The Best Holiday Recipes to Make Year After Year

Hi there! I’m Melissa, the coordinator of chaos at Details! Wendy asked me to share some of my favorite holiday recipes with you, so here we go! Some of these I remember from when I was a kid and have been passed down for years and years, and others have been a tradition since my husband and I purchased our first home. But they’re here to stay! And I’m happy to pass them along in hopes that you can enjoy them too. Feel free to leave a comment below with your favorites or if you end up making these yourself! Let us know what you think!

Holiday Chex Mix

A family friend used to give this to us every Christmas. My mom and I have started making it every year and we’ve made some adjustments to it. Feel free to add or remove ingredients to your taste! It originally had pretzels and peanuts, but we found that everyone would eat the chex and leave these at the bottom of the bag. So we eliminated the pretzels and peanuts and added in cashews instead. We’ve also tried it with different types of Cheerios. We like the Multi Grain Cheerios to add a little bit of sweetness, but it’s great with plain as well! The most important tip is to store this in paper bags (like the ones you’d take for lunch). It absorbs the oil and keeps it nice and crunchy!

Ingredients

¾ lb butter & ½ lb margarine melted
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 medium box Multi Grain Cheerios (or plain)
1 box rice Chex
1 box corn Chex
1 large can cashews

1. In 2 large aluminum roasting pans, divide up cereals and nuts. Mix well.
2. Add one ingredient at a time and mix together well.
3. Gradually add butter mixture, mixing occasionally.
4. Bake at 250 °F for 2 hours. Mix every half hour.
5. Store in paper bags.

Brie with Apples

This has been such a crowd pleaser! It’s super simple and doesn’t take much time to put together. If you make it all the time like me, try changing up what you put inside! Instead of the apples and brown sugar, try a yummy jam or slivered almonds and honey. There are so many things you can do with brie. I make this for holidays as an appetizer, I bring it to my book club events, and everyone loves it. This can also be done with puff pastry instead of the Crescent Rolls. There could be tons of variations! Have fun with it! It also looks great displayed on a marble cutting board! Read about how to design a dining room your guests will love HERE!

Ingredients

1 can 8oz Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
1 8oz round Brie cheese
½ apple (any kind), thinly sliced
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
Crackers for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F
2. Unroll the dough into two halves and press perforations together to seal. Place the brie on one half of the dough. Arrange the apple slices to cover the top of the brie. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the apple slices.
3. Pull the dough up around the brie, and place the other half of dough on top. Press the edges together to seal completely. Brush the beaten egg over the dough. Place in baking dish or cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Serve with crackers and enjoy!

Christmas Day Crockpot Cinnamon Buns

This is literally the easiest and sweetest breakfast dish ever. But so delicious, and a great side to your typical savory breakfast foods. I made this on Christmas the year my husband and I purchased our first home and have made it every year since. I love it because I can wake up Christmas morning, go throw everything in my crockpot, open gifts with my family and then we relax and eat breakfast. It also smells wonderful while it’s cooking! No need to light a candle to set the tone for a cozy morning.

Ingredients

2 (12oz) cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls
4 eggs
½ cup milk
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Open the cinnamon rolls and set aside the icing.
2. Cut each cinnamon roll into quarters.
3. Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray and place one can of cinnamon rolls, in one layer, in the bottom of the crock pot.
4. Whisk together the eggs, milk, syrup, vanilla and cinnamon.
5. Pour over the cinnamon rolls in the crockpot.
6. Place the remaining cinnamon rolls on top.
7. Drizzle one of the icing packets over the top of the cinnamon rolls.
8. Place the crock pot lid on top and cook on low for 2-2 ½ hours.
9. Remove the lid and drizzle the last icing packet over the top.
10. Serve immediately!

Gramma’s Christmas Butter Cookies

This recipe has been passed down the generations from my mom’s side of our family. We make these every year. We cut them into all different shapes and roll them into balls (those are my favorite because they’re more dense and delicious)! We use buttercream to frost them with different colors and sprinkles. Last year my daughter “helped” me frost them and add sprinkles. It’s a fun and tasty tradition that I’m excited to pass along to my daughter.

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 ⅔ cup flour
2 tbsp milk

1. Cream together the butter and sugar.
2. Add the egg, baking powder, salt and vanilla and beat well.
3. Gradually blend in the flour and milk.
4. Refrigerate for a while.
5. Roll out and cut.
6. Bake at 375 °F for 7-10 minutes.

That’s it! Those are my favorite holiday recipes and I hope you enjoy them! Just like decorating, cooking and baking should be fun too! Don’t stress about having to prepare a dish for your holiday party. Try one of these super simple recipes and relax! Have fun! That’s my goal this year. Still have some holiday decorating to do? Check out this blog post for some inspiration! Until next time!

~Melissa

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