Every family has its own special holiday recipes—food and treats that are only made during the holiday season and make celebrations extra special. A homemade holiday cookbook is a great way to preserve these memories in one place.
Whether your homemade holiday cookbook is professionally formatted and bound or lovingly handwritten into a spiral-ring notebook, you probably want it to include recipes children can make. Kids love helping in the kitchen, and you get to create special memories while teaching basic cooking techniques. We’ve lined up five easy seasonal recipes to add to your family’s own homemade holiday cookbook.
Snowmen Donuts
With no baking required, these little snowmen are more of a craft than an actual recipe—not that this makes them any less fun to make! You’ll need:
- 9 Store-bought sugar donuts
- Candy cane pieces
- Chocolate chips
- Orange slice candies
- M&M’s
- 1/3 cup white cookie icing
- 1/3 cup white candy melts
- 18 Pretzels
- Cake pop sticks.
Before the kids get to work, cut off the outsides of the pretzels. The remaining inside portion will resemble a snowman arm. You’ll also want to cut the orange candies into small triangles to make snowman noses.
Slide two donuts onto each cake pop stick. Soften a white candy melt and form itaround the bottom of the snowman. Let dry, so the donuts don’t slide down the sticks.
Add pretzel arms to the lower donuts, using the cookie icing to attach the orange slice noses, chocolate chip eyes, and M&M candies for the snowman’s buttons. Let dry, then enjoy!
Marshmallow Rice Krispie Christmas Trees
You’re working with hot butter and melted marshmallows for this recipe, so either an adult or a supervised older child need to make the rice krispie mix for these delightful little trees. You’ll need:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 10-ounce bag of marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies
- 12 Rollo candies
- 15 drops Green food coloring
- 1 16-ounce can vanilla frosting
- Mini M&M’s
- Yellow gumdrops.
Melt butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, then stir in the rice krispies and the green food coloring. Mix well and remove from the heat until the mixture is cool enough to handle.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease hands with a little vegetable oil. Take ½ cup of rice krispie mix at a time and form into cones. You’ll have enough for 12 trees. Set the cones on the parchment paper and let cool completely.
Now for the real fun. Pipe lines of frosting onto the trees to make strings for M&M lights, which you stick to the tree using more icing. Cut gumdrops into three slices sideways, then attach one gumdrop slice to the top of each tree with icing. Again, using icing, stick a Rollo candy to the base of the tree for the trunk.
Once the frosting is dry, these little trees make great gifts. Simply wrap in cellophane and tie up with a bow.
Marshmallow Snowmen
Another easy addition to your homemade holiday cookbook, these little snowmen are simple enough for even the youngest budding cook.
- Large white marshmallows
- Melted caramel
- Royal icing
- Gingersnap cookies
- Pretzels
- Sprinkles, icing, spice drops, pretzel, fruit leather and other decorative goodies.
Using the same technique used with the Snowmen Donuts, cut arms out of the pretzels in advance.
Dip the bottom of a marshmallow into the melted caramel and stick it to the middle of a gingersnap. Add decorative sprinkles to any caramel at the base.
Cut a second marshmallow in half to make the snowman’s head and stick it to the body with the royal icing. Decorate with the pretzel arms and candies. You can cut scarves from fruit leather and make hats by flattening one spice drop and attaching it to a second spice drop with icing. Dye some icing with food coloring and use it for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons.
Reindeer Cinnamon Rolls
Again, this is a fun, easy activity that can be eaten almost immediately. Make or buy some cinnamon rolls. Kids then build their own reindeer, using stick pretzels for antlers, craisins for noses, candies for the eyes, and raisins for the ears. A bow of red string licorice can be used as the reindeer’s harness.
White Chocolate Popcorn
This yummy treat is well-suited for older children with some kitchen experience, and makes a great addition to your homemade holiday cookbook and movie nights.
- 4 cups popped popcorn
- ½ cup white chocolate
- 1/3 cup craisins
Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler then remove from the heat. Stir popcorn into chocolate, then spread the sticky popcorn on waxed paper to cool. Just before eating, toss with the craisins.
