Make This Llama Orange-Spiced Cookies Recipe for the Holidays

Vegan Mini Chocolate Pies with Pecan Caramel

Mini pies are the perfect Christmas dessert because they're hand-held and bite-sized, plus these feature chocolate, pecan, and caramel flavors! They're also vegan, which just makes us love them even more. (via Brit + Co)

Easy Puppy Chow Recipe

You probably already have everything you need for this DIY dessert recipe: peanut butter (or another nut butter), chocolate chips, Chex cereal, butter, and powdered sugar. The red and green candies are just a bonus! (via Brit + Co)

The Best Sugar Cookies

These sugar cookies are so good, they don't really need any embellishments, but would it really be a Christmas party without reindeer cookies?! Save a few to leave out for Santa, too. (via Brit + Co)

Oreo Red Velvet Cheesecake

If you love red velvet cake and you love cheesecake, then this is the dessert for you. The crust, cheesecake filling, and whipped cream come together beautifully so that every bite you take is better than the last! Plus, the Oreos on top are the perfect finishing touch. (via Brit + Co)

Paleo Christmas Cookies

Cookies will never be totally healthy, but there are definitely ways that you can make them healthier. Check out this easy Christmas dessert that's paleo-friendly. (via Brit + Co)

Eggnog French Toast

Have breakfast for dessert by adding eggnog to your French toast batter. It adds just the right amount of spice to the recipe and makes it creamy and smooth. (via Brit + Co)

Sweet Chai Latte Cupcakes

Turn your favorite morning beverage into a sweet treat with these cupcakes. The flavors and spices make for the perfect holiday season dessert. (via Brit + Co)

Peppermint Macarons with White Chocolate Ganache

Find a new way to enjoy the minty flavor of peppermint with this macarons recipe. Covered in white chocolate, it's a nod to the traditional French pastry. (via Brit + Co)

Chocolate Pumpkin Tart with Gingersnap Crust

Move over white chocolate ganache, because this pumpkintart is ready for its turn in the spotlight. We love that the gingersnap crust helps balance the rich taste of dark chocolate. (via Brit + Co)

Puff Pastry Apple Roses

These roses look good enough to eat – because they are indeed edible! It's the one time you'll enjoy stopping to smell the roses. (via Brit + Co)

Vegan Apple Cake

If puff pastry apple roses feel like too much of a lite dessert, you'll want to keep this vegan apple cake recipe handy. (via Brit + Co)

Baked Hot Chocolate Doughnuts

We have a *major* sweet tooth for anything that involves gooey chocolate, so combining our love of doughnuts and hot chocolate sounds like a dream come true. (via Brit + Co)

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Yogurt Cups

Take a break from traditional Christmas desserts and make candy recipes instead! Who knows, someone may request that you make frozen chocolate peanut butter yogurt cups for their birthday next year. (via Brit + Co)

Eggnog with Sugared Rosemary

Who says desserts have to be food? This sweet drink is a classic Christmas dessert, whether you're decorating the tree or curling up for a movie night. Our favorite detail is definitely the sugared rosemary. (via Brit + Co)

Mini Gingerbread Cheesecakes

If regular slices of cheesecake are too rich for you, try these mini bite-sized options for your next get-together. They're a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet, and just the right amount of creamy. (via Brit + Co)

Even Santa Will Want A Bite Of These Christmas Desserts!

Peppermint Bark Cannoli

You just can’t get through the snowy season without indulging in some sweet and cool peppermint bark. No surprise, it's amazing in cannolis. (via Sugar and Cloth)

Mott's Gingerbread Cups

These lil cups are a fun, festive, and fabulous treat to make with and for your little ones — or for anyone else, frankly! Just look how cute they are! (via Mott's)

Rum and Eggnog Bundt Cake

We like big bundts and we cannot lie; a slice of this, we can't deny! Flavored with rum and eggnog, this luscious cake is slathered with a generous coating of eggnog cream cheese icing that will make your tastebuds sing. (via Liv for Cake)

Eggnog Cheesecake Brownies

With creamy eggnog cheesecake swirling into fudgy goodness, these brownies will make even eggnog naysayers fall in love with the soft and chewy bites. (via A Cookie Named Desire)

Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake

We know you’re thinking it because we’re thinking it — be still, my heart! This rich, minty, and chocolatey cake is dripping with glaze and topped with crushed candy canes. Can you say flavor bomb? (via Two Peas & Their Pod)

Champagne Donuts With White Chocolate Glaze

One of the best things about donuts is they can be enjoyed as both a dessert *and* as a sweet breakfast option. The Champagne-infused dough and white chocolate glaze create the ultimate holiday treat. (via Sugar and Cloth)

