Christmas Baking Recipes (2024)

Here I have gathered the best Christmas baking recipes from my blog which I hope will inspire you over the festive season.

I love baking any time of the year but at Christmas it is even more fun to make something for friends and family to enjoy.

From traditional Christmas flavours of gingerbread, peppermint candy canes, cinnamon to traditional mincemeat and Baileys or other liqueurs, there are so many recipes which just shout Christmas.

Christmas cake

I prefer to make my Christmas cake in the slow cooker, the dried fruit flavours seem to be intensified even more by the way the cake almost steams in there. Feed it with your preferred booze in the run-up to Christmas.

Slow Cooker Christmas Cake

My slow cooker Christmas cake recipe is simply my own twist on a traditional Christmas cake recipe, using my preferred dried fruit and without nuts. I soaked my fruit in tea rather than alcohol as I prefer to drink alcohol in liquid form at Christmas!

Check out this recipe

Mince pie recipes

Rather than just the usual mince pies with shortcrust pastry, it is nice sometimes to make something a bit different. Puff pastry, Viennese whirl and cheesecake mince pies are all fun takes on the classic mince pie with a bit of a twist.

Puff Pastry Mince Pies

Easy puff mince pies made with store-bought puff pastry and a jar of mincemeat with a few special additions.

Check out this recipe

Viennese Whirl Mince Pies

Viennese mince pies make a lovely alternative to normal shortcrust mince pies to jazz up your Christmas baking, with a pretty Viennese whirl top, buttery shortcrust pastry and mincemeat filling.

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Cranberry Cheesecake Pies

A delicious festive alternative to traditional mince pies which are full of Christmas flavours with a cheesecake filling topped with cranberry sauce

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Simple bakes

Chocolate shortbread with festive decorations is fun for kids to enjoy. They might also have fun helping you to make and decorate it!

Christmas Chocolate Shortbread

Chocolate shortbread topped with chocolate and decorated with candy canes, marshmallows and gingerbread man sprinkles, perfect for Christmas baking and very popular with kids

Check out this recipe

Chocolate cranberry scones are delicious and oh so festive with the jewels of fresh cranberries you can see peeking out.

Cranberry Chocolate Scones

Chocolate scones packed with fresh cranberries and dark chocolate chunks, which you can optionally form into a scone "wreath" for Christmas celebrations.

Mincemeat recipes

You don’t just need to use your jar of mincemeat in mince pies. Where you make your own or buy a jar from the shops, these recipes put mincemeat at the forefront!

Mincemeat swirls with a brandy glaze are brilliant for breakfast over the Christmas holidays!

Slow Cooker Mincemeat Swirls

Perfect for breakfast over the holidays, these mincemeat-filled swirls using mince pie filling with a simple scone mixture and bake in a couple of hours, filling the house with festive fragrances! The brandy glaze will add an extra twist for the adults

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If you don’t like heavy traditional Christmas puddings, why not try a lighter sponge pudding with mincemeat, steamed in your slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Mincemeat Pudding

A festive simple slow cooker steamed pudding with a spiced sponge cooked with rich mincemeat swirled through it, ideal as an alternative to Christmas pudding

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A rich and indulgent bread and butter pudding made with brioche instead of bread is an amazing winter dessert.

Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding with Mincemeat

An indulgent winter dessert with sweet mincemeat, brioche buns and custard, ideal for using up some of your Christmas leftovers

Fudge recipes

This milk chocolate fudge can be adapted however you like for your own twist.

Slow Cooker Fudge

The basic milk chocolate slow cooker fudge recipe to use as a basis for your own additions - chocolate chips, candy bars, sweets, sprinkles, dried fruit and nuts or whatever you like!

Check out this recipe

Slow cooker candy cane chocolate fudge is perfect for homemade edible gifts this Christmas.

Slow Cooker Candy Cane Fudge

A festive slow cooker dark chocolate fudge recipe, topped with candy canes for a delicious Christmas treat

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Or perhaps you might prefer white chocolate, pistachio and raspberry fudge with all the colours of Christmas.

Slow Cooker White Chocolate Fudge with Pistachio and Raspberry

Perfect for an edible gift this Christmas

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With a twist of salted caramel liqueur, this fudge is hard to stop eating!

Boozy Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Fudge

A delicious salted caramel fudge recipe brilliant for Christmas treats, made in your slow cooker for ease

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Amaretto gives this fudge a gorgeous colour and flavour.

Slow Cooker Amaretto Raisin and Almond Fudge

A boozy fudge perfect for gifting over the holidays

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Shopstopping desserts

A Christmas fruit pavlova is great as the centrepiece of your Christmas Day table.

Christmas Pavlova

A crown pavlova with cream topped with kiwi and pomegranate, perfect for winter with its jewelled red and green colours

Check out this recipe

For something more than the everyday, hone your patisserie skills with these chocolate eclairs.

Chocolate Eclairs with Cranberry and Pistachio

Chocolate eclairs decorated for Christmas with cream filling and chocolate topped with festive cranberries and pistachios

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Steamed puddings

I tend to always make steamed sponge puddings in the slow cooker as you can just forget about them without worrying about pans boiling over. They are great either as a simple dessert on a cold day or made into something more Christmassy.

Slow Cooker Cranberry and Vanilla Steamed Pudding

A tasty vanilla steamed pudding or sponge cake topped with a spiced cranberry compote, ideal to use as an alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding

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Slow Cooker Gingerbread Pudding

A gingerbread flavoured pudding steamed in the slow cooker

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Using up Christmas leftovers

If you have an extra panettone, use it in a panettone bread and butter pudding.

Slow Cooker Panettone Bread and Butter Pudding

A lightly spiced bread and butter pudding made with Italian panettone slices instead of bread, ideal for the festive season and for using up leftover panettone

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Baileys can be used in this delicious chocolate Baileys cake with Baileys buttercream.

Slow Cooker Baileys Chocolate Cake

A rich and fudgy chocolate Baileys cake baked in your slow cooker, with chocolate Baileys buttercream frosting, ideal for Baileys Irish Cream lovers

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Marzipan goes wonderfully in Christmas stollen.

Christmas Stollen

Stollen loaf with dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries and swirls of marzipan for Christmas time. Adapted from Paul Hollywood's Stollen recipe.

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I hope you like these easy Christmas baking recipes, do leave me a comment on the recipe or tag me on Instagram if you try any of them. I love to hear from you!

Make sure you pin this post to Pinterest for later too!

For all my Christmas recipes, including savoury ones, take a look at my Christmas recipe category.

Why not try

Gingerbread men from Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen
Slow cooker Scottish cloutie dumpling from Farmersgirl Kitchen
Candy cane cupcakes from Jane’s Patisserie