Baking is one of my favorite holiday traditions. From chocolate crinkle cookies with peppermint Hershey Kisses nestled in the center to classic sugar cookies loaded with red and green sprinkles, there’s something so magical about curling up with a sweet treat by the light of the Christmas tree. This year, as groceries have become even more expensive and more families are struggling to access food, it matters that we find cheap Christmas baking recipes that can be made with affordable ingredients.
While your favorite bougie food mag might be telling you to make some elaborate, ridiculously expensive fig matcha torte, we know that classic sugar cookies are what we all really want at Christmastime. What’s affordable is different for every family. For the purposes of this story, let’s assume you keep sugar, flour, butter, and some basic baking seasonings (like cinnamon) on hand.
Princess Pinky Girl’s recipes are a go-to for me when I want a delicious dessert that is super easy to make and requires, like, the bare minimum ingredients. These cake mix cookies only need five, though you can add icing or sprinkles to the list if you so choose. The result: soft, tender cookies in holiday colors you can make in 25 minutes with the kids.
Another winning five-ingredient recipe: A Cookie Named Desire’s peppermint bark Oreo balls. These are fun to make as an adult or with kids — you get to crush a bunch of stuff — and they’re ready in about 25 minutes, start to finish. They look delicious to eat on a movie night, or they’d make a great gift wrapped in a cute cellophane bag with ribbon.
It really doesn’t get cheaper than Appetizer Bliss’s pecan shortbread cookies. We’re talking five ingredients here, and one of them is an optional pinch of salt. These would be so delicious with a cup of tea by the fire, or dunked in a spiked hot cocoa.
Ina Garten’s rich, gooey brownie pudding recipe went viral earlier this year; this recipe is Feel Good Foodie’s take on hers. It’s less expensive because it omits the liqueur and subs in vanilla extract for vanilla bean paste, but you still get that custard-like center with crispy edges like Ina intended. Laughing Spatula’s cranberry bars would be a great dessert to take to a holiday gathering at work or with friends.
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