64 holiday dessert recipes

Mother's Day baked apple-cinnamon French toast assembles overnight, then bakes into a puffed, custardy casserole with dried apples, raisins, and warm spices. Zero morning-of stress.

Crustless pumpkin pie sets with unflavored gelatin into a silky no-bake dessert with classic pumpkin pie spice. Gluten-free, low-calorie holiday alternative.

Orange molasses cookies, soft and puffy with cracked tops, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a hit of black pepper, then rolled in orange sugar. Whole wheat flour and oats make them a wholesome holiday bake.

Cranberry sorbet simmers cranberries with orange juice and sugar syrup, purées smooth, then freezes with a splash of Chambord. A bright palate-cleansing holiday dessert.

Creamy cranberry sherbet whips fresh cranberries with evaporated skim milk and gelatin into a tart, frosty scoop. A low-calorie holiday dessert with rosy color and fluffy texture.

Orange gelatin dessert ring made with sweet white wine and apricot syrup, filled with fresh apricots, grapes, and banana. A retro molded dessert for parties and holidays.

Cranberry star mold: a retro raspberry gelatin dessert folded with whipped cream, pineapple, and orange sections, chilled in a star mold. A classic holiday side or light dessert.

Frozen Christmas pudding made by folding brandy-soaked dried fruit with cocoa and orange zest into softened vanilla ice cream. A no-bake, make-ahead holiday dessert.

Plums in Port preserves whole plums in a cinnamon-orange syrup spiked with tawny port wine. A stunning canned fruit for cheese boards, desserts, and holiday gifts.

Traditional steamed cranberry pudding with suet, breadcrumbs and brown sugar. Dense, moist old-fashioned holiday dessert steamed for 2 hours.

Eggnog bread pudding with warm rum sauce: nutmeg-spiked custard soaks crusty French bread cubes and plump raisins, finished with a buttery brown sugar rum drizzle. Holiday dessert built from pantry staples.

English trifle with sherry-soaked angel food cake, raspberry jam, raspberry jello, and creamy vanilla pudding. A festive, make-ahead holiday dessert layered in a glass bowl.

Deep dish cranapple pie with sliced apples and whole berry cranberry sauce under decorative pastry cutouts. Spiced with apple pie spice and orange zest for a festive holiday dessert.

Cranberry raisin squares with a double pastry crust and fruity filling baked until golden. A slab-style hand pie cut into bars, great for holiday dessert trays and potlucks.

Eggnog parfait pies with lemon gelatin, vanilla ice cream, nutmeg, rum flavoring, and whipped egg whites in baked tart shells. A fluffy no-bake holiday dessert topped with whipped cream.

Old-fashioned wine jelly made with sweet wine, lemon juice, and unflavored gelatin. A Victorian-era holiday dessert served chilled in a glass bowl with custard sauce poured over each spoonful.