16 Irresistible Christmas Desserts Around the World

The holiday season is the best time of year to celebrate with friends and family. Discover 16 festive Christmas desserts that will make your December celebration even sweeter.

Some Christmas cakes and pastries evoke warm memories of past holidays spent with friends and family.

Then there are the goodies which create fresh memories when we taste them for the first time.

Bûche de Noël (France)

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An impressive culinary creation that involves rolling iced sponge cake into a cylinder and decorating it with chocolate buttercream icing, ganache, twigs, berries and other decorative embellishments.

Bolle de Rei (Portugal)

Bolo Rei is the king of holiday desserts in Portugal. Topped with colorful candied fruit, the circular brioche-like cake lines the shelves at pastry shops and markets.

2

Pannetone (Italy)

Less sweet than most Italian desserts, Panettone is Italy’s puffy round version of brioche baked sky high and cooled upside down to retain its height.

3

Christmas Cookies (Everywhere)

They’re fun to bake at home and swap with friends. They also make excellent hostess gifts and look festive when displayed at holiday parties and dinners.

4

Stollen (Germany)

As we discovered in Baden-Baden, versions baked with mandel (i.e. almonds) and marzipan hit our breakfast sweet spot.

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