This Christmas Cookie Tray will definitely get you in the holiday spirit this year! It’s filled with festive, minimal-ingredient, easy-to-make, and delicious desserts that are perfect for Santa or your next Christmas party.
Related: Christmas, Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies, Christmas Cake Mix Cookies
Even in 2020, the holiday’s have seemed to sneak up on me. In late November, I tried to ‘plan out’ how I would finish (online) Christmas shopping, decorating, wrapping presents, and school by mid-December, in between work, chores, meal prep… you get the point. Needless to say, I knew this year’s Christmas Cookie Tray needed to be focused on minimizing effort and maximizing the holiday spirit. I included the following cookies and desserts in my Christmas Cookie Tray with this goal in mind:
- Christmas tree brownies
- Reindeer cake balls
- Classic peanut butter blossoms
- Red velvet mint cookies
- Chocolate cookies dipped in white chocolate
- Chocolate covered pretzels
- Mini chocolate Santa’s
Not only were the Christmas tree brownies made with a brownie box mix, but the red velvet mint and chocolate cookies were made with a cake box mix. As a result, I purchased fewer ingredients, dirtied fewer dishes, and avoided complications in the kitchen. I prepped most of the batter throughout the week in the morning before work (which generally only takes 30 minutes and a few dishes). I kept the batter in the fridge until I was ready to get baking. In past years, I would generally dedicate an entire weekend to preparing Christmas Cookie Trays. My approach this year might not have been the most efficient but was the best way to prepare my Christmas Cookie Tray without dedicating an entire weekend to baking.
Christmas Tree Brownies
What an easy and fun way to make brownies festive! Simply follow the instructions on the back of your favorite fudge brownie mix (mine is Betty Crocker). Once the brownies have cooled completely, then cut the brownies into tree-shaped triangles. Finally, add green frosting, red sprinkles, a red m&m, and the end of a mini candy cane.
Reindeer Cake Balls
These Rudolf reindeer cake balls are so much fun! Start by following my No-Bake Cake Ball recipe and then swap Christmas sprinkles for candy eyes, red m&m’s, and pretzels.
Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
My favorite thing about classic peanut butter blossoms is my memories of making them with my mom while I was growing up. The recipe is on the back of the Hershey’s Kisses bag. You can also view the recipe here. Hershey claims this recipe makes 48 cookies. However, somehow we always ended up with fewer baked cookies 😉
Red Velvet Mint Cookies
Cake box cookie #1 from my Christmas Cookie Tray:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine Red Velvet Cake Mix, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of oil.
- Stir in 1 cup white and green m&m’s.
- Chill the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes, or the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Using a cookie scooper, place 12 round balls of dough on a cookie sheet lined with silicone baking mats.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling tray.
- Repeat step 5 and step 6.
- Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Chocolate Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate
Cake box cookie #2 from my Christmas Cookie Tray:
Check out my detailed post here.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Chocolate covered pretzels have always been on my cookie trays and my Christmas Cookie Tray was no exception. They are a friend favorite, only require three ingredients that don’t really expire, and are insanely easy to make: melt chocolate, dip the pretzel, cover with Christmas sprinkles.
Sharing my Christmas Cookie Tray
In addition to the large Christmas Cookie Tray that you see at the top of this post, I also created mini Christmas Cookie Trays for my friends and neighbors. I purchased the mini Christmas Cookie Trays from Target. Creating mini Christmas Cookie Trays is fun because you can be creative with the arrangement and share with more loved ones.
Other Dessert Boards You May Like
I Want To Hear From You!
What is your favorite part about this Christmas Cookie Tray? Were any recipes more difficult to make than you expected? What Christmas cookie would you add to this tray? Share your feedback in the comments section below!
Also, if you made this Christmas cookie tray, I’d love to see it!
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[…] I always try to prevent white space or gaps in my cookie tray. Depending on the theme of the tray, I will use candy, nuts, and dried fruit. For Thanksgiving, I thought walnuts and dried cranberries were the perfect addition to balance the sweetness of the pies, cookies, and chocolate-covered pretzels. Other times, I will stick with candy, like my October Cookie Tray and Christmas Cookie Tray. […]
[…] This white chocolate dipped chocolate Christmas cookie with sprinkles is made with just 5 ingredients under 1 hour and is a perfect gift for the holidays or on your Christmas Cookie Tray. […]
[…] that she could add to the boxes to make them a little more festive. Since the cookies from my Christmas Cookie Tray were gone, I hopped on Pinterest for some inspiration. I ended up baking Cakescottage’s […]