It’s that time of year again where we bake way too many cookies, gorge on sweets, go cocktailing with friends, enjoy meals with family, and celebrate the holidays!  This is my favorite time of year for baked goods and all things dessert.  Anyone that knows me knows what a sweet tooth I have.  I could spend all year creating new dessert recipes, fun reindeer shaped cookies, peppermint bark, anything gingerbread related, and more.  Which is basically what I want to share with you today – delicious dessert recipes for the holidays!  Here’s what I have for you:

• Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting
• Peppermint Lush Bars with Oreo Crust
• Cherry Fudge with Dark Chocolate

 

First up are my Gingerbread Whoopie Pies.  These are phenomenal!  Incredibly moist cookies, an excessive amount of filling, and the perfect amount of spice.  If you like gingerbread, you will LOVE these cookies.  They are quite large and can be cut in half to share, but why would you want to do that? 😊

The recipe can be found here.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the dry ingredients.  Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to a large mixing bowl.  Whisk to combine and set aside.

Prepare the wet ingredients.  Add the butter and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until well combined.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and molasses and beat until well combined.

Let’s take a break and talk about molasses for a second.  You want to use unsulphured molasses because this is the “purest” form with a cleaner taste.  Most commercial molasses is unsulphured.  You also want to go with “full flavor”.  It’s more concentrated and darker in color but makes baked good taste amazing!

Back to the recipe 😊 Slowly add the dry ingredients and milk, alternate a little of each at a time, and beat on low speed until well combined.  This is the completed batter.

Use a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space in between.  You should have enough batter for 20-22 cookies (10-11 whoopie pies).  The cookies will spread a bit and be quite large so don’t overfill the baking sheets.

Bake for 13-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cookies have a domed look.  Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.  I like to grab ahold of the parchment paper and drag it from the baking sheet onto the cooling rack, so I don’t have to remove each cookie.  It also prevents the cookies from sinking into the cooking racks and having lines indented in the bottom.  Less cleanup is another plus!

Once cool, you can prepare the filling.  Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until pale in color and fluffy.  Add the cream cheese and beat until well combined.  Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and beat until well combined.  Make sure the mixer is on low or you use one of those plastic covers that sits on the bowl while the stand mixer is on, or you will have powdered sugar all over the place!

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or Ziploc bag and snip off the corner.  Set aside.  My piping bags are on the smaller size, so I ended up using 2.  Up to you how you want to handle the amount of frosting, but I’d prefer to use a second bag than try to refill the first bag.

Turn over ½ of the cookies and pipe frosting in a circular pattern on top.  These will be the bottom half.  Place the other ½ of the cookies on top, creating sandwiches.

Transfer to a pretty holiday platter, serve, and enjoy!

Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.  Also do this is you are making ahead of time and serving later.  Let the cookies sit out for at least 10 minutes before eating so the cream cheese has time to soften after being refrigerated.

The recipe can be found here and makes 10-11 cookies.

Next up are my Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting.  These are the epitome of Christmas!  The cupcake is heavily spiced and has the perfect gingerbread flavor.  The cinnamon frosting is cream cheese based and the tang from the cream cheese cuts some of the spiced cake flavor.  The combination just works!  And the sprinkles really bring it all together if I do say so myself 😊

The recipe can be found here.

Start by moving the oven rack to the middle/center position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  You want to use 2 muffin tins (24 cupcakes total).  Add cupcake liners to each.

Prep the dry ingredients.  To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.  Whisk together and set aside.

Prep the wet ingredients.  To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and dark brown sugar and beat until well combined and lightened in color.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed until well combined.  Add the molasses and beat until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well combined.  With the stand mixer still on low speed, slowly pour in the hot water and mix until well combined.  The batter will seem thin but shouldn’t be runny.

Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the muffin tins.  They should be about ¾ full.

Bake both muffin tins on the same oven rack for 16-20 minutes, rotate the pans halfway through baking.  Something I want to point out is if you use dark / nonstick muffin tins, the baking time will be closer to 16-18 minutes.  If you use lighter / not nonstick muffin tins, the baking time will be closer to 18-20 minutes.  I used one of each (that’s just what I have) and had to bake one pan longer than the other.