Apple and Mincemeat Filo Wreath

This swoon-worthy recipe stuffs crisp apples and mincemeat into a flaky filo pastry, resulting in complete dessert heaven. Adorned with cranberries and drizzled with custard, this treat is guaranteed to be a hit at any holiday party. (via Domestic Gothess)

Mexican Wedding Cookies

These tiny snowballs are slightly salty, nutty, buttery, and downright delish. (via Two Peas & Their Pod)

Cranberry Dark Chocolate Biscotti

We hope you’re ready for additional caffeine, because you’ll be brewing an extra cup a day just for an excuse to dip and devour these beauties. Totally addicting, these munchies are packed with nuts and cranberries and drizzled with chocolate. (via Pinch of Yum)

Homemade Marshmallows

Storebought marshmallows will never taste the same after you make these. Dip them in chocolate or add them to your hot cocoa for a truly decadent treat. (via The Real Food Dietitians)

Eggnog Panna Cotta with Spiked Cranberry Sauce

Silky smooth panna cotta may seem like a summery dessert, but when made with eggnog and topped with orange liqueur-spiked cranberry sauce, it's completely festive. (via Sprinkle Bakes)

You Won't Want To Share These Delicious Christmas Desserts

White Christmas Sparkle Cake

If you prefer snowflakes and twinkly lights to bright red and green decorations, you'll love this fluffy vanilla almond cake with cream cheese frosting. (via How Sweet Eats)

You Won't Believe How Tasty These Christmas Desserts Are

Meringue Christmas Wreath Cake

But if you do love colorful decorations, opt for this wreath cake, decked out with nonpareils and candy canes. (via Sprinkle Bakes)

Holiday Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Instead of rolling out dough to make individual cookies, bake up these bars, and have fun making your own sprinkle design on top. (via Averie Cooks)

Marmalade Thumbprint Cookies

It truly isn’t the holidays without some jam-filled thumbprint cookies to munch on. Though a berry jam is most commonly used, the choice of this orange jam is brilliant. (via The View From Great Island)

Christmas Tree Mousse Cups

You don't have to be an artist to make an adorable tree-shaped dollop of mousse in these chocolate cups. (via My Life Cookbook)

Peppermint Cream Puffs

Bite-size cream puffs are the ideal treat, and with a light peppermint ganache and festive sprinkles, they're holiday-ready. (via Best Friends for Frosting)

Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

We love how fluffy mousse is, and this Christmas dessert (which only needs four ingredients, FYI!!) mixes in peppermint extract for the perfect seasonal flavor. Add some crushed candy canes on top for an extra cute detail. (via Feel Good Foodie)

Funfetti Christmas Cake Roll

Don't be intimidated by the cylindrical shape; this colorful cake is both easy to bake and easy to roll up while hot. (via Passion for Savings)

Italian Pear Cranberry Tart

If the cranberry sauce at your Thanksgiving dinner didn’t satisfy your cranberry needs, this festive tart will. Fresh cranberries are piled into a shortbread crust over a luscious layer of almond cream, and it’s kind of the best thing ever. (via Just a Little Bit of Bacon)

Viennese Crescent Cookies

Popular in Austria, these melt-in-your-mouth Christmas cookies are a simple blend of hazelnuts, butter, and powdered sugar. (via Leite's Culinaria)

We'd Recommend These Christmas Desserts To Everyone

Mincemeat, Marzipan, and Apple Bread Wreath

Filled with mincemeat, marzipan, and apricot jam, this impressive buttery wreath is packed with flavor. And since it's fruity, you can get away with eating it for breakfast. (via Domestic Gothess)

Sugar Cookie Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Have more Christmas cookies than you know what to do with? Use them to top these velvety, chocolate-rich crème brûlées. (via Half Baked Harvest)

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

If you want to get real fancy, haul out your bundt cake pan and try this recipe. The patterned cake looks even more impressive when laden with a shiny glaze. (via The View From Great Island)

Slice and Bake Heart Cookies

These heart-shaped cookies are so much easier to make than you'd think. Impress your Christmas guests with a bout of sugar cookies! (via Crowded Kitchen)

Tahini Brownies

If you can't handle full-on sweetness, try these brownies that mix in some tahini for a nutty flavor addition. The flaky salt on top adds an edge that you do not want to miss out on. (via Forks and Foliage)

Vegan Peanut Butter Blossoms

Is there a better duo than chocolate and peanut butter? These blossoms feature creamy peanut butter and dark chocolate chips for a rich, smooth take on the classic combo. (via Rachel Mansfield)

