Husband: “Who taught our toddler ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?”
Me: That would be me. Last July.
Oh holidays. The food. The love. The traditions. The opportunity to count blessings and give some away. Who am I kidding? I’ll celebrate just about anything.
Still, I want these days to sparkle in my children’s eyes . . . but not at any cost. We prioritize wholesome food, even during the holidays. Although in general I don’t make a lot of desserts, over the years I have collected some recipes that often make an appearance during the holidays. Here are our favorites, plus a few savory recipes. I hope you love them as much as we do!
Sugar Cookies
Decorated with naturally colored sprinkles and natural food dye, these gluten-free sugar cookies are super easy to make and fun to decorate!
Homemade Marshmallows
These light, fluffy homemade marshmallows are made with wholesome ingredients like grass-fed gelatin, honey, and vanilla. Although the idea of marshmallows may seem a little intimidating, they’re actually pretty easy to make. Video tutorial in the post!
Bacon Wrapped Dates
Forget “pigs in a blanket”, this is where it’s at, y’all! Pistachio stuffed dates rolled up in juicy bacon goodness. They take less than 10 minutes to prep and only 20ish minutes in the oven? Easy peasy!
Homemade Eggnog
Grandma didn’t drink eggnog with high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors, and you don’t have to either. Try this easy eggnog recipe instead, and if you’re up for something extra cheery in your morning cuppa Joe, use it make this homemade eggnog latte.
Peppermint Patties
These homemade peppermint patties are just as cool, minty and refreshing as the original, and can be made in about 10 minutes of hands-on time.
Hot Apple Cider
This spiced apple cider recipe is a kid favorite, and can be used as the base for one of my husband’s favorites as well – buttered rum.
Gingerbread Cookies
This soft and chewy gingerbread cookie recipe blends the spicy kick of ginger with the sweetness of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves.
Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
This creamy spaghetti squash alfredo is always a huge hit at my house. It’s filling, simple to make, and can easily be doubled so you can spend less time in the kitchen making side dishes throughout the week.
Chocolate Peppermint Freezer Fudge
This freezer fudge recipe reminds me of biting into a Thin Mint cookie, and it only takes 10 minutes of hands-on time to make.
Hot Chocolate
This hot chocolate recipe is easy to put together and makes a delightful gift for teachers, friends, grandparents, co-workers, neighbors, and whomever else you want to make smile.
Can’t wait to try that fudge and Ben will be LOVING those buffalo wings!
You just made my day with all of these WONDERFUL looking holiday recipes, can’t wait to try some of these!
Thanks for posting so excited to get started. And glad there are some cookie choices that don’t rely on nut flour as we have allergies.
Hi! We also have nut allergies. We use sunflower seed flour to replace almond flour. It works wonderfully.
wow, THANKS!!!
Your welcome, Ashley!
I have eaten a lot of the citrus coconut fudge this season so far. It is yummy!! Thanks for a great collection of recipes.
You’re welcome, Charity! Love the name of your blog!
Thanks for sharing these!!!
Thank you!!
thanks mommy 🙂
WOAH momma! that is a ton of delicious looking stuff. i better get started right now =)
Hmmm, maybe we should do a swap! You do half and I’ll do half! Sound good?
What gorgeous photos! And, the recipes look wonderful, too. ;D
I let Katie pick her birthday treat from the photos on this page . . . she had such a hard time choosing! 🙂
I was excited for the gingerbread men… but then I saw that orange Julius! I think I HAVE to make that today, I just happen to have more eggs than I know what to with and today is milk pick up day. You know what is weird? As a kid I loved those until I found out they had raw eggs in them. Now I’m like “yes, another way to get in some raw egg yolks!” Thanks for sharing, I’m looking forward to Urban Poser’s guest posts. She had me at marshmallows. =)
Ha! I love any opportunity to get extra egg yolks in, too! And Jenni is so awesome. Daddypotamus calls her The Food Artist and is always happy when she drops by with something to try!
Thanks for sharing these!!!! 🙂
So, I didn’t think cocoa was legal in the GAPS diet. Is it? If so, I’m doing a happy dance right now!
It’s a grey area. Dr. Campbell-McBride basically says that if you can tolerate it that it’s fine 🙂
This looks like an excellent resource. Hopefully I’ll get to try some of them. Thanks.
Has anyone tried the chocolate peppermint cookies with coconut flour? I know I would have to use less, probably half as much coconut as almond. Also, thoughts on nut-free subs for the cashews in the cream?
Sorry . . . I’ll be making these for the first time tomorrow and don’t have any thoughts on possible substitutions yet 🙁
You saved the day! Thank you for posting. I will be visiting this site again.
Ha! My daughter loves that phrase and says it all the time! Glad you found this post helpful 🙂
Gorgeous post! Just scheduled this to be posted on http://facebook.com/westonaprice at 5pm.
Kimberly
Thank you, Kimberly!
By the way, please submit this to my blog carnival today!
Will do!
I just made the Orange Julius and the taste took me right back to the mall during my high school days! My 3 and 5 year old loved it, too! Thank you for sharing.
I couldn’t find the delicious-looking chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies; the link couldn’t find a recipe match anymore. Do you, by any chance, have the recipe that you could share, please? Thanks so much for such a great compilation of recipes!!
Sorry, Heather! It looks like the recipe is no longer available 🙁
Is the date sugar in the gingerbread cookie GAPS legal? I know it isn’t in SCD but can’t find anything about it for GAPS. She’s very specific that honey can’t be substituted for date sugar.
Hi Melana, I’m honestly not sure. I know the criteria has changed a few times, and I don’t have an up-to-date list on what’s allowed/not allowed. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Are these recipes still available?