It’s the time of year when people ask us, “Are you making your special holiday candy this year?” Everyone seems to have a favorite and they all look forward to those little boxes of goodness. While I have some complicated candy recipes, I’m a huge fan of simple recipes that only use a few ingredients. Here are 10 Christmas Candy Recipes that our family enjoys. We hope they’ll be a hit in your family as well!
10 Christmas Candy Recipes
I’ve arranged the candy recipes from super easy to more complicated. Several of these recipes are perfect for beginning cooks who want to try their hand at candy making. Some, like the toffee recipe, require a candy thermometer to get the perfect temperature. If you plan to make candy each year, I highly recommend adding one of these to your kitchen tools.
Easy Candy Recipes:
1. Peppermint Bark: The easiest recipe ever! It takes only two ingredients and has a hands-on time of around fifteen minutes. Bonus-it can be prepared in the microwave and is basically a one-bowl dish. This is a naturally gluten-free candy too.
2. Marbled Peppermint Bark– Another super easy recipe with only three ingredients and fifteen-minute prep time. It can be made in the microwave and is naturally gluten-free. This is a kid’s favorite too!
3. Easy White Chocolate Cookies and Cream Fudge– This no-bake fudge has three ingredients and a hands-on prep time of ten minutes! It can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free cookies. People always ask for this recipe and can not believe how easy it is to make! If you love chocolate, substitute chocolate sandwich cookies for the vanilla sandwich cookies.
4. Sweet and Salty Chocolate Bark – Another no-bake three-ingredient recipe with a ten-minute hands-on time. It can be made in the microwave and can use white or milk chocolate. Want a gluten-free version? Use gluten-free pretzels.
5. Pieces of Coal Bark-I came up with this recipe one year when I threatened to give my kids “pieces of coal” for Christmas. It has four ingredients, is no-bake, and can be made in the microwave. No one needs to know how easy this one is! Need a gluten-free option? Use gluten-free pretzels and gluten-free sandwich cookies.
6. Copycat Reese’s Christmas Trees– I hate to say that my creation looks more like trees than Reese’s, but they do. The basic recipe has only four ingredients and is naturally gluten-free. I added some drizzle made from green candy melts and some sprinkles, but those are totally optional. Don’t have a tree candy mold? Just roll them into balls and dip them into the chocolate.
7. Rocky Road Fudge– Another three-ingredient recipe that’s naturally gluten-free and has a ten minute prep time. You can make it in one bowl too! Easy clean-up + easy recipes? That’s my kind of holiday treat!
Moderate Christmas Candy Recipes:
8. Toffee Almond Fudge– I adapted this recipe when I didn’t have walnuts but wanted toffee and fudge! It has six-ingredients and takes about twenty minutes of hands-on prep time. Be sure to keep an eye on the almond slices while they are toasting. They burn easily.
9. Samoa Truffles– I am a huge fan of the Girl Scout Samoa cookies. I decided they’d taste just as good in truffle form. You can usually find the dulce de leche in the same section as the sweetened condensed milk. I used gluten-free shortbread cookies to make these.
More Complicated Christmas Candy Recipe:
10. White Chocolate Toffee Bark Recipe– Toffee is one of my favorite treats to use during the holidays. I try to add it to as many recipes as I can. This recipe tastes delicious but requires a little more hands-on time. Also, don’t accidentally spill any of the boiling mixture on your fingers. I still have a scar from when I did this!
Do you prepare candy for Christmas or the holidays? What is your favorite recipe?
Your post makes me sugar high! All the recipes look perfect for this festive season!
Bark and Fudge bars are always a hit and it’s nice to have different kinds of recipes for them! Thanks for these wonderful ideas. Peppermint and chocolate will always be my fave!
Oh my goodness! Thanks for the 10 candies recipes. Kids would be happy for these I am so sure!
I’m going to send this to my daughter. She loves to make candy and is actually getting together with her girlfriend to make some Sunday.
That toffee almond fudge sounds perfect, I really need to try that one out. I need some food gifts and I think this list is going to be perfect for everyone on my list.
Everything looks so amazing. Christmas candy is always a lot of fun to make. This time of year is my favorite for holiday baking.
We usually make fudge for the holidays, but if I have time I’m going to try making the copycat Reese’s trees and the pieces of coal bark.
I am not good at baking stuff but yesterday I had an inkling to bake, made chocolate cake and cupcakes. Perhaps your list will be my next list to work on mastering my skills to make Christmas candy.
I love the combination of peppermint and chocolate! I would love to try some of those.
My kids and I love making fun things to eat during the holidays. I look forward to making these with them when they’re on break.
These recipes look like a lot of fun to make with the kids for the holiday season!
if I show up on Christmas without peppermint bark, I would be in huge trouble lol. So many great ideas here.
These look too good. If I made them I’m afraid I’d eat them all. No self control!
Oh yum, I will make most of these with my kids. Everything looks fabulous. We always love having sweets in the house.