Olive Oil Orange Cake

This citrusy, just slightly olive-oily cake will brighten up your winter diet, and the touch of Grand Marnier makes it taste extra-elegant. (via Averie Cooks)

Hazelnut Shortbread with Salted Ganache Sandwich Cookies

Okay, regular Oreos. We raise you one with these uniquely delicious (and super festive!) homemade sandwich cookies! (via Vanilla and Bean)

Sugar Dusted Donut Christmas Tree by Chef Genevieve LaMonaca

For this delicious Christmas dessert, roll 60 (3lbs) white donut holes in 2.25oz green sugar sprinkles, then cover a 5.5 x 13.5-inch foam cone in plastic wrap. Insert your toothpicks (you'll need 60) into the foam, then push donut hole on the toothpick. Start from the bottom and work your way up. Add 1/2 cup peanut M&M’s to fill holes to resemble Christmas ornaments. Top with gold star cupcake topper. Cover with saran wrap until ready to use. Make up to 3 days ahead of time!

While cradling a cocktail in one hand, an easy-to-grab appetizer is essential. These flaky, cheesy bacon twists are both easy and delicious to dunk in a three-cheese beer dip. (via Brit + Co)

A red-and-green holiday treat without sugary sprinkles? Count us in. These phyllo shells are filled with whipped pesto cream cheese and topped with basil and sun-dried tomatoes for some yummy Christmas food. (via Well Plated by Erin)

These cranberry goat cheese balls are the perfect balance of salty and sweet — a definite crowd-pleaser for any Christmas dinner! (via Chef Genevieve)

Spread avocado, mascarpone, and provolone onto toasted baguette slices for a tasty appetizer, and top away for three versatile holiday food ideas that will please any palate at your holiday party. (via The Baking Fairy)

Add this this gooey, sweet, and salty baked brie to your Christmas dinner menu and guests will gather around it like it's a fireplace on a cold day. (via The Seasoned Mom)

Holiday Recipes for Side Dishes

The seafood lover in your home will be elated to munch on these sweet and umami-rich (thanks to oyster sauce) sesame shrimp, blanketed in buttery puff pastry. You'll definitely want to add this dish to your best Christmas recipes list. (via Brit + Co)

This savory combination of sage, Gruyère cheese, and heavy cream is here to make sweet potato casserole even more indulgent. This is definitely one of our favorite Christmas dinner ideas ;). (via Brit + Co)

Fill your guests' bellies with the seasonal flavors of butternut squash, apple cider, and pecans. The bacon is just the icing on the cake, so to speak. (via Brit + Co)

Turn romanesco into snow-capped trees with just six ingredients in this healthy yet cheesy dish for your next party. (via Brit + Co)

Nothing will warm you to your toes quite like a good soup, and whipping one up in the slow cooker can save you time, mess, and energy. This French onion creation is a perennial favorite. (via Brit + Co)

These latkes make the perfect addition to any multi-cultural celebration, and the best part is how easy they are! From an apple butter topping to pomegranate and Greek yogurt, there's something for everyone. (via Brit + Co)

These slightly spicy biscuits are ideal for soaking up all that gravy goodness. (via Brit + Co)

Okay, you might be thinking "Why in the world would someone serve taco salad at Christmas?" But hear me out! This recipe is full of delicious veggies, and it's just brimming with color. Keep things red and green to stay festive, or go all-out with every color of the rainbow. (via Brit + Co)

If ever there were a bulletproof case for buying a mandoline slicer, it's these potatoes, which are sliced chip-thin, layered upright in a baking dish, and gloriously bathed in salty rosemary butter. (via Rasamalaysia)

If you're looking for vegan Christmas recipes, look no further than this warming, insanely delicious, and seasonal pumpkin curry. Just leave out the fish sauce to make it fully plant-based! (via Brit + Co)

A complicated salad is the last thing you need to worry about when picking out Christmas dinner recipes. This palate-cleansing dish is simply butter lettuce, pomegranate seeds, and a white wine vinaigrette. (via My Kitchen Love)

Main Dishes to Enjoy With Family

If you're tasked with cooking the bird this holiday season, look no further than this foolproof roast turkey recipe. (via Brit + Co)

Make a statement with a delicious short rib recipe that's cozy, filling, and features an unbelievable wine sauce. Everyone will be talking about it until next Christmas. (via Brit + Co)

Cranberry Glazed Turkey

Make your turkey extra-special with a delicious cranberry-pomegranate glaze everyone is sure to adore. (via Brit + Co)

