Our Best Christmas Recipes, Tips & Tricks

The gravy is next-level.

Did we mention the herb butter?

The classic cocktail is so easy to stir up at home.

Get set for your cookie party.

It's so irresistibly creamy, you'll be coming back for more.

Every bite is a sweet surprise.

You might know it as Yorkshire pudding, you might have had it as a popover — whatever you choose to call it, the impressive cloud-like creation that emerges from the oven is always as delicious as it smells and looks. The crispy shell gives way to a tender, eggy interior, and the best way to eat one is to just tear it apart with your fingers. Whether you choose to make one big one or individual ones, here’s how to do it using everyday pans that you already have.

I suspect that a great many of us regard the gingerbread contingent of the holiday cookie tray with a healthy amount of suspicion. Will it taste like cardboard? Will that icing crack my teeth? Will the spices make me sneeze? Can I trust this cookie? I’m here today to share a recipe for gingerbread cut-out cookies that you can trust. This is the gingerbread we’re all hoping we get when we reach toward the cookie tray. This is the one that will make you smile.

It’s the perfect after-dinner holiday drink.

No matter how much thought goes into planning your Christmas dinner, the day can have a way of feeling hurried as you you take part in gift-giving, a brisk walk in the snow, and then getting into the kitchen to cook. One strategy that makes it feel easier and more manageable is sticking with options for a make-ahead Christmas dinner. Maybe it’s getting a head start with the main course or side dish, or perhaps you prefer to get the bulk of the meal done ahead of time.

Unwrapping one is the perfect treat.

Beef tenderloin is an annual tradition on my family’s holiday menu. Covering the beef tenderloin in a salt crust makes roasting it easy and fast, which leaves me with plenty of time to make delicious side dishes. Our table almost always includes bread and rolls for soaking up roast juices, but it also needs a potato side dish (or two or three) and a few vegetables too. Here are 45 of my favorite side dishes to serve with beef tenderloin.

Guaranteed to be gone in minutes.

When I think of Italian American bakeries, I envision piles of biscotti, rainbow cookies, cannolis, and trays and trays of an array of cookies decorated with colorful sprinkles —including ricotta cookies. Super-soft and cakey, thanks to the ricotta cheese, these cute little cookies remind me a bit of Lofthouse sugar cookies (which are often made with sour cream or yogurt). Want proof of their deliciousness?

No one has to know how easy it is to make.

They're bound to bring a smile to even the grumpiest Grinch.

Planning on making a classic glazed baked ham for your Christmas dinner this year? Great choice — it’s one of our top picks for a holiday meal, too. And even if your holiday celebration happens to be smaller this year, those leftover ham recipes are a dream. This large, savory cut of meat is easy to make, whether you opt for the oven or your slow cooker (just don’t forget the glaze!).

You only need five ingredients.

Inspired by the cookies I grew up eating.

The stakes have a way of getting a little higher when you’re cooking a holiday dinner — especially when it comes to sides. No matter what else you’re serving, the sides are inevitably the star of the table. When narrowing down the options, you want dishes that pair well with the main course and are a little more special than what you’d make for a weeknight meal, without being so complicated they dominate your day. Luckily that’s what we’re good at.

It’s flawless.

I guarantee it's even better than your Grandma's.

Struffoli is not only a fun word to say. The classic Italian dessert, also known as Italian Honey Balls, is a festive that’s traditionally served during Christmas time, just like panettone, pizzelle, and pignoli. Tiny balls of dough are fried until golden-brown. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, they’re then tossed in a sticky-sweet honey syrup and decorated with rainbow sprinkles.

Now that winter has arrived, it’s nearly impossible to open Instagram or TikTok without being greeted by an exploding hot chocolate bomb. The tasty trend is popular for a reason: When these chocolate spheres are dropped into warm milk, they crack open in the most mesmerizing way, releasing a flurry of hot cocoa mix and marshmallows creating an decadent cup of hot cocoa.

Regardless of what time everyone rolls out of bed on holiday mornings, you know there will be stomachs growling. It’s a holiday for you too, though, so no need to wake up at the crack of dawn to get going in the kitchen. Our favorite solution: a make-ahead breakfast casserole.

It's deceptively easy to make.

There’s nothing better than freshly baked cookies on Christmas. Who doesn’t love a platter of spiced gingerbread, classic snowball cookies, or peppermint candy cane cookies to share with loved ones?But do you need an occasion to bake cookies? A lazy Saturday, a winter snow day, or a rainy weeknight is absolutely reason enough, too.

Try every delicious, festive drink in our 24 Days of Holiday Cocktails countdown! This content is presented by Wisconsin Cheese; it was created independently by our editorial team.Look to the people who survive winters with only a few hours of sunlight each day for the coziest and most heart-warming holiday drinks. The answer, according to Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, and Danes? Mulled wine.

