by Kellie Morrison

Created on: November 05, 2009   Last Updated: December 07, 2009

Who has time to learn how to make a Christmas dessert during the hectic holiday season? With gift buying, wrapping, stuffing, cooking, traveling and family, no one has time to spend long hours in the kitchen slaving away over a Christmas dessert to bring to a holiday party.

The key is to impress, not stress. After a long day at work, the last thing you want to think about is what and how to make a Christmas dessert for the party in the hour time frame you have to get dressed, ready and out the door. That's where these quick and easy Christmas dessert ideas come in.

When delectable Christmas delights come to mind, cookies are at the top of almost everyone's list. They ARE Santa's Christmas dessert of choice after all. So why not bring them to your Christmas party? No need to pull out grandma's secret sugar cookie recipe. Simply go to the store and pick up one of those pre-packaged cookie dough logs.

There are countless possibilities with the cookie dough. One idea is to divide the dough into two parts. Use food coloring to dye one half of the dough red and the other half green. Knead the dough to incorporate the color. Roll out the red dough and the green dough separately, and using a star cookie cutter, cut out star shapes. Bake the cookies according to the package directions. Once cooled, stack the star-shaped cookies into a Christmas "tree" by making a ring of cookies on a platter, then stacking a smaller ring on top of that layer and so on until you've got a tall, "tree"-shaped stack of cookies. It's festive, colorful and it looks like you put some effort into it.

Another dessert that often gets overlooked, but is super easy to make and assemble, is trifle. Making this Christmas dessert is as simple as layering. If you don't have a trifle bowl, you can simply use a clear glass or plastic bowl. The charm of this dessert is in its appearance, though it tastes fantastic as well!

Trifle's main staples are usually some kind of pudding and bread or cookie, which are alternately layered with a whipped topping. To make this Christmas dessert, simply buy a package or two of instant vanilla pudding, whipped topping and a peppermint flavored cookie of your choice or a store-bought cake such as pound cake. Food companies always have some sort of Christmas flavor out for the holidays, so take your pick. In this case, we'll use the Christmas-colored Oreos and a few peppermints. Whip up the vanilla pudding and set aside. Crumble enough Oreos to cover the bottom of the bowl and then pour half of the pudding on top. On top of the pudding, add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat the layers. As an added garnish, crush some peppermint candy and sprinkle on top of the last layer of whipped topping. It looks pretty and tastes delicious!

These two examples of effortless Christmas desserts are sure to get you started for the holiday season. Use your imagination and use what you have. The Christmas season is about giving, happiness, family and friends, and, don't forget, good food.

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