Easy Christmas Recipes for Kids: Festive Bakes for little hands

The Christmas holidays are long, the weather is chilly, and everyone's buzzing with festive excitement. What better way to fill an afternoon than getting the children into the kitchen?

These easy Christmas recipes for kids are all about sweet, festive baking: the biscuits, cupcakes and brownies children love to make (and decorate, and lick the spoon after). Each one has a little crafty twist, and every one is designed for small hands.

Expect sticky fingers, a dusting of flour on every surface, and plenty of proud little faces. That's how you know it's going well.

Our Favourite Christmas Recipe for Kids: Christmas Tree Brownies

If you only bake one thing this Christmas, make it these. Fudgy chocolate brownies cut into triangles and decorated as a forest of festive trees, with sprinkle baubles and a pretzel trunk. They're easy to mix in one bowl, and decorating them is pure festive joy.

Makes: 16 brownies · Prep: 15 minutes · Bake: 20–25 minutes · Decorate: 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the brownies

100g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g cocoa powder
75g plain flour
A pinch of salt
50g chocolate chips

For the trees

100g icing sugar, mixed with 3–4 tsp water and a drop of green food colouring
Sprinkles or small sweets for baubles
16 small sugar stars (optional)
16 pretzel sticks for trunks

Method

Get ready. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4). Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper.
Melt. Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl in 30-second bursts. This is a grown-up job, as the bowl gets hot.
Stir. Once the butter has cooled slightly, the children can stir in the sugar, then the eggs and vanilla, until glossy.
Sift and fold. Sift in the cocoa, flour and salt, then fold gently until there are no dry patches. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Bake. Spread the mixture into the tin and bake for 20–25 minutes. The top should be set, but the middle should still be a little soft. A skewer should come out with a few moist crumbs.
Cool. Leave to cool completely in the tin, ideally for an hour. This is the hardest part, but it makes them much easier to cut.
Cut. Lift out, cut into 8 squares, then cut each square corner to corner to make 16 triangles (a grown-up job with a sharp knife).
Decorate your trees. Pipe or drizzle green icing across each triangle in zigzags. Add sprinkle baubles and a sugar star on top, then push a pretzel stick into the bottom for the trunk.

Little-hands job: the baubles. The more the merrier, and no two trees will look the same.

Our tips:

Brownies keep in an airtight tin for up to 3 days. Add the pretzels just before serving so they stay crunchy.
Short on time? Use one of our brownie kits and go straight to the decorating.

Fancy a reindeer or two in your forest? We also have our Rudolph & Friends Bake & Craft Kit, packed with festive baking and crafting fun.

Christmas Biscuits and Cookies

Biscuits are where every little baker starts: easy to mix, fun to cut out and even more fun to decorate.

Big snowman biscuits

Cut large snowman shapes from gingerbread or biscuit dough and bake until just golden. Once cooled, cover them in white icing and add chocolate beans for buttons and a piped scarf. Roll leftover dough into little balls and dust with icing sugar for snowballs.

Want it all in one box? Our Build a Snowman Biscuits & Craft Kit comes with the mix, icing and decorations, plus a craft to do while they bake.

Christmas pudding cookies

Stir cocoa powder into a simple cookie dough, roll into balls and bake for 10–12 minutes. Once cooled, drip white icing over the top like custard and add green sweets for holly and a red sprinkle for the berry. Mini Christmas puddings, ready to eat.

Fancy a cheeky festive bake? Our Reindeer Poop Cookies & Craft Kit comes with chocolate chip cookie mix, plus a reindeer ranch craft to keep them in.

Christmas Cupcakes and Muffins

Soft, fluffy and perfect for decorating, these are the bakes that disappear fastest at any Christmas get-together.

Christmas tree cupcakes

Bake a batch of simple vanilla or chocolate cupcakes. Once cooled, pipe green icing in a swirl from the outside in, so it rises into a little tree. Add sprinkles for baubles and a sugar star on top.

Little-hands job: the baubles. The more the merrier.

Cranberry and white chocolate muffins

Add a handful of dried cranberries and white chocolate chips to a basic muffin mix. Children can do the stirring and spooning, and the result tastes just like Christmas.

Our bake and craft kits include cupcake, muffin and brownie kits, with everything measured out and ready to go.

Bake and Craft Together

The best Christmas bakes turn into a whole afternoon's activity: part baking, part making, and all festive fun.

Christmas jumper biscuits

Cut jumper shapes from biscuit dough, bake and cool. Then design the wackiest Christmas jumpers you can imagine, with zigzags, snowflakes and as many sprinkles as the biscuit will hold. It's the jumper you'd never dare to wear.

Gingerbread Christmas wreath

Cut gingerbread dough into small stars and holly leaves, then arrange them in a ring on a baking tray so the edges just touch. Bake, cool, then decorate with green and red icing. Thread through a ribbon and it's ready to hang (or to share).

The festive favourites

Gingerbread men: our step-by-step guide to gingerbread men is perfect for first-time bakers.

Gingerbread house: build, ice and decorate with our Gingerbread House Guide.

Which Recipe Suits Which Age?

Every child can help with Christmas baking. It's just about finding the right job.

Ages 3–5: icing Christmas pudding cookies, adding sprinkle baubles to cupcakes and adding baubles to brownie trees.
Ages 6–8: cutting out snowmen and jumpers, and stirring the muffin mix.
Ages 9 and up: following a recipe with a little supervision, from weighing ingredients to piping cupcake trees.

Keeping the kitchen safe and fun

An adult handles the oven, the hob and sharp knives.
Wash hands before you start, and again after touching raw egg.
Pop a sturdy step stool by the worktop so little ones can reach safely.
Check labels for allergens, especially if you're cooking for friends and family.
Put on some Christmas music. It's not essential, but it really helps.

Let the Festive Baking Begin

The best Christmas recipes for kids aren't about perfect results. They're about the giggles, the mess and the memories made around the kitchen table.

If you'd like to skip the shopping list, our Christmas bake and craft kits come with everything measured out and ready to go, plus a festive craft to do while the oven's on. Browse all of our bake and craft kits for more ideas.

For a present that keeps on giving, Crumbs Club delivers a new bake and craft adventure every month.

Looking for even more festive inspiration? Head to our Christmas baking with kids guide.

Happy cooking!

Kate & Louise xx

FAQ

What is the easiest thing for kids to bake at Christmas?

Chocolate chip cookies are the easiest, because there's no rolling or cutting. Gingerbread biscuits are a close second.

Can toddlers help with Christmas baking?

Yes, from around age 3, with an adult. Let them pour, stir, cut shapes and decorate, and keep the oven an adult job.

What’s included in a Craft & Crumb Christmas baking kit for kids?

Our Christmas baking kits come with pre-measured dry ingredients and simple step-by-step instructions, so children can mix, bake and decorate with less mess and less prep for you. Check the product page for the exact contents of each kit.

Can I send a Christmas baking kit as a gift?

Yes. Christmas baking kits are easy to send as a gift for children, families and grandparents. Just add the kit to your basket and enter the recipient’s delivery address at checkout. For a gift that keeps going after Christmas, see our Crumbs Club subscription.