As we enter the holiday season, people are on the lookout for easy and tasteful recipes to serve to their friends and family. We collected 5 holiday recipes that are simple to bake and taste exquisite with just the right ingredients.

5. Snickerdoodle Cookies 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3⁄4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Mix softened butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar,eggs, and 1tps of vanilla extract thoroughly in a large bowl.
3. In a different bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, salt and baking soda
4. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5. Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
6. While waiting, mix 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl.
7. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture. 
8. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture. Continue until there’s no more dough left
9. Place on a chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for a total of 10 minutes.
10. Remove from the pan immediately.

Snickerdoodle cookies are perfect as a Christmas dessert, especially if you are a lover of cinnamon. It takes only 25 minutes to make, and when eaten, it comes out in the softest texture. We personally recommend this specific recipe because, compared to other sugary Snickerdoodle cookies, they’re healthy and ultimately have better ingredients. 

To get more information about this recipe, visit the website https://www.food.com/recipe/soft-snickerdoodle-cookies-97496

4.Christmas Bark

Ingredients: 

• 7 Red Holiday Oreos 79 grams, broken into pieces
• 7 Cool Mint Oreos 79 grams, broken into pieces
• 1½ cups stick pretzels 60 grams
• ½ cup peppermint baking chips 85 grams — Andes recommended
• ½ cup mint M&M’s 85 grams. divided
• ½ cup peanut M&M’s 85 grams, divided
• 1 pound white chocolate baking bars 454 grams — Ghirardelli recommended
• 2 tablespoons red and green sprinkles 24 grams

Directions: 

1. Cover a large baking sheet with wax paper 
2. Spread the broken cookies, pretzels, peppermint chips, and about ¾ of the M&M’s onto the baking sheet.
3. Place the white chocolate in a microwave-safe container and microwave for 1½ minutes on medium power. Stir and then microwave for another minute until melted and smooth. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn
4. Pour the melted chocolate over the cookie/candy mixture, spreading with a spatula if needed to coat completely.
5. Sprinkle the rest of the M&M’s and red and green sprinkles over the still-wet chocolate. This won’t work if it has hardened.
6. 2 tablespoons red and green sprinkles
7. Chill the tray of bark until set and firm, about 1 hour. Remove and gently break bark into small pieces.

Christmas Bark is a white chocolate bark recipe loaded with M&Ms, sprinkles, and pretzels. It’s delicious and adds both a salty and chocolate flavor to your taste pallet. We recommend this recipe specifically because it incorporates fan-favorite ingredients into one delicious bundle of holiday spirit.

This recipe is found on https://www.thecookierookie.com/christmas-bark/#wprm-recipe-container-36446

3. Chocolate-Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients: 

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing
• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 candy canes, crushed (1/3 cup)

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper; keep the edges open 2 inches from the pan 
3. In a heatproof bowl, combine two-thirds of the chopped chocolate with the 2 sticks of butter. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until completely melted. 
4. Scrape the chocolate into another bowl and let cool slightly. Add the remaining chopped chocolate and the peppermint extract to the heatproof bowl and melt over the simmering water; remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the brown sugar until combined. When it’s glossy and thick, you know that your done whisking
6. Sprinkle the flour and salt into the bowl and stir until just incorporated. Spread the brownie batter in the prepared baking pan. Dollop the peppermint chocolate onto the brownie batter and swirl in with a table knife.
7. Bake the brownies in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. 
8. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. 
9. Removes the brownies from the oven and let it cool for 2 hours 
10. Cut into squares and serve.

These brownies are a crowd-pleasing treat. It’s a chewy brownie that’s topped with a layer of creamy peppermint filling, dark chocolate glaze, and a sprinkle of crushed peppermints. This recipe is the best because of the balance of minty goodness and fudgey chocolate. 

Recipe found on https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-peppermint-brownies

2. Pomegranate, Cranberry and Brie Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup pomegranate seeds
• ½ cup fresh or frozen chopped cranberries, thawed
• 2 tablespoons sugar (see Tip)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• Dash salt
• 6 ounces baguette-style French bread, cut diagonally into 16 slices
• Cooking spray
• ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) log brie cheese, cut diagonally into 16 slices
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. Combine pomegranate seeds, cranberries, sugar, orange zest, and salt in a small bowl. Cover and chill for up to 3 days.
2. To serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place bread slices in a parchment paper-lined 15×10-inch baking pan. Lightly coat both sides of bread with cooking spray; sprinkle with pepper. Bake for 8 minutes, turning once. Top with cheese. Bake 4 minutes more or until the cheese is softened.
3. Stir basil into pomegranate mixture and spoon on top of bruschetta. Serve warm.

These delicious bite-sized snacks create a perfect blend of flavors, encapsulating the warm essence of the holiday season on toasted pieces of baguette. Perfect for any holiday occasion, your guests will be sure to come back for seconds with this appetizer.

Recipe found on https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/269209/pomegranate-cranberry-brie-bruschetta/

1. Honey-Ginger Ham

Ingredients:

• 1 (8-lb.) bone-in, skin-on picnic shoulder ham
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 1 cup honey
• ½ cup ginger ale
• 3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons orange zest (from 1 orange)
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. Rinse ham, and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, make shallow cuts in fat 1 inch apart in a diamond pattern. 
2. Rub ham with salt, making sure to get it in all the cuts. 
3. Let the ham stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. Place on a rack in a roasting pan.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Roast ham in the preheated oven until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion registers 135 F, about 3 hours. Increase oven temperature to 425 F.
6. Whisk together honey, ginger ale, ginger, rosemary, orange zest, pepper, and cloves.
7. Baste ham with ¼ cup honey mixture, and return ham to the oven. 
8. Roast at 425 F until thermometer registers 145 F, about 15 minutes, basting with glaze and any accumulated pan juices every 5 minutes. (You will use about half of the glaze.)

This ham recipe is perfect for a traditional holiday dinner, a perfect mixture of sweet and savory. Its unique blend of spices will be sure to impress guests, and even though it may take a while to make, every bite of this dish will make it worth it in the end.

Recipe from: https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/honey-ginger-ham