes to prep, and an hour and 15 minutes in all.

Ingredients that you will need are:

6 ounces. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups. all-purpose flour
3 envelopes of hot cocoa mix without marshmallows (about 1.38 ounces each)
1 teaspoon. instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon. baking soda
1/4 teaspoon. kosher salt
1 cup. salted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups. sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups. white chocolate chips
24 marshmallows in halves (48)

Baking steps:

1. Add a few inches of water in a saucepan over low heat.

2. Add the chopped chocolate to a heat proof bowl and set over the saucepan until melted. Stir until smooth and then remove the bowl from the saucepan and let cool slightly.

3. Take a medium bowl and whisk the flour, hot cocoa mix, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Whisk until there are no lumps.

5. Take a separate, large, bowl and beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until light and smooth. Add the eggs one by one and beat the vanilla.

6. Lower the speed to low on the electric mixer as you can slowly add the melted chocolate.

7. Increase the speed on the mixer back to medium-high and add the flour mixture until it’s combined.

8. Remove the electric mixer and stir in the chocolate chips.

9. Cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until it has firmed up.

10. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

11. Take 2 baking sheets and line them with parchment paper and scoop the dough into balls (about a tablespoon each).

12. Make sure the cookies are spread 2 inches apart.

13. Bake the cookies until the edges start to set for 9-10 minutes.

14. Once removing the cookies from the oven, immediately place a marshmallow half on the center of each cookie, cut-side down.

15. Put the cookies back in the oven for another 2-3 minutes. Just until the edges of the cookies are set and the marshmallows are stuck to the cookie.

16. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes!

All of these recipes could be great additions to your Christmas dinners, and are all fun and easy to make!

About the Contributor
Lauren Iannacone, Staff Writer
Hi! I'm Lauren, a staff writer and freshman here at Hawthorne High School. I hope to contribute many articles to the Clarion, as a first time writer for the school newspaper. I play softball and soccer and enjoy spending time with my friends and listening to music. I hope my articles spark your interest!