Insert a toothpick in the center and when it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done baking.  Let the cupcakes sit in the muffin tins for about 5 minutes then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting.  To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and cream cheese.  Beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy.  Add the cinnamon and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Add the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, and mix on low speed until well combined.  Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until soft and fluffy.  Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or Ziploc bag and snip off the corner.  My piping bags are on the smaller size, so I ended up using 4 (yes, 4).  Up to you how you want to handle the amount of frosting, but I’d prefer to use additional bags than try to refill the first bag.

Pipe the frosting in a circular pattern on top of each cupcake.  Garnish with sprinkles, serve and enjoy!

Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.  Also do this is you are making ahead of time and serving later.  Let the cupcakes sit out for at least 10 minutes before eating so the cream cheese has time to soften after being refrigerated.

The recipe can be found here and makes 24 cupcakes.

Next up is my Peppermint Lush Bars with Oreo Crust.  I love the subtle flavor of these bars!  The “lush” part is a wonderful combination of marshmallows and cool whip with added peppermint flavor – it’s very light.  The crust is made of crushed Oreos and the sweetness pairs well with the cool peppermint flavor.  This is a dessert you don’t want to skip!

The recipe can be found here.

Add the Oreos to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it resembles fine crumbs.  Pour into a mixing bowl, add the melted butter, and stir to combine.  Pour in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and press into an even layer on the bottom.  Set aside.

Add the marshmallows, milk, and peppermint extract to a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth.  This should take 2 ½ – 3 minutes total (mine took 2 ½ minutes to melt).

Place the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes to allow the mixture to cool.  I know this sounds weird to heat and then cool but you need to melt and combine the marshmallows but don’t want to melt the cool whip when added in a later step.  Stir the mixture after 10 minutes and again when you remove it from the fridge.  You don’t want to forget about the mixture and let it sit in the fridge for longer than 20 minutes or it will start to harden and be ruined.  So don’t forget!

Add the entire container of Cool Whip and fold to combine.  Don’t whisk or beat or aggressively stir (yes this is a thing).  You want to FOLD the mixture together to keep it light and fluffy.

Roughly chop the Hershey bars, add to the mixture, and again…FOLD to combine.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish on top of the Oreo crust.  Spread into an even layer then add sprinkles all over the top.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight to allow the bars to set.  When ready, slice, serve, and enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

The recipe can be found here.

Lastly, I have my recipe for Cherry Fudge with Dark Chocolate.  This one is super yummy 😊 The flavor reminds me of those chocolate covered cherries that are popular this time of year.  The chocolate adds a hint of sweetness to each bite and the cherry flavor is both sweet and tart.  It’s a great combination.  This is a great dessert to make and gift to someone or bring to a party because it travels well and can be cut to any size to serve a smaller group or crowd.

The recipe can be found here.

Start by adding the butter, sugar, whipping cream, and salt to a saucepan.  Melt over medium heat and stir to combine.  Once melted, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and add the cherry gelatin.  Whisk to combine and continue to whisk until dissolved.

Add the white chocolate and marshmallow cream to a mixing bowl.  Pour the HOT cherry mixture over the top and stir to combine and melt the chocolate.  Add the dried cherries and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into a 9×9 or 8×8 baking dish that’s been lined with parchment paper.  Refrigerate for about 20 minutes to cool slightly and set.

Once chilled, add the dark chocolate (or substitute with milk chocolate if you prefer) to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.  Pour over the cherry fudge and spread over the top.

Refrigerate again, for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.  When ready to serve, lift the parchment paper to remove the fudge from the baking dish.  Carefully remove the parchment paper, slice into squares, serve, and enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

The recipe can be found here.

There you have it folks!  Four new and delicious holiday recipes to spoil your friends and family with…or yourself 😊 So get to baking and start planning ahead so you are prepared when the holidays do arrive and can enjoy all the festivities, gatherings, and maybe a little me-time.

Happy Cooking and Happy Holidays!