We love to bake at Christmastime. It is a part of the tradition of family that surrounds the occasion. But, it can seem as if we are spending more time in the kitchen preparing for family than we actually get to spend with them. Change up your program with a few Christmas desserts that don’t require any baking.
An interesting holiday dessert is pretzel salad. You may be thinking about a bunch of greens with crushed pretzels sprinkled about. We are discussing desserts so it will be sweet in some capacity. The pretzels in pretzel salad actually make up the crust. There are no greens to speak of, but yummy Jell-O and whipped topping.
Cheesecake is a Christmas treat that can be dressed up in any way that the baker sees fit. For years there have been cheesecake recipes that do not call for hours of prep and baking. These are called icebox recipes. They rely on the refrigerator to set the cheesecake which contains pudding.
Look for an icebox cheesecake recipe to present to your family this Christmas. Decorate the top with their favorite fruits, nuts, and candies. Cheesecake works well as an after dinner dessert or a dessert for a Christmas party. Keep it in the refrigerator until ready to serve so it doesn’t lose its shape.
Some candy, like Divinity, doesn’t require any baking time to prepare. These scrumptious little dreams have been hanging around during the Yuletide season for many years. Whip up a batch and refrigerate them to set. Bonbons are another no bake dessert that is easy to make. All you have to do is decide on the flavor of the bonbons. Create a few different kinds. Kids love variety.
How about ice cream? Christmas does occur during the winter months but you can’t have pie, cake, and cookies without some ice cream for that a la mode touch. It would be easy to pop into the grocery store and pick up gallon or two but the family wouldn’t get to participate in the creative process.
Instead, get the chilly sweet treat the traditional way—make your own. You can purchase an ice cream maker at most mega stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Kitchen stores also carry ice cream makers. Mix up a batch of festive holiday ice cream for the family to try.
Occasionally, life calls for ease. Around the holidays that “ease” comes in the form of no bake desserts. They’ll think you were in the kitchen all day but we’ll know the truth.
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