The best sweet treats to make at home for the holidays

Everyone is spending more time at home these days, and it's the perfect moment for some cozy baking. Whether you're looking for activities to do with the kids or want to put something extra special on the table this holiday season, you're sure to find inspiration here.

The following recipes are packed with interesting twists on traditional holiday treats like eggnog, candy canes, hot chocolate, and gingerbread. Click through to see 30 of the best desserts to serve up this winter.

Candy cane cake pops

These cute festive cake pops are surprisingly easy to make. Prepare a simple vanilla cake mix and roll the dough into balls before baking. Once cooled, dip them in melted white chocolate, desiccated coconut, and crushed candy canes.

Polar bear cupcakes

These cute cupcakes are fun to decorate with the kids. The white buttercream frosting is covered in desiccated coconut to give it that furry look, and mini marshmallows and chocolate chips can be used to for the faces.

Festive truffles

Chocolate truffles are incredibly easy to make at home and provide plenty of possibilities for decoration. Roll them in snowy desiccated coconut, or dip them in milk chocolate and top with red and green fondant icing to look like mini Christmas puddings.

Red velvet cupcakes

Red velvet cake is really just chocolate cake with red food coloring, but the red cake with the traditional cream cheese frosting is perfect for the holiday season! Particularly when garnished with a sprig of holly.

Strawberry Santas

Strawberries and whipped cream are a classic combo. Cut the top off the strawberries and pipe whipped cream in between. Add tiny dots of cream and chocolate sprinkles for the details.

Chocolate mocha cupcakes

These special cupcakes combine chocolate and espresso for a rich taste. The buttercream icing uses melted chocolate and brewed coffee, and you can add candy canes for some festive decoration.

Christmas tree cakes

These Christmas tree cake slices are another fun one to make with the kids. You can make them with any kind of cake, but it's best made with a layer cake so you can stick a Kit Kat between the layers to make it look like the tree trunk!

White chocolate Christmas bark

Chocolate bark is an easy treat to make. Melt the chocolate of your choice and spread it over a baking sheet. The toppings are up to you, but white chocolate goes great with chopped pistachios and dried cranberries.

Eggnog cheesecake

Eggnog is a Christmas classic, but if you're not a fan of creamy cocktails then why not turn it into a cheesecake?! Add eggnog, nutmeg, and rum to the usual cheesecake mix. For the ultimate decoration top with sugared berries.

Chai snowflake cookies

These chai cookies have the perfect comforting winter flavor. The spices used include cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. If you have holiday cookie cutters, then shape them into snowflakes and decorate with white icing.

Gingerbread cake with eggnog frosting

Has there ever been a more Christmassy dessert? This gingerbread cake looks extra impressive when baked in a bundt tin. Top with a runny eggnog icing that'll drip down the sides, and decorate with sugared berries.

Chocolate yule log cake

The yule log cake, or bûche de Noël, is a traditional Christmas dessert. A decadent rolled cake is filled with chocolate frosting to give the appearance of tree bark.

Candy cane cake

This fairy-tale candy cane cake is a showstopper. For the pink frosting, prepare a syrup by melting candy canes, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Combine with buttercream icing and chunks of crushed candy cane.

Hanging cookies

Hanging cookies make great gifts and are fun to decorate! Cut your cookie dough into festive shapes and make sure to poke a small hole for the ribbon. A combo of gingerbread cookies and white chocolate icing is cute and delicious.

Rocky road fudge

You can't go wrong with a rocky road! Feel free to add whatever ingredients you like such as nuts, marshmallows, and chunks of cookie. Throw in some red and green M&Ms to give it a Christmas look.

Cranberry pie

This winter pie is great on the table at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other event. Mix the cranberries with sugar and let sit for an hour before stewing them with orange juice, flour, ginger, and vanilla extract.

The cookie tree looks awesome and is really easy to make. Bake around 10 cookies in star shapes that decrease in size. If you don't have a range of cutters you can try it by hand! Stack them with a little icing in between to hold them in place and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Red velvet trifle

This twist on the classic trifle uses red velvet cake and chocolate layers with whipped cream instead of sponge cake and canned fruit.

Gingerbread hot chocolate

This decadent and comforting drink is prepared in a saucepan to ensure the flavors are well blended. Add milk, cocoa powder, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, fresh ginger, and allspice. Simmer for 10 minutes and served with whipped cream and marshmallows.

Reindeer cookies

These reindeer cookies are another fun idea for a holiday activity. Make the cookies of your choice and decorate with piped dark chocolate and red chocolate candies.

Gingerbread loaf cake

This warming gingerbread cake uses cocoa, chai spices, and molasses for a rich taste and texture. Melted dark chocolate is a great addition if you want to decorate it.

Jam sandwich cookies

These festive cookies are based on the classic British Jammie Dodger. Two shortbread cookies are made into a sandwich with a berry preserve filling. Use cutters to make fun shapes for the top cookie so the red filling peeks through.

Baileys chocolate mousse

This Irish cream liqueur is the perfect complement to a classic chocolate mousse. Combine Baileys with melted dark chocolate, egg yolks, and heavy cream. You can even make a special topping by whipping Baileys with cream and icing sugar!

Pumpkin mousse

This dessert mousse combines pumpkin puree with heavy cream and pumpkin spices for a quick and easy treat. It can easily be made in advance and kept in the fridge for dinner parties.

Maple pecan cheesecake

Maple and pecan are the perfect flavor combo to enjoy during the colder months. This cheesecake has blended pecans in the biscuit base, as well as maple syrup and pecans mixed into the cream cheese section. Top with caramelized pecans if you want to go that extra mile.

Orange liqueur cake

This delicious zesty cake adds orange juice, orange zest, and Triple Sec to the usual ingredients. For the glaze, simply mix orange juice and powdered sugar.

Pear and cranberry tart

Pears and cranberries are in season in the winter in many countries. The sweet pears and tangy berries make a perfectly balanced dessert. Add some fresh ginger and cinnamon for extra depth of flavor.