If you are looking for some easy Christmas festive treats to make with your kids this year, this is your post! For this season in my life, making elaborate cookies and treats with my children isn’t on the list, so these are some simple treats with easy recipes that take little time and prep, ending up great results. There were no meltdowns or holiday drama over who did what, which is always a win in my book.
The best part is you have an edible gift to give away to friends and neighbors while having fun with your kids, young children and older ones as well! Enjoy making some of your favorite holiday memories making these fun Christmas treats.
Tips for How to Cook with Your Kids and Enjoy it
There are definitely some ways to limit meltdowns when you are cooking with your kids. I have had years where I anticipated having this beautiful Norman Rockwell moment making gorgeous sugar cookies and gingerbread men and…it didn’t happen. So, here are a few tips I have learned over the years, both as a mom and as a teacher for successful Christmas treat making.
- Think about your children’s ages and their attention spans. Most experts say to gauge 2-3 minutes per year of age. So, if you have a five year old, you can expect him to last about 10 minutes before wearing out. Thus, limit the amount of treats you want to make and the steps of the recipes.
- Prep recipes for little hands that involve little work and only a handful of ingredients.
- If you have multiple children, consider letting them take turns helping you.
- Make sure you and your children are fed, rested, and happy. Grumpy parents and children will have a hard time making happy memories, and it probably won’t be worth it in the end.
- If you have babies or toddlers, make the treats during naptime. They will have their turn later. It’s ok – they won’t remember!
- Prep, prep and prep some more. Have your ingredients out, your recipes read through, and an idea of your steps. If you are in control, your kids will easily follow your lead.
- Lay out parchment paper to keep your fun Christmas treats organized.
- Have some cellophane bags on hand to package cookie platters and your edible gift for neighbors and friends.
- I would suggest a limit of 2-3 cookie recipes. Sometimes more is just more, not necessarily better. Enjoy the time you have, turn on some music and keep it simple!
And now, for those easy Christmas treats!
Crock Pot Candy
Crock Pot candy is a delicious easy Christmas treat to make with kids! You just need three ingredients and a crock pot. So, gather your block of white almond bark, chocolate almond bark, and a jar of dry roasted salted peanuts and you are ready to make this yummy recipe! You can also add some mini marshmallows to the mix to make this Christmas dessert.
Simply add your ingredients into a slow cooker. I line mine with a plastic slow cooker liner to make clean up super simple. Start with the peanuts and with the almond bark. Then, put the lid on and let it go for 4-6 hours on low.
When time is up, just stir it all up and drop into paper muffin cups or into small mounds on waxed paper. We like to use holiday color paper muffin cups and top with sprinkles. I pop mine into the fridge to help them harden and you are ready to serve or package them up for delivery! Such an easy Christmas treat to make with your kids and great for a cookie exchange.
Oreo Sprinkle Cookies as an Easy Christmas Treat
These easy Oreo cookies are delicious and simple holiday treats. This year, we tried the Sweet Tooth Fairy Peppermint meltables and they were so good with the winter Oreos. We love the peppermint candy canes flavor. Obviously, you can mix and match the variety of Oreos and melting wafers. You just melt the wafers and dip the Oreos. My girls sprinkled them right after we dipped them, and we were done! We also made some blue ones for our Jewish friends celebrating Hanukkah this week.
Pretzel and Chocolate Treats
These classic treats have so many variations and a great easy Christmas treat to make with your kids. You can use the round pretzels, if you can find them. This year, I did see them at Aldi which was a fun find. I just used the ones we had around and topped them with a Hershey’s kiss. I had some pecans in the freezer and some Reese’s Pieces so that is what we used! (It’s a great idea to hold back some Halloween candy for holiday baking.) Of course, you could use the white chocolate kisses and red and green M&Ms, Rolos…the possibilities are endless. These are perfect for any dessert table or holiday party.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Peanut Butter blossoms are another easy treat to make. You can find the full recipe here. If you don’t have all of the ingredients to make the peanut butter cookies, you can always use the pre-measured Betty Crocker pouch with little work and just add the chocolate kisses to the top! I like to bake them for 7 minutes, pull them out and add the chocolate to the top, and then pop them back in the oven for 1-2 more minutes to melt a bit. To avoid too much melted chocolate, make sure to keep an eye on them. Yum!
Christmas Tree Brownies for an Easy Christmas Treat with Kids
Christmas treat brownies are so simple and fun to make! Just take a brownie mix and cut the brownies out into a triangle shape or use another cookie cutter. Decorate as trees, snowmen, Rudolph with peppermint candy canes, pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows, ….so many options!
Easy Butterscotch Haystacks
These are so delicious and simple! Just combine 1 cup butterscotch chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter chips, 1/2 cup salted peanuts, and 2 cups chow mein noodles.
Melt chips in microwave in 30 second segments. Stir between 30 second intervals and cook until softened. Mix in noodles and peanuts. Drop on waxed paper. This should make about 12 servings.
I hope you enjoyed these tips for simple and easy Christmas treats to make with your kids. If you need some ideas on how to enjoy gingerbread house decorating with your kids, hop over here. Have a wonderful holiday season!
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