This collection of no-bake Christmas recipes for kids is so simple and easy that you only have to help them out a little.
These sweet treats all avoid using the oven – you might just have to assist when it comes to melting delights like chocolate, butter, and marshmallows, but other than that they are just perfect for making with little ones this Christmas.
“No-bake recipes are great to do with your kids. As well as being nice and quick, children will love using their imagination to make these recipes,” says Ruth Chubb, who runs kids' cookery classes at Three Bears Cookery Club. “They will be learning and developing new skills; literacy, maths, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. And if you have children of different ages these are great recipes that you can all do together.”
It’s a wonderful time to get the kids in the kitchen because Christmas food is always fun and colourful. We’ve got festive cookies, no-bake Christmas cupcakes, mince pie ice cream, and chocolate cornflake wreaths, as well as lots of ideas for edible tree decor, including candy cane sleighs and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer made from marshmallows. There are plenty of ideas for foodie gifts for teachers, friends, and grandparents too, from festive rocky road to Nutella truffles to cookie mix in a jar. Enjoy.
Easy no-bake Christmas recipes
A chocolate marshmallow Rudolph with pretzel ears for hanging on the tree – too cute
1. Rudolph marshmallow decorations
Makes/Serves: Approx 20 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 20 min
An utter delight is these cute reindeer marshmallows. You only need five ingredients to make such sweet tree decorations that hang by Rudolph’s pretzel-based ears.
You’ll just need a bag of giant marshmallows (and we’ll be there’s one at the back of the cupboard from that summer camping trip) that are dipped into melted chocolate before giving each Rudolph fondant eyes and a shiny red Smartie nose.
Get the recipe: Rudolph marshmallow decorations
These adorable wreaths could be a teacher present that would definitely win brownie points
2. Christmas Cornflake wreaths
Makes/Serves: 6 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 30 mins
A festive twist on the iconic cornflake cake, these cute treats involve melting marshmallows and butter, mixing in the cereal, and a drop of green food colouring, and shaping into wreath shapes.
Then add red Skittles or Smarties for the holly berries, or freestyle and jazz up the wreaths with other festive decs, using other coloured sweets or perhaps silver sugar balls. A fab stocking filler popped in a small box or wrapped up in brown paper with a green or red bow.
Get the recipe: Christmas Cornflake wreaths
Cute, much? Super simple to make too, and will melt a grandparent's heart
3. Chocolate snowman truffles
Makes/Serves: 10 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 20 min
This truffle mix is very simple to make, just fashion it into snowman heads and bodies, and sprinkle them with grated white chocolate before making little hats, scarves, noses, twig arms – whatever you fancy – out of coloured fondant. Make the truffles into Christmas pudding shapes too, with a fondant sprig of holly on top.
“A great one for older children to do they can use their imagination making these plus a great showstopper over the Christmas period,” says Ruth Chubb. Wrap in cellophane as stocking fillers, or serve as your kid’s buffet contribution. Looking rough and ready is part of their charm – just like an actual snowman would.
Get the recipe: Chocolate snowman truffles
Add crumbed up mince pies to your homemade ice-cream is a seasonal twist
4. Mince pie ice cream
Makes/Serves: 8 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 10 min
Think making ice cream is a faff too far? Actually, all you need is vanilla custard, double cream, and, in this case, mince pies, and your freezer will do all the graft for you.
Adding crumbled-up pies to your mix gives it a festive flavour, which equally works with leftover Christmas pudding (because there is always leftover Christmas pudding), or add other Yuletide flavours - bashed-up pieces of chocolate orange, chopped up After Eights, dried fruit, crushed nuts. Even all at the same time because why not?
Get the recipe: Mince pie ice cream
Ferrero, who? It's homemade all the way for us
5. Nutella truffles
Makes/Serves: 15 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 55 mins
Channeling Ferrero Rocher vibes, but even better because it’s made lovingly with your kid’s own hands, this recipe has only six ingredients, yet looks super special. And what kid doesn’t love Nutella?
You could swap the crushed and toasted hazelnuts out for chocolate chips or sugar sprinkles. Worthy of a gift for grown-ups, you can also put them on sticks to turn them into truffle pops, ideal for dessert canapés at parties.
Get the recipe: Nutella truffles
A teatime biscuit with bells on. Or holly, to be more precise
6. Chocolate digestive Christmas puddings
Makes/Serves: Approx 20 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 10 mins
Festively pimp your teatime biscuit by drizzling over melted white chocolate and adding a fondant holly for a cute Christmas pudding design, that is, let’s face it, likely to go down better than the real thing with your kiddies. “Younger children will love this one, add some sparkle and Christmas spirit to your digestives. Great to develop their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills,” says Ruth Chubb.
Use a leaf-shaped cookie cutter if you have one, or just draw a design on paper for the holly and cut around it, then get the kids to make some mini berries. You could, of course, use other biscuits too – Oreos, chocolate hobnobs, even ginger nuts, and any other round-shaped cookie could work equally well.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Digestive Christmas puddings
Get the recipe: Oreo Christmas puddings
Who needs china baubles when you can make your own tasty treats?
7. Candy cane sleigh decorations
Makes/Serves: 2 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 10 mins
How inventive and equally effective is this idea? Rice Krispie Squares you've no doubt got in the cupboard already are stuck together with candy canes with a blob of icing sugar, wrapped in a festive bow, and stuck to your tree for easy and tasty decoration. Cute and tasty, like all the best things.