You can have the roast turkey. Set aside the glazed ham and prime rib. In my house, leg of lamb is the celebratory roast; I love its tenderness and flavor. Though roast leg of lamb sounds intimidating, the sweet little secret is that leg of lamb is actually one of the easiest, most foolproof cuts of meat to cook. Here’s our remarkably simple, fuss-free leg of lamb recipe. It will turn out perfectly every time. It’s surprisingly easy to make.

Prime rib roast’s promises cannot be understated. Standing tall on a serving platter ready to be carved, its dark, crisp exterior promises a tender, rosy interior full of intense beefy flavor. Partner this special-occasion cut of beef with good wine, a swipe of homemade horseradish cream, and a platter of golden roasted potatoes and you’re on your way to a classic holiday meal. Here, we use the easiest cooking method: oven-searing.

Yes, you can skip the whole bird.

They're not the same as gratin.

Just wait until you taste that jus.

You don't even have to boil water.

Pumpkin and butternut squash seem to get all the attention this time of year, but when it comes to orange-hued vegetables, I actually prefer the humble sweet potato. I’ll take sweet potatoes any which way, but at my Thanksgiving table I prefer mashed sweet potatoes. Some mashed sweet potato recipes call for baking the them in the oven first, then slipping them out of their skins and mashing them. Other recipes call for boiling the sweet potatoes in water.

The secret to the best-ever (and way easier) bacon wrapped turkey? A simple herb butter to act as the glue.

A big bowl of classic mashed potatoes make any meal a little better. Sadly, I come from a long line of mashed potato forgetters. A familiar cry heard each Thanksgiving was, “The mashed potatoes!” This could mean one of three things: Someone forgot to start them, someone forgot they were cooking, or someone forgot them in the kitchen and they were cold by the time they hit the table. This always bummed me out. I mean, we’re talking mashed potatoes here.

When you really think about it, the whole Thanksgiving meal is one giant twofer. Next-day Thanksgiving leftovers are just as important as the perfect day-of meal. The turkey, however, is even more generous. You roast your turkey on day one; have the leftover meat for turkey sandwiches, chilis, and cheesy turkey enchiladas in the days after; and now you get this glorious sunny stock from the bones and bits leftover even after the meat is gone.

The secret ingredient comes from the freezer.

Get ready for the whole table to rave.

Plus, there's little to no clean up.

Save room for seconds.

No-bake cookies — the kind made with oats, peanut butter, and chocolate — are a classic dessert and an easier option than homemade cookies from scratch. Mothers and grandmothers around the country regularly make this stovetop cookie, to varying results. I remember at least a few times eating failed no-bake cookies with a spoon because they never fully set. Here’s my secret to better no-bake cookies: Think of the process more like candy-making than cookie baking.

Make this once, and it will be your new go-to.

Pork loin roast might be the smartest meal to serve when you’re feeding a crowd. If you like pork chops or pork tenderloin, this cut will be right up your alley. Though it calls for a longer cook time, pork loin is simple enough to cook on a weeknight and more economical than beef tenderloin or prime rib.If you’re buying a pork loin roast for the first time, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind.

When it comes to holiday hams, whether it’s a Bourbon-Glazed Ham or a Copycat Honey Baked Ham, there are always, always leftovers. Yes, even if you’ve done your research on how to cook a ham and made estimates based on how many people you’re feeding. But honestly, leftover ham dishes can be even tastier than the centerpiece itself. There are plenty of ways — big and small — that we all can use leftover ham, now and later.

Whether you plan to serve roasted leg of lamb, pan-seared lamb chops, or grilled lamb chops for a special dinner, you’ll want to choose some sides. The beauty of serving lamb as the main is that you can serve it with a wide variety of sides and the meal will taste great. Hearty potatoes dishes pair just as well as bright snappy veggies like green beans.

Bubble and squeak, with its cutesy name, is a classic British day-after-holiday dish. It is incredibly versatile, as you can throw in any leftover vegetables or mashed potatoes into this comforting recipe — perfect for a relaxing meal after a hectic holiday. Usually made to use up leftovers after a Sunday roast dinner, or a major holiday like Easter or Christmas, bubble and squeak is quintessentially British and makes for a hearty breakfast, lunch, or even a quick weeknight meal.

Restaurants have a secret that they do not want to share, and it’s this: Cooking crab legs is one of the easiest meals you can make at home. It’s true. You can make impressive, restaurant-quality crab legs — boiled, broiled, or steamed! — in your own kitchen. Because most crab legs are sold already cooked and frozen, all you really have to do is reheat them, and that only takes about five minutes. Here are three ways to make impressively easy crab legs at home.

The sauce is everything.

This Chocolate Martini Is Made For Chocolate Lovers

A bowl of chocolate mousse is a decadent treat, but a layered chocolate mousse cake with a cookie crust is next-level. There are many varieties of chocolate mousse cake. Some have chocolate cake crusts rather than the cookie crust; others are chocolate cake layered with a mousse frosting. But we think our double-layered chocolate mousse cake is one of the best. This mousse cake is set in the refrigerator rather than baked and is served cold.