Food and Recipes Desserts 21 Festive Holiday Desserts You Can Make This Year That Don't Require Cream Cheese By Jenna Sims Jenna Sims Jenna Sims is a Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and ideates content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on December 17, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall While we must say we love to use cream cheese when making desserts and often reach for it while baking, we realize there are times when you may prefer a recipe that doesn't call for a block. Whether you're having trouble finding cream cheese on the shelves of the supermarket or have family members that don't particularly love the flavor, there are still plenty of dessert recipes you can make without it. From cakes to cookies to fudge and more, there is a long list of festive dessert recipes that don't need cream cheese to be delicious. We've rounded up 21 of our best Christmas dessert ideas you can make this year without cream cheese. 01 of 21 Chocolate Peppermint Cake Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Chocolate Peppermint Cake Our Test Kitchen recommends following the steps exactly in this recipe to make sure the frosting doesn't deflate. 02 of 21 Red Velvet Cake Crinkle Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Crinkle Cookies While most Red Velvets desserts require cream cheese, these crinkle cookies don't. 03 of 21 Eggnog Bundt Cake Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Eggnog Bundt Cake If desired, you can substitute the bourbon for heavy cream. 04 of 21 Christmas Fudge Micah A Leal Recipe: Christmas Fudge We've included a secret ingredient to ensure this fudge has a creamy texture and won't crumble or crystallize. 05 of 21 Santa's Kitchen-Sink Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Santa's Kitchen-Sink Cookies You can follow this recipe exactly, or tailor to your family by adding your favorite mix-ins. 06 of 21 Snowball Cake Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Ana Kelly Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke Recipe: Snowball Cake A biscuit cutter will allow you to make these miniature snowball cakes from a simple sheet cake. 07 of 21 Gingerbread Latte Cake with Vanilla Whipped Cream Frosting Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Gingerbread Latte Cake with Vanilla Whipped Cream Frosting Brewed coffee gives this gingerbread cake the same flavor as your favorite holiday latte. 08 of 21 Old Fashioned Gingerbread Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Old Fashioned Gingerbread Fresh, homemade gingerbread will fill your home with the smell of the spices of the season. Plus, it's simple to make. 09 of 21 Triple Chocolate Brownie-Mousse Stacks Linda Pugliese, Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas, Buffy Hargett Miller Recipe: Triple Chocolate Brownie-Mousse Stacks Not only are these triple stacks cute, but they can also be assembled up to 24 hours ahead of time. 10 of 21 Peppermint Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Peppermint Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting A peppermint buttercream gives the inside of this cake a pop of color and mint flavor. 11 of 21 Chocolate-Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies Joy Howard Recipe: Chocolate-Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookies If you tend to prefer the taste of chocolate over gingerbread, give this recipe a try. 12 of 21 Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas: Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake We topped this chocolate cake with Magnolia cake flowers, but you can decorate however you'd like. 13 of 21 Hot Chocolate Brownies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipes: Hot Chocolate Brownies When it's time to cut these brownies, dusting the knife with powdered sugar between each cut will help each square come out perfectly. 14 of 21 Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies Whether you give them as a gift, bring them to a party, or just make them for your family, these sprinkle cookies are sure to be a hit. 15 of 21 White Chocolate-Peppermint Blondies Iain Bagwell Recipe: White Chocolate-Peppermint Blondies Peppermint extract and crushed peppermints make sure these blondies have plenty of minty flavor. 16 of 21 Mini Chocolate Chess Tarts Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Mini Chocolate Chess Tarts This recipe makes five dozen, so they're great to gift or serve a larger crowd. 17 of 21 Buche de Noel Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Ana Kelly Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke Recipe: Buche de Noel If you want to try your hand at something other than a layer cake this year, this festive yule log is for you. 18 of 21 Fudgy Pecan Bourbon Balls Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Karin Olsen; Food Styling: Kellie Gerber Kelley Recipe: Fudgy Pecan Bourbon Balls A dessert that needs just four ingredients and doesn't even require turning on the oven is our kind of recipe. 19 of 21 Mint Meringue Christmas Trees Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Recipe: Mint Meringue Christmas Trees Baking these tree cookies at a low temperature for two hours will allow the meringue to dry out and stand firmly. 20 of 21 Nicola Blaque's Christmas Rum Cake Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Ali Ramee; Prop Styling: Giulietta Pinna Recipe: Nicola Blaque's Christmas Rum Cake This is one cake that you'll want to make sure you prepare a day in advance of serving. It needs at least 8 hours (or up to 24 hours) to soak up the rum. 21 of 21 Linzer Tree Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Linzer Tree Cookies Poking holes in the cookies and sandwiching a red jam, such as raspberry or strawberry, between the two pieces lends the appearance of ornaments. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit