The 15 best recipes to bake in December
Get ready for your most delicious December yet.
Date
December 1, 2025
We’ve waited all year for this final month, aka peak baking season! No matter how you celebrate, this collection of seasonal recipes has you covered. Whether you want a cozy cake, festive cookie, or show-stopping centerpiece, you’re sure to find your next bake among this list of the best recipes to bake in December.
1) Sparkling Pistachio Cookies
If you love the tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture of a snowball cookie but want a more flavorful (and colorful!) spin, these green, glimmering cookies are for you. With no chill time needed, you’ll have them from your to-bake list to the table in 45 minutes flat.
Get the recipe: Sparkling Pistachio Cookies
To make this recipe, you'll need: Sparkling Sugar
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Pistachio Shortbread, Citrus Sparkle Slice-and-Bake Cookies
2) Whole Orange Cake
This recipe takes an ordinary orange and turns it into a craveable cake, using the zest in a tangy syrup and the rest of the fruit blended into the batter. A dash of cardamom adds an additional floral, fragrant note.
Get the recipe: Whole Orange Cake
To make this recipe, you'll need: Cloud Forest Ground Cardamom
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Orange Pound Cake with Bourbon Glaze, Cranberry-Orange Olive Oil Cake
3) Garlic and Herb Sun Bread (Tarte Soleil)
Durum flour earns its place in your pantry in this sun-inspired, shareable celebration bread. You can choose your own adventure with this recipe, adding additional garlic or swapping out the herbs to your liking. There’s no table spread that wouldn’t benefit from this cheesy, savory centerpiece.
Get the recipe: Garlic and Herb Sun Bread (Tarte Soleil)
To make this recipe, you'll need: Durum Flour
If you like this recipe, you may also like: No-Knead Cheese and Tomato Garlic Bread, Herb and Garlic Bubble Loaf
4) Striped Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Visually stunning, deceptively easy, and positively peppermint-y, these shortbread cookies are sure to stand out on a cookie platter or shine on their own. Stash an extra roll (or two!) of dough in your Slice-and-Bake Cookie Dough Keeper for when you need to bring cookies to a holiday party on short notice.
Get the recipe: Striped Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
To make this recipe, you'll need: Peppermint Oil
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Snaps
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5) Olive Oil Sufganiyot (Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts)
With no kneading or stand mixer required in this recipe, you can focus on frying up the lightest, most delectable sufganiyot. From there, a pastry bag filled with your favorite jam completes the doughnut.
Get the recipe: Olive Oil Sufganiyot (Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts)
To make this recipe, you'll need: Snow White Non-Melting Topping Sugar
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Shortcut Choux Jelly Doughnut Holes, Jelly Roll
6) Gingerbread Biscotti
These cookies are a festive combination of whole grains and warming ginger with a white chocolate drizzle. Since they can be stored for up to two months in an airtight container, why not make an extra batch as a gift to your future self?
Get the recipe: Gingerbread Biscotti
To make this recipe, you'll need: Gingerbread Spice
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Mini Whole Grain Cinnamon Biscotti, Fast Frosted Gingerbread Cookie Bars
7) Fluffy Frosted Orange Rolls
If you haven’t utilized the tangzhong method before, now is the time. This Asian bread-making technique is the key to an ultra-soft roll that stays fresh for up to three days, which means you can make these super-citrusy rolls the night before a cozy breakfast or special celebration.
Get the recipe: Fluffy Frosted Orange Rolls
To make this recipe, you'll need: SAF Red Instant Yeast
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Cranberry Orange Rolls, Orange Sticky Rolls
8) Matcha Christmas Tree Cookies
No food dye necessary — these cookies get their vibrant hue solely from matcha powder. Lemon emulsion and confectioners’ sugar balance matcha’s earthy tones, while a three-ingredient icing makes decorating a breeze.
Get the recipe: Matcha Christmas Tree Cookies
To make this recipe, you'll need: Organic Lemon Emulsion
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Matcha Latte Bars, Strawberry Coffee Cake with Matcha Filling
Take your holiday cookies to the next level with festive sprinkles. We love these Supernatural Christmas Softies Sprinkles — free from artificial ingredients and dyes (their hues are derived from plant-based sources like veggies, spices, and algae), they're a vibrant way to add holiday cheer to all your cookies this season. Find them in our Shop.
9) Cinnamon-Eggnog Scones
There’s eggnog in the fridge, and it’s not getting any fresher. Use it to whip up a batch of these soft scones and remind yourself why the cinnamon-eggnog combo is a holiday standard. Mind the recipe’s tip to freeze your dough for thirty minutes before baking — it will give you the loftiest scones.
Get the recipe: Cinnamon-Eggnog Scones
To make this recipe, you'll need: Cinnamon Sweet Bits
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Triple Cinnamon Scones, Lazy Morning Eggnog Coffee Cake
10) Pistachio Cranberry Wreath
If the center of your table is missing something, add this buttery wreath with its dusting of pistachio green and pops of cranberry red. A holiday bread perfect for a feast, you can make the dough and pistachio paste the day ahead to ensure hassle-free baking.
Get the recipe: Pistachio Cranberry Wreath
To make this recipe, you'll need: Bread Flour
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Braided Christmas Bread (Hefekranz), Cherry Pistachio Biscotti
11) Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread
While the days may be shorter, one bite of this fragrant shortbread will bring back the sunshine no matter where you are. Dipped in a zesty lemon glaze and studded with diced ginger and dried orange peel, these cookies deliver a perfect balance of citrus-y sweetness.
Get the recipe: Glazed Ginger-Citrus Shortbread
To make this recipe, you'll need: Mini Diced Ginger
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Soft Ginger-Molasses Cookies and Ginger Syrup, Ginger Spice Cookies
12) Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
With an extra-decadent cream cheese frosting, richly spiced filling, and mouth-watering chew delivered by bread flour, these festive rolls are a must for any celebratory breakfast or brunch. Divide the dough with (unflavored) dental floss for no-smoosh slicing (and a prettier spiral).
Get the recipe: Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
To make this recipe, you'll need: Vietnamese Cinnamon
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls, Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
13) Fruitcake Scones
Soaking your dried fruit in brandy or juice overnight gives you a head start on these seasonal scones (though a quick microwave will also do the trick!). From there, it’s a short mix and about 15 minutes until you are drizzling glaze over warm scones, ready for guests or just you and a cup of tea.
Get the recipe: Fruitcake Scones
To make this recipe, you'll need: Fruitcake Fruit Blend
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Everyone’s Favorite Fruitcake, Cream Tea Scones
14) Jelly Doughnut Cake
This cake may just be the jelly doughnut of your dreams — 9" across and no fryer necessary. Whether you use Cake Flour or go fully gluten-free, each slice has a tender crumb and your favorite fruity filling, all topped with a snowfall of sugar. (This is also a great dessert for celebrating Hanukkah if you don’t feel like breaking out a vat of hot oil to fry traditional sufganiyot!)
Get the recipe: Jelly Doughnut Cake
To make this recipe, you'll need: Unbleached Cake Flour or Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes, Easy Jelly Doughnut Holes
15) Broyé du Poitou (French Shortbread Cookie Cake)
You may think this delicately scalloped cookie too beautiful to break, but ‘tis the season for sharing! Traditionally, this French pastry is always broken apart (never cut, as the name is derived from the French verb “broyer” or “to crush”) and enjoyed with coffee or tea. With six ingredients and a sub-hour bake time, this shortbread is a classic for a reason.
Get the recipe: Broyé du Poitou (French Shortbread Cookie Cake)
To make this recipe, you'll need: King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
If you like this recipe, you may also like: Springerle Shortbread, Marzipan Shortbread Cookies
Looking for more holiday cookies to bake this month? Check out our list of the best holiday and Christmas cookies to bake this year.
Cover photo by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
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