Who doesn’t wish for Christmas delicious cookies or for the amazing Christmas cake during this time of the year? Baking cookies and cakes at home is big fun and pleasure for all the family members, specially the kids.

Here are some easy recipes and funny ideas for you, to help you preparing and baking the signature Christmas cake and cookies or even just to decorate them at home.

Santa Cupcake

It is all about its rich frosting, it will look like Santa Clause’s face with a little help of some of your kids’ candies.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package pound cake mix (you can find it easily in the supermarket under many brands)
  • ¾ cup water
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tub white frosting
  • Pink food color
  • Red fruit slice candies
  • White decorating icing with star and writing tips (you can find it easily in the supermarket under many brands)
  • Mini Marshmallows
  • Brown mini M&Ms
  • Pink jelly beans
  • 1 roll Fruit Streamers strawberry fruit snacks

DIRECTIONS

  • Heat oven to 350°F. You’ll need 18 lined cupcakes.
  • Prepare cake mix as directions, using water and eggs. Divide batter among cupcake cups. Bake 18 to 20 minutes and let them cool.
  • Tint frosting pink spread on cupcakes. Add fruit slice candies for hats, and attach marshmallow halves, cut sides down for the Santa’s ears. Add mini M&Ms for the eyes and one pink Jelly bean for the nose
  • With star tip, pipe on hair, beards and mustaches, Peel red strands from Fruit Streamers, cut them in strands. For each mouth, pinch together two strands into a smile, place on cupcakes.

You can bake the cupcakes at home or you can just buy them ready made from your favorite bakery. And have fun decorating them with your kids.

Hat Cupcakes

It is very easy and you can prepare them in no time. In this recipe you can really rely on your kids’ help, even they are still too small, you can let them wash the strawberries or to draw the white lines on the cupcakes, or to sprinkle the coconut, or even to let them add the strawberries as hats, on the top of the cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS

  • 12 chocolate cupcakes
  • 1 batch royal icing
  • 1 batch vanilla buttercream
  • 1 shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 12 large strawberries

DIRECTIONS

  • Lightly coat the cupcakes with cooking spray. Make the icing. Fill a piping bag with the icing and, using a small round tip, pipe brick outlines around the outside of the cupcakes.
  • Make the vanilla buttercream as directed. Top each cupcake with 1/4 cup buttercream and sprinkle with the coconut. Top each cupcake with 1 strawberry, upside down.
  • Fill a piping bag with vanilla buttercream and, using a large round tip, pipe a ball on top of each strawberry and around the base to complete the hat.

Ginger Bread Man Cookies

It is not Christmas time unless you bake some Ginger breadman cookies at home, the most famous Christmas cookies ever. Entertain your kids with cookies while reading the Ginger breadman story for them. Here is an easy way to prepare Gingerbread cookies at home.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 batch gingerbread cookie dough
  • Ginger breadman cookie cutter
  • 1 batch royal icing

DIRECTIONS

  • Prepare the cookie dough, by using the rolling pin, roll out the gingerbread cookie dough to about 5mm thick. Make sure the surface and the rolling pin are well dusted with flour. Use gingerbread men cutter to cut out shapes.
  • Place the cut out dough on a greased or non-stick baking tray.
  • Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 10-15 minutes.
  • Make the icing and use the small pipe to decorate the cookies after they cool down. Draw the eyes and the mouth and the buttons. You may use green and red food colors to draw the buttons and a hair bow for the Gingerbread girls.

In this recipe you can use different shapes of cutters, such as Christmas tree cutter or snowflakes cutters, you can have them all and have more fun with different kinds of decorations.

Sugar Cookies

You can store the colorful sugar cookies in a glass jar and keep it in the living room, they will give you the feeling of it is time to celebrate. They are small and easy to be baked and decorated.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 stick softened unsalted butter
  • 1-cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • Cutters set

DIRECTIONS

  • In a large bowl, using a mixer set on medium-high, beat together softened unsalted butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract and salt. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add all-purpose flour, beating until ingredients are combined. (Dough will be slightly sticky.)
  • Divide dough into 4 equal portions and cover each in plastic wrap, patting into 1/2-inch-thick squares. Chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a floured surface, roll out dough, a square at a time, to 1/3 inch thick. Cut out cookies using Christmas tree or snow flacks or candy cane cutters. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes.
  • Bake until lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Let them cool completely before decorating.

The Italian Christmas Cake

If you don’t have time for all what we mentioned here, or you have guests on dinner suddenly, don’t bother yourself, you still can have fun with your kids and present a very delicious and signature Christmas cake to your guests… you can buy The Italian Christmas cake with its famous shapes. It is available in many big supermarkets here in Doha. After buying it you can decorate it with only whipped cream and some cherries or other dried fruits on the top, don’t forget the main Christmas decorating colors, red, green and white and here you go.

Maha Abd Elkafi is a copywriter and scriptwriter, working with media since 2002. She is a cooking enthusiast and reviews cafes as well. Follow her articles for entertainment and tips.