Final preparations are in place. Baking is done. These are my Christmas baking traditions. I have a few foods I make every year and it’s so fun to make these foods and enjoy them each year.
Today I’m sharing what a few of those foods are along with photos. The foods can change each year and evolve over time. You can even make new Christmas food traditions. As long as it’s something you begin to repeat over time it’s a new tradition.
Christmas Baking Traditions
Pretzel Turtles
Traditional Christmas Cookies
Here are some more photos of Christmas foods I enjoy baking. This year I did all of my baking in one day, although I might add in one more cookie recipe on Christmas Day! We will also be having an Instant Pot beef roast so I will make that the day of.
For 2020, I decided to spread out more of the baking to make 1-2 items per day. This was kind of fun and kept our daughter entertained. Christmas fell on a Friday so it felt like we had the entire week to prepare. I also opted to freeze some portions of the cookies and sweets we made so we weren’t eating three dozen cookies all at once.
Growing up my grandma started this tradition of freezing Christmas cookies and we would have them in July each year. This was a nice way to enjoy Christmas food year-round. I would like to re-start this tradition, I only hope I can store them well enough that they don’t get any freezer burn.
Related blog posts:
• Homemade Pecan Pie Perfect for Holiday Baking
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• Traditional Polish Foods Anyone Will Enjoy
• DIY Christmas Gifts Easy, Frugal & Unique
Holiday Baking Traditions
Butter Ball Cookies
Homemade Pie Crust
Pecan Pie
Traditional Chex Mix
Past Baking Traditions
In the past I have also made cream cheese sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting. Let me just say this was the first time I’ve ever truly made sugar cookies. I followed this recipe for cream cheese sugar cookies and as a true baker would, I’ve tasted the final product and they are spot on.
But can I just say this was a bear to tackle? I mean sugar cookies are time consuming to make! Then add in this whole frosting biz (also made from scratch) and I’m done. Whew! This is an old traditional Christmas baking idea.
Here’s a whole list of current or past Christmas baking foods for my family that I can think of. We have Polish and German descent some some foods might be unique to that heritage:
• Pecan Pie
• Buckeyes
• Butter Balls
• Sugar Cookies
• Toffee
• Pretzel Turtles
• Sweet & Salty Nuts
• Gingerbread Cookies
• Gingerbread Bars
• Polish Coffee Cake
• Chex Mix
• Fruit Cake
• Baklava
• Cheesecake
• Christmas Breakfast Strata (served with Oranges)
• Pot Roast (in the Instant Pot)
• Chipped Beef Ball
• Braunschweiger Cheese Ball
• Cheese and Cracker Assortment
• Deviled Eggs
• Celery with Cream Cheese and Paprika
• Coconut Cherry Cookies
• Roast Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce
Baking Traditions
In Summary
Having Christmas baking traditions is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season, enjoy great foods you normally only have once a year and enjoy time with family and loved ones and friends. I love having a few meals or foods I only make once a year at Christmas.
I look forward to having these special foods each holiday season and it’s a real treat when you only have a certain meal or dish once a year. My traditions usually include pies, cookies and this past year a nice Christmas Day dinner and a Christmas Breakfast Strata for breakfast. I look forward to making these foods again next year.
What do you bake for Christmas?