Showstopping Main Dish Recipes
Christmas Cooking FAQs
Whether you love to shower your loved ones with homemade treats or you are hosting Christmas dinner, we want to help you make your holiday food memorable. Here are the answers to our most frequently asked questions about everything from holiday treats to Christmas dinner.
How much meat should I cook per person?
The general rule of thumb is to plan for about 8 ounces of meat per adult and about 4 ounces per child. Keep in mind that if the meat you are cooking contains bones, the weight of the bones should be excluded.
How long can I store holiday leftovers?
Most leftovers, including meat, vegetables, potatoes, gravy, and any desserts made with cream or milk, need to be refrigerated. Keep them in separate sealed containers in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze them for longer storage. Dinner rolls and desserts that aren’t made with dairy can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.
How many side dishes should I serve at Christmas dinner?
For a big holiday meal, plan for 3 to 4 side dishes. A starchy side, like mashed potatoes, along with bread or dinner rolls, and one to two vegetable sides works well.
What’s the best way to store holiday cookies?
Most holiday cookies can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week. Shortbread, sugar, gingerbread, and rolled cookies will freeze well for up to 3 months. You can freeze the unbaked dough or the baked, undecorated cookies in an airtight container between parchment or wax paper layers.
How to Make a Gingerbread House
Spectacular Side Dishes
Holiday Cookies
Classic Shortbread Cookies
Tender and delicate and buttery and spectacularly simple, just as classic shortbread cookies ought to be.
1 hr
Chocolate Ginger Crinkle Cookies
The classic cookie benefits enormously from a hit of ginger here with these surprise sleeper hits of your Christmas season.
1 hr 15 mins
Lebkuchen
These traditional German Christmas cookies that are subtly reminiscent of gingerbread are typically called lebkuchen, although we tend to refer to them as moments of perfectly spiced deliciousness.
5 hrs
Gingerbread Men Cookies
The cutest, sweetest, happiest gingerbread people ever, right? They also happen to be the fastest, cheapest, unfussiest gingerbread cookies we’ve encountered.
1 hr
Popular Desserts
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
1 hr 35 mins
Eggnog Pie
1 hr 15 mins
Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake
1 hr 15 mins
Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake
1 hr 30 mins
Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake
1 hr 15 mins
All Christmas
Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
These easy-to-make icebox cookies are bejeweled with cranberries and pistachios to create a standout holiday cookie.
3 hrs 35 mins
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Not your everyday mashed potatoes, these are ridiculously rich and comforting thanks to butter, sour cream, Parmesan, and roasted garlic. Leftovers freeze and reheat beautifully.
1 hr
Dry Brine Turkey
All the juicy, tender perks of brining. None of the fuss of finding a container large enough to contain a turkey and cramming it in your already overstuffed fridge.
1 d 4 hrs 20 mins
Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake
Layers of vanilla cake take turns with oodles of coconut filling and the whole shebang is slathered with fluffy white icing. Uh, yes please!
1 hr 15 mins
Chocolate Polenta Pudding Cake
This rich and creamy chocolate pudding cake is made with cornmeal instead of flour, making it gluten-free.
13 hrs 30 mins
Braided Cinnamon Bread
This Dutch oven braided loaf is swirled with cinnamon and topped with vanilla glaze and toasted pecans. It's perfect anytime of the day, breakfast included.
3 hrs
Cheryl Day’s Icebox Rolls
The fluffiest, most tender dinner rolls you can imagine. All thanks to one secret ingredient.
3 hrs 45 mins
Chocolate Stout Cake
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day (or any day) with this Guinness-infused chocolate cake that's smothered in swirls of browned butter cream cheese frosting.
3 hrs 10 mins
Roasted Fennel with Rye Crumble
Getting your five servings of vegetables per day is easy when you can feast on tender caramelized fennel that's smothered in toasted rye-Parmesan crumble.
1 hr 5 mins
Nutella Truffles
Orbs of Nutella, chocolate, and cream, all dusted in cocoa powder. Need we say more?
1 hr 45 mins
Classic Cheese and Charcuterie Board
Cheese and charcuterie boards take a little more work than just piling up the good stuff. Read on to learn how to make incredible appetizer perfection.
1 hr
Toffee Tart with Pine Nuts and Rosemary
This tart's an unusual but fantabulous confection. The meatiness of the nuts, the piney notes of rosemary, the citrusy orange, and sweetness of the toffee play oh-so-nicely together.
2 hrs 5 mins
Roasted Pear with Honey and Rosemary
A lovely combination of sweet honeyed pears, salty feta, and earthy rosemary makes an unforgettable starter. Or just a brilliant little snack to perk you up.
30 mins
Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Chocolate and peanut butter might just be the most perfect marriage possible. This dessert is also elegant. Oh, and did we mention easy too?
7 hrs
Morning Buns
Buttery, cinnamon and orange flavored, and rolled in sugar, these fluffy buns are a serious reason to get out of bed. Get ready to fall in love!
6 hrs 30 mins
White Christmas Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream
A festive delight with layers of tender cake, lush buttercream, and cranberry jam. Topped with sugared cranberries, it's gorgeous, too.
10 hrs
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Coffee Cake
No need to get up hours ahead to produce a cinnamon-y sweet coffee cake, still warm from the oven. Mix it all ahead and pop it in the oven when you wake up. It's that easy, ya'll!
9 hrs 45 mins
Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cake
A terrifically tasty cake, one that's reminiscent of cinnamon rolls and snickerdoodle cookies. What are you waiting for? Your new favorite awaits!
1 hr 55 mins
Spiced Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze
A tender-crumbed, gently spiced cake full of ginger and pumpkin spice flavor. A lemon glaze soaks into the cake, giving it a sweet-tangy boost.
50 mins
