Top 8 Fun and Easy Baking Recipes for Kids to Try!

Admit it — this is the part of the year you waited for all year. You're not alone. We're a team of holiday lovers guilty of the same charge, and we get you! The chill winter breezes, the kaleidoscope of Christmas lights, the sound of carols drifting out of open doors and windows, and the food! Christmas has a way of turning us into little kids all over again, like clockwork every year. And the effect it has on the tiny tots! From building snowmen in the yard to unwrapping presents under the tree and chomping down on Yuletide treats — it's a joy to be a child at Christmastime. What if your kiddo could help you whip up said treats and not just chomp down on them? Sounds impossible? Luckily, we've scoured the internet for preschooler-friendly baking recipes that are ideal for the holiday season. And yes, we've got hacks to sweeten the meal. Let's bake!

Christmas trees made of cookies!

Oh, Christmas tree! Oh, Christmas tree! Who doesn't love thee? Children adore the beloved Christmas tree, and they're crazy about cookies! This creative recipe by Taste of Home produces the perfect marriage of both. What's great about it is that it lets you get away with using ready cookie dough. Another plus is the decoration on these cookie trees. Your toddler is gonna have a ball!

Kidd hack: Fear not if you haven't got round cookie cutters in varying sizes. You can use objects in your kitchen! Wine glasses, bottle covers, teeny bowls, jar lids, and such will do just fine. Make a game out of it! Have the kids look for these as if they were on a mini treasure hunt.

Adorable, edible gingerbread people

Ah, the scent of gingerbread baking! Gingerbread people are a must-make if you've got a toddler at home. Why? Well, they're cookies shaped like little people! And there are so many ways you can experiment in terms of decoration. M&Ms, icing, sprinkles, and sugar candy in all sorts of colors can find a place on your delicious little gingerbread folk. Helen from Cooking with My Kids has a toddler-friendly recipe that proves this treat is a hit with the little ones. Check it out!

Kidd hack: There are so many opportunities to bake and learn with this one. Your child can sharpen their color and shape recognition skills, their fine motor skills (all that kneading and icing decoration!), and even improve their understanding of emotions with adorable expressions for their gingerbread people.

Christmas tree brownies on pretzel sticks!

Can you tell we're obsessed with Christmas trees? Here's another fun fact: we're big on chocolate brownies too! And something tells us your teeny elf shares these obsessions with us. If that's the case, they will have the time of their life baking The Spruce Eats' Christmas Tree Brownies with you. Honestly, it's hard to think of a more eye-grabbing, mouth-watering Christmas twist to a baked classic. And look at those pretzel stems!

Kidd hack: The deep-green fir is the original Christmas decoration, but we know a lot of kids are big little fans of white Christmas trees. If yours is one of them, leave the green food coloring out. Enjoy!

Delicious, red-nosed reindeer faces

It's true what they say: we eat with our eyes first. And these red-nosed reindeer-face cookies are a treat for the eyes just as much as they are a treat for the palate. A sweet, creative ode to everyone's favorite reindeer, this cookie recipe has all the goods: orange, almond, dark chocolate, and M&Ms. Once again, you can play with sizes using kitchen paraphernalia, and there's plenty the kids can do: kneading, cookie cutting, and decorating!

Kidd hack: If you're like us, and you want your edible Rudolphs to look more realistic in terms of color, you could swap out the almond for a smattering of cocoa! Remember to balance out those flavors.

Starry, starry cranberry shortbread

You can't have Christmas without a generous sprinkling of five-point stars, can you? And if there are going to be stars, why not make them edible? Another unbelievably easy recipe from Taste of Home, these cranberry shortbread stars are quick to whip up and fun to nibble on. And while the deep red of the cranberries makes them a true Christmas treat, you and your little elf can get creative with blueberries, nuts, and chocolate chips too!

Kidd hack: The dried cranberries in this recipe can make it tricky to cut out perfect stars, especially for kids. A quick way to reduce the stickiness is to toss your cranberries in plain flour before you mix them into the dough. Your junior chef just might enjoy doing this bit.

Snowmen melting on cookies

Helen from Cooking with My Kids has taken the art of creating a snowy visual on a cookie to a whole new level with this one, and she did so with her kids! All it takes to elevate a basic cookie recipe to a clever Christmas treat is… a marshmallow and some icing sugar! An absolute joy to create, these Melted Snowman Biscuits can be made more Christmassy with red and green M&Ms for buttons and snake lollies for scarves!

Kidd hack: Remember how things got creative with chocolate while creating those reindeer faces? Apply that same sweet magic to your snowmen, and give them branch-like arms!

Twisty candy cane cookies

Twisted treats aren't just goodies to be enjoyed at Halloween. They can be a Christmas delight too, especially when they're in the shape and colors of candy cane! What makes this an absolute winner is the rolling and twisting involved. It will be just like playing with clay dough — only this time, the end result will be wonderfully edible!

Kidd hack: We know this is a Candy Cane Cookie recipe, but if you curve the ends of each cane completely and join them, you get another holly, jolly Christmas motif: the wreath! Section off a portion of your dough, add a spot of green food coloring, and stick Christmassy sugar candy shapes on if you prefer your wreaths to look more authentic. Whatever you do, we promise it will be delicious.

Nutella-center Christmas trees

We kicked this list off with trees, and we're going to end with the beautiful things. This time, there's a gooey dose of Nutella in the mix! Whichever way you serve it to a child, Nutella is a win. Sandwich it between two cookies shaped like little Christmas trees, and you'll have a baked Yuletide dessert they will want every single year. Sprinkle the trees with gold pearl dust, and you'll be taking a humble cookie recipe to a golden height.

Kidd hack: Taste of Home calls for a cookie press to create its Touch-of-Gold Christmas Trees, but a tree-shaped cookie cutter should do just fine, as long as you achieve some fragrant, gold-dusted, Christmas tree-shaped Nutella cookie sandwiches.