Lifestyle

20 No-Bake Holiday Desserts

LifestylePublished Dec 4, 2018
By Maressa Brown
no-bake Candy Cane BrowniesAbbeySharp/YouTube

The holiday season is filled with joyful moments, many of which -- let's be honest -- revolve around delicious, decadent, mouthwatering foods, especially desserts. Sipping peppermint hot cocoa, baking up sugar cookies that sparkle with shimmery, glittery sprinkles, enjoying gingerbread or eggnog or bourbon-flavored anything goes hand-in-hand with December and feeling festive. 

The tradition of indulging in sweets during winter solstice festivals goes way back. In the Middle Ages, people used spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, as well as dried exotic fruits like citron, apricots, and dates to make irresistible desserts. Back then, families felt like Christmas was the perfect time to splurge on pricier ingredients like sugar, lard, and butter, according to History.com

Once they had all those delicious, fatty, and sweet ingredients, they opted to make cookies over other desserts quite often, because the smaller, individually sized treats were easier to share with friends and neighbors. That tradition -- of baking up batches of Christmas cookies to enjoy and share with loved ones near and far -- continues to this day. Pan after pan of sugar cookies with cute, festive decorations is just as commonplace as trimming a tree or singing holiday songs.

But the fact of the matter is that as traditional as it may be, and as joyful (and even therapeutic!) as it can be as a seasonal pastime, baking definitely requires energy and time -- two things that many moms are understandably short on, especially around the holidays. For that reason, no-bake dessert recipes -- which can be pulled together with three or more simple ingredients -- are perfect go-tos. 

Here are 20 decadent holiday desserts that absolutely do not require an oven.

1/20

Oreo Balls

These Oreo balls come out looking like gourmet truffles without a ton of work.

2/20

Pumpkin Pie Mason Jars

These cute Mason jar pumpkin pies are not only perfect for gifting but only require some basic prep and assembly.

3/20

Triple Biscuit Baileys Cheesecake

It only takes minimal work on the stove to finish up this quick, easy, and delicious-sounding cheesecake.

4/20

Eggnog Pie

It's possible to pull together a delectable eggnog pie sans eggs and dairy and baking!

5/20
Crock-Pot Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies-placeholder
Crock-Pot Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies
RecipesThatCrock/Pinterest

Crock-Pot Peanut Butter Cocoa Cookies

Yep, these no-bake cocoa peanut butter cookies from Recipes That Crock are made in a slow cooker.

6/20

Raspberry Cream Cake

This no-bake raspberry cream cake looks festive and ridiculously decadent.

7/20

Holiday Peppermint Cheesecake

With its chocolate cookie crumb crust, this peppermint cheesecake will be a total scene-stealer on Christmas.

8/20

Strawberry Santas

These cute strawberry Santas require minimal ingredients and could be a fun one to do with the kiddos!

9/20
Gingerbread Truffles-placeholder
Gingerbread Truffles
SixSistersStuff/Pinterest

Gingerbread Truffles

This Six Sisters' Stuff no-bake gingerbread truffles recipe requires just three ingredients.

10/20

Vegan No-Bake Candy Cane Brownies

Thanks to its rich ganache and super-festive crushed up candy canes, these brownies are bound to get rave reviews.

11/20

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Holiday party guests will adore getting their sweet and salty fix with these no-bake bars.

12/20
Peppermint Marshmallow No-Bake Dessert-placeholder
Peppermint Marshmallow No-Bake Dessert
TwoSistersCrafting/Pinterest

Peppermint Marshmallow No-Bake Dessert

This fluffy, creamy peppermint marshmallow dessert from Two Sisters Crafting looks dreamy.

13/20

Chocolate Christmas Tree Pinata

The kids -- and OK, adults, too -- will go crazy for busting open this no-bake Christmas tree cake filled with candy.

14/20

Chocolate Christmas Kit-Kat Forest

All it takes are Kit-Kats (family-sized), green candy melts, sprinkles, and desiccated coconut for these super cute no-bake candy Christmas trees.

15/20
Bourbon Maple Gingerbread Icebox Cake-placeholder
Bourbon Maple Gingerbread Icebox Cake
Wendy - ABCsandGardenPeas/Pinterest

Bourbon Maple Gingerbread Icebox Cake

The flavor combo of this bourbon maple gingerbread icebox cake from ABCs & Garden Peas is drool-worthy.

16/20
Cheesecake With White Chocolate & Peppermint-placeholder
Cheesecake With White Chocolate & Peppermint
YellowBlissRoad/Pinterest

Cheesecake With White Chocolate & Peppermint

This white chocolate peppermint cheesecake recipe from Yellow Bliss Road is rich, creamy, and packs a pepperminty kick.

17/20

Sugar Cookie Truffles

These sugar cookie truffles are easy-to-make crowd-pleasers.

18/20

Rich Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These chocolate peanut butter cookies are basically like eating rich cookie dough. Yum.

19/20

Gingerbread House

Making this no-bake gingerbread house can be a Christmas party activity, or the houses can be given as gifts.

20/20

Christmas Light Cupcakes

Believe it or not, it's possible to make these cupcakes with a cute Christmas lights decoration (made out of icing and M&Ms!) without the oven.

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