For a Christmas dinner or otherwise, every home cook needs a roast chicken recipe in their back pocket. Start with this step-by-step recipe, which shows you how to stuff, truss, roast, and baste the bird until juicy and golden brown. (via Simply Recipes)

This dish combines a classic holiday side with a crowd-pleasing main, and it's wrapped in prosciutto for a show-stopping finish. (via Well Plated by Erin)

Pasta doesn't get enough cred when it comes to holiday recipes, but nothing's cozier than a delicious bowl of warm tortellini. Except tortellini soup, that is (via Half-Baked Harvest)

Four-Cheese White Lasagna

This vegetarian lasagna-ravioli hybrid is made a little unconventionally, making it a great Christmas meal idea. Instead of neatly layering pasta sheets and cheese, fold a little bit of cheese into each individual pasta sheet, then layer haphazardly for a rustic look. (via Simply Recipes)

This melt-in-your-mouth holiday meal is cooked in one pan in under an hour. Sauté mushrooms in an oven-safe skillet, put the beef on top, roast, rest, and make a cheesy, herby cream sauce with the pan drippings. (via Half Baked Harvest)

This dish is all about texture, from the crispy bacon coat to the tender turkey in the middle and soft stuffing interior. This is one Christmas dinner recipe you won't want to miss out on. (via Boulder Locavore)

Dessert Christmas Recipes that are Delicioso

Got guests who are committed to the low-carb lifestyle? This keto eggnog is the perfect dessert to serve the carb-conscious. (via Brit + Co)

This easy peppermint bark recipe is so simple to make, you'll have plenty of time on your hands for more ambitious endeavors — like cooking the turkey. (via Brit + Co)

Your go-to sweet treat gets a festive upgrade when you add in red and green candy! Bonus points if you have a red or green bowl to put it in ;). (via Brit + Co)

No surprise here: the secret to Torres' high-quality chocolate chip cookies is high quality ingredients, like butter, flour, and chocolate. Letting the dough age for 24 hours and sprinkling it with sea salt at the end doesn't hurt either. (via Brit + Co)

When it's your first year hostessing, the simpler you can keep your Christmas dinner recipes, the better. That's why we're huge fans of these 3-ingredient vegan Christmas cookies. (via Brit + Co)

Donuts are an all-purpose treat that can serve as Christmas breakfast, brunch, or dessert. This baked hot chocolate-inspired version doesn't require any special tools to make and is uber delicious. (via Brit + Co)

These six-ingredient donuts, made with biscuit dough, have a cinnamony exterior and a rich dulce de leche filling that pairs wonderfully with Mexican hot chocolate. (via Brit + Co)

Another recipe you can serve as a Christmas dinner or brunch is this sweet French toast. The secret to nailing that 'nog flavor is the nutmeg and vanilla combo. Yum. (via Brit + Co)

Give your oven and your plates a break and add this dairy-free hot chocolate to your easy Christmas dinner menu, or enjoy with Christmas waffles! Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, and let the gadget do the rest for you. (via Brit + Co)

This egg-free, celebration-worthy holiday dinner idea gets its creaminess from cream cheese and, better yet, its booziness from sparkling wine. (via Brit + Co)

We call this pie holiday crack for a reason (or two): the pie crust is made of mini cinnamon rolls and the pecan filling is buttery on the verge of illegal, which definitely makes it one of our favorite holiday dishes. (via Brit + Co)

Hear that? That's a scoop of ice cream begging to top this sweet tray of apple, pear, cranberry, pineapple, and gluten-free dessert. (via Cotter Crunch)

Is Rudy Pankow leaving OBX?

After traveling to Morocco to find the Blue Crown, the Pogues (and Rafe, who I guess is a Pogue now??) once again find themselves in a race against Chandler Groff and Dalia & Lightener. Our favorite couples get some quality time, like JJ and Kiara talking about the legend that the crown grants wishes, but right when the group finally starts to crack the treasure map, a sand storm splits them up: Sarah and John B. running from Dalia's men, and Pope and Cleo holding off Lightener while JJ and Kiara find the crown.

And things look up when JJ actually does find the crown! And he and Kiara escape Dalia! But when they run into Groff, who holds Kiara at knifepoint, JJ is forced to choose between the crown and the girl he loves. He willingly gives the crown up, pulling Kiara to safety in a heartbreaking parallel to their sweet hug from season 1. And in a moment of heartless cruelty, Groff stabs JJ anyway, leaving him in Kiara's arms as Groff runs away with the treasure.

It's truly one of the most devastating scenes in recent TV. Kie sits with JJ as he struggles to breathe and he asks her to take care of the other Pogues before telling her he already got his wish — her. They say one final "I love you" and JJ dies. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you I was weeping.

