Cute + Fun Christmas Baking Projects to Make With Kids
Inside: 21 of the best holiday treats to bake with your little ones. Tutorials and recipes for fun and easy Christmas baking with kids.
One of the best parts of Christmas is baking treats with your family in the kitchen. And yet…having little ones underfoot while baking sweet treats can also be a recipe for frustration! Here are some ways to create baking memories that adults and kids will both love.
Keep It Simple
Most kids have short attention spans and won’t want to make elaborate things from scratch. I find that it’s best to start with something store-bought and decorate it, or you can make it part-way and invite the kids to help you with the fun part. Older kids may want to help with the more elaborate baking tasks, and that’s great! But be realistic about what each age can handle, and remember that this is supposed to be fun.
Focus on the Decorating
We all know that’s the fun part. So stock up on fun decorating items like:
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- Edible gold stars
- Red, green, and white sprinkles
- Christmas M&M’s
- Royal icing wreaths for gingerbread houses
- Mini candy canes
- And even (the horror) pre-made squeeze bottles of icing.
Okay! Here are baking recipes that would be great to make with kids. Any of these would make a great Christmas project to keep at home and eat or give as Christmas gifts to family and friends.
P.S. Want to skip the baking altogether? Just make a cute project like these gingerbread hot chocolate bombs!
Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses
Expecting kids to assemble real gingerbread houses is way too much pressure. I can guarantee you’ll be hysterical over it because baking the walls took you forever, and now everyone is ruining them. (Can you tell I’ve tried it?) It’s time to realize there is a time for graham cracker houses, and this is it.
Cut Out Sugar Cookie
My mom’s famous sugar cookie recipe has crisp edges, a soft center, and great flavor. It’s perfect for any time of year.
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies
A simple sugar cookie recipe with vintage flair. And don’t forget to pick up lots of options for decorating your festive treats!
Christmas Rice Cereal Treats
You can get a prepacked kit if you want an even easier way to make a treat out of these. This is usually not my thing, but it’s a solid choice with little ones who really want a Christmas baking project.
Christmas Light Cupcakes
You can make them, or you can buy them, but the important part is the decorating!
Molasses Cookies
A cookie scoop is helpful for these, especially with little kids. It makes sure the cookies are all the same size and keeps them from mashing down the dough too much.
Dipped Pretzel Rods
Okay, so this isn’t even a baking project. Oh well! Don’t be afraid to do something super easy, like pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with Christmas decorations. If you have the right supplies, they are super simple. All you need to do is melt, dip, and sprinkle.
Gluten-free Sugar Cookies
If you have little ones with food allergies, these sugar cookies are vegan and sugar-free. They’re fun to decorate in any color!
Rolled Snowball Cookies
Everyone loves to roll cookie dough and toss them in powdered sugar! These are fun and easy to make with kids!
Christmas Butter Cookies
Make this dough for the kids, let them have fun piping it out into simple swirls, and then let them dip and sprinkle the baked cookies. As an important bonus, these cookies are absolutely delicious too!
Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Of course, the most fun part of this easy Christmas cookie is making the indentations and filling them. And why not?!
Santa Cupcakes
Adorable! Everyone knows a kid’s favorite part of baking is decorating, and these Santa cupcakes are ALL about the decorations. They’re easy to make and so rewarding!
Stained Glass Window Cookies
Jolly Ranchers are melted into sugar cookies to create a beautiful stained-glass effect. Kids might need a little adult help with this recipe, but the result is so beautiful.
Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
Here’s another super fun decorating project that the kids will love. Let the older ones do the Christmas tree design, and the littles do the sprinkles and the star decoration. It’s impressive and elegant-looking, but very easy to do!
Jam Filled Christmas Cookies
This recipe will require adult help, but little ones will love punching out cute little trees and stars to make these deliciously festive treats.
Krispy Treat Christmas Trees
Rice Krispy treats shaped into Christmas trees! These are easy to make and feature decorated M&M “ornaments.” They would make great homemade gifts for the little ones!
Hot Chocolate Muffins
Sugar, cocoa, and marshmallows all wrapped up into one delicious muffin! Kids can mix these up and will love adding the marshmallows on top.
Cornflake Christmas Wreath
These cornflake wreaths are so cute and festive. They’re super easy for even the littlest ones to make, with a bit of help getting set up! This is the one you need when you want a project that will be done quickly from start to finish!
Hershey Kiss Garland
This candy garland would be the perfect gift made by the kids. Simple and easy to make with Hershey Kisses and Rolos, this garland will be welcomed by anyone.
Pretzel Christmas Treats
These pretzel chocolate treats are cute and simple and make a special snack. They’re simple enough that even preschoolers can help make them!
Easy Pistachio Cookies
Drop cookies are the easiest to make since there’s no rolling and no cutting! These pistachio cookies are green and Christmasey and so easy to make!
Merry Christmas!
I hope you enjoy baking with your family this year. If you don’t have kids, consider inviting some over for an afternoon of baking. I think most moms would love to drop their kids off to visit and bake with a family friend.
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.