Get the recipe: Candy cane sleigh decorations
Cupcakes that don't need an oven? You read that right
8. No-bake raspberry chocolate cupcakes
Makes/Serves: 8 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 15 mins
Cupcakes you don’t have to bake? Yep, it’s a thing. This recipe uses ready-made Madeira cake and moulds the sponge into each cupcake case topped with a meringue-like mixture that will then be set in the fridge.
The kids can finish each cupcake with berries, or a chocolate treat – a fondant soft center or two snaffled from the Quality Street box would work well here, or try mini candy canes, white, green, and/or red sprinkles, edible glitter – anything goes.
Get the recipe: No-bake raspberry chocolate cupcakes
Snowman cake pops popped on the tree? It works for us
9. Snowman cake pop decorations
Makes/Serves: Approx 10 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 30 min
Buy a ready-made Madeira cake for this recipe, use leftover cake, or make the cake from scratch. Then mash the cake with a little buttercream and cover it with white chocolate candy melts.
Adding character to each of the snowmen's faces is clearly the most fun part – give them orange jelly tot, Skittles or Smartie noses, and black fondant features. Poke holes through them and thread them with festively coloured string, before they sit resplendent on the tree.
Get the recipe: Snowman cake pop decorations
Because the simplest things are the best. They could even be served up with a warm mince pie straight from the oven
10. Chocolate covered ice cream balls
Makes/Serves: 4 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 10 min
Basically like mini homemade choc ices, balls of ice cream are dipped in melted chocolate and put in the freezer. Though, this being Christmas, we do suggest some seasonal decor, of course.
Sprinkle with snow-like desiccated coconut or grated white choc, add some red and green sprinkles, top with fondant holly, or stick a segment of Terry’s Chocolate Orange on top. Perfect for pudding when you have festive friends over.
Get the recipe: Chocolate covered ice cream balls
11. Cookie mix in a jar
Makes/Serves: 12 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 10 min
Get the kids to make Christmas gifts for their teachers or grandparents this year with this simple cookie mix-in-a-jar recipe. All the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, and red and green candy (which could be swapped for nuts and dried fruit) are layered in a pleasing display.
It doesn't take much to make them, is a great way to teach your kids about measuring, and will go down a storm with the recipient. You’ll need sterilised Kilner jars and some festive ribbon, plus the recipe written out and attached.
Get the recipe: Cookie mix in a jar
Jelly tot bauble, anyone? That'll be everyone, then
12. Sweetie bauble decorations
Makes/Serves: 4 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 15 min
Seriously, your Christmas tree will be good enough to eat this year. This simple edible bauble is made from Rice Krispie squares moulded into balls (though you could also leave them as they are for a less conventional bauble shape), dipped in melted white chocolate with sweets stuck to it.
This recipe uses Jelly Tots but you could cover it with Skittles, or even do a proper pick-n-mix selection. Just don’t hang them close to a fireplace or you could end up with a sticky, melted mess of a tree.
Get the recipe: Sweetie bauble decorations
A poshed up version of a classic crispy cake will be a buffet hit
13. Mars bar cakes
Makes/serves: 16 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 20 min
Like a fancy chocolate crispy cake made with Mars Bars, other chocs from a Celebrations tin or a selection box work equally well to make these delights. Try anything from Double Decker to Snickers cakes, it could well be a good way to use up those least popular choices in the box. Sprinkle with edible glitter for a party look.
Get the recipe: Mars bar cake
Make good use of those ice cream cones in the cupboard, feeling unloved at this time of year
14. Marshmallow Christmas cones
Makes/Serves: 6 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 15 min
Think there isn’t much call for an ice cream cone around this time of year? Think again. These hanging cones are super simple to make – dip them in chocolate, dust them with edible glitter, and fill them with the kid's favourite treats, from marshmallows to chocolate coins.
Add holes to the top with a skewer, thread through a ribbon, and pop them on the Christmas tree. They'll be very proud of their mini masterpieces, and quite right, too.
Get the recipe: Hanging cones decorations
Rocky road is a great teacher gift, or one for the grandparents
15. Rocky road
Makes/Serves: 16 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 20 min
Rocky road is an easy fridge cake that looks awesome and works wonderfully as a gift for a teacher, friend, or anyone at all, really. Make it super festive by adding ingredients like brazil nuts, dried fruit, and glace cherries, sprinkle with icing sugar or edible glitter, and either serve on a decorated plate at your buffet or pop in a box as a present topped with a sprig of holly.
Other special twists include the addition of Turkish delight or other chocolate box goodies, or swapping the classic milk or dark choc for a sweeter white. “Rocky road is always a favourite bursting with chocolate and marshmallows, it is fun for the kids to crush up biscuits. You can also use digestives as a base for this recipe which is great for kids if they are not keen on ginger,” says Ruth Chubb.
Get the recipe: Classic rocky road
Get the recipe: Turkish delight rocky road
Get the recipe: White chocolate rocky road
Sweet, simple and charmingly imperfect are these rice krispie stars
16. Magic rice krispie stars
Makes/Serves: 12-15 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 20 min
Combine butter, marshmallows, and Rice Krispies, then drizzle with white chocolate and leave to set. The kids could mould them into any festive shape – like snowmen or Christmas trees – but these stars fit perfectly on sticks, like delightful festive fairy wands. Pop in a cellophane bag and give it as a teacher gift or to their little pals.
Get the recipe: Rice Krispie stars
17. Rice Krispie snowmen
Makes/Serves: 6-8 | Skill level: Easy | Total time: 45 min
Get your fingers sticky with this super cute recipe for Rice Krispies snowmen. The kids can shape and decorate them however they choose, from using rainbow striped sweets for scarves to Tic Tacs for noses, to fruit laces and Skittles for ear muffs. Seriously adorable.
Get the recipe: Rice Krispie snowmen
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