"It’s something that's engineered to be gratuitous," showrunner Shannon Burke told EW. "JJ totally is at peace, that’s the intent. He’s gotten past this. He’s been in a bad place and has been spinning for a lot of the season...And you feel when he comes back [after saving Sarah] that he’s in a better place and that there’s a long and bright future with him and Kiara, so it makes it extra tragic, what happens." Yeah, Shannon, you could say that.

“We wanted to begin in a place of innocence and then go to a place that at least one point to go is really dark for [the kids], and then have them come out of it," he adds in a Deadline interview. "That’s the overarching plan for the show. It was always JJ that was going to be, we just weren’t sure how we were going to play it.”

Fans weren't happy about the choice to kill off such a fan favorite character, claiming it felt rushed and that the relationships between JJ and the rest of the group were weaker this season. Well, according to one DeuxMoi source, JJ's death was actually supposed to happen in the series finale. But with all those cast drama rumors, Rudy Pankow is rumored to have asked to be written off the show early.

"They filmed episode 10 before the last episodes of the first half & Rudy didn't tell the cast so it threw them off," the source says. "In the last episode you can see how mad everyone was at Rudy. It's a mess and it pissed off production but they are going to brush it off like it's ‘always been the plan.’”

Is JJ coming back in season 5?

I'm simultaneously pissed and very impressed with this finale. JJ's death immediately started trending on social media, and the fact that a single scene could get such a visceral reaction from millions of fans shows how much we care about this character. And the realization that burying him in Morocco fulfills his greatest fear of being left alone?? I can't handle it.

Despite the fact John B. checks JJ's pulse and we can see Rafe digging JJ's grave in the sand, some fans are hoping the show will bring him back after Ward, Big John, and Sarah have all technically returned from the dead. The show hasn't forayed into true supernatural territory yet, but if the crown really does grant Kie and rest of the Pogues a wish? I'm certain they'd wish JJ back to life.

"Why would they create a treasure with the power of invincibility and wishes if it wasn’t significant?" one X user says in a viral thread. "So either Chandler finds JJ's body in Morocco and uses the crown on him or Kie / the Pogues will wish for JJ's life back."

Stranger Things 4 brought a version of Billy (Dacre Montgomery) back to haunt Sadie Sink's Max, so at the very least we could see memories or scenes with JJ we've never seen before. "I wouldn’t put [Rudy Pankow's return] out of the realm of possibility, Shannon told EW. "I wouldn’t say for sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened."

Is Sarah pregnant in OBX 4?

With the "death of the fandom's favorite character" of it all, you might have forgotten that yes — Sarah Cameron is pregnant! Season 5 is sure to give us some more info about the baby and parents-to-be, but considering JJ, who's the baby's godfather, suggested his name is a great gender-neutral option, there's a chance we already know the baby's name ;). It would be the perfect way to honor him TBH.

What's up with the rest of the Pogues?

In addition to Sarah's pregnancy, she also finally starts to make up with Rafe, who finds himself stuck with the Pogues in Morocco. Cleo has somewhat avenged Terrance's murder with Lightener's death — even though Pope's the one who will take the fall for it. Killing one of this season's bad guys was a huge step for Pope since John B. wasn't able to pull the trigger. And considering Pope is still on the run from the cops AND the Marines are waiting on him I have no idea what's in store for him next season.

But the showrunners did give us a clue as to what the final season of Outer Banks will revolve around: revenge.

What's going to happen in Outer Banks season 5?

“[Revenge] is where we start but I think it will go through different iterations,” Jonas Pate says (via Deadline). “If you look at The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the greatest revenge stories, you start with revenge, but it goes to understanding and forgiveness, so revenge goes on to different iterations of that, but revenge is where we start for sure.”

In the final moments of the Outer Banks season 4 ending, the Pogues sit around a fire in the aftermath of JJ's death. And when they finally acknowledge that JJ wouldn't rest until he had avenged them, Kiara vows to get even and it's one of the most chilling moments of her entire character arc.

"What’s interesting about her is she’s this 'save the turtles, save the dolphins' kind of person, and when you see her at the end of [season] 4, she definitely does not look that like anymore," Shannon Burke tells EW. "She has turned into a different person and we’re excited for that and [Madison Bailey's] really excited for that."

"We’re planning a story of redemption, and a season that embodies the friendship that JJ had come to represent," co-creators Josh and Jonas Pates tell Netflix. "JJ's death was a hard but necessary piece of the architecture for the story, and we plan on honoring that as much as we can because we love the character as much as the fans do."