Holidays & Occasions Christmas Christmas Recipes 18 Christmas Barks and Brittles to Bake All Season Long By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is a Digital Associate Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories.She grew up in Mobile, Alabama, which she insists is home to the country's first Mardi Gras (not New Orleans) and now lives in Birmingham with her husband and rescue pup Rocky, whose name is unrelated to The University of Tennessee (Roll Tide). Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on August 19, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Holiday baking is full of sentimental moments and nostalgic recipes. Some families bake the same chocolate chip cookie recipe for Santa every year. Others faithfully recreate the gorgeous white cake that graced that December's cover of Southern Living. And plenty can't imagine a holiday season without the slice-n-bake Christmas cookies from the grocery store (even the best Southern bakers are guilty of this). For decades, Christmas barks and brittles have been part of Southern holiday traditions, and it's easy to see the allure of these simple desserts. Christmas barks and brittles are giftable, easy to make, and absolutely delicious. With as little as three or four ingredients and often no baking required, Christmas bark is attainable for even the most novice bakers, and it makes it a great dessert to create with the kids while they're out of school. A few pieces of Christmas bark thoughtfully wrapped make the cutest gifts, too. Since Christmas barks and brittles keep well, you can make several large batches and hold onto them until you need a last-minute teacher, neighbor, hostess, or drop-by guest gift throughout the season. If making Christmas bark with your family isn't already part of your holiday schedule this year, you should add it to the list. 01 of 18 Milk Chocolate-Peppermint Bark Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett Recipe: Milk Chocolate-Peppermint Bark This Christmas classic is so simple to make for all your neighbors and friends this season. To create this holiday staple, combine white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks (or milk chips), crushed peppermint candy, and some peppermint extract. You don't even need an oven for this classic treat. 02 of 18 Classic Peanut Brittle Charles Walton Recipe: Classic Peanut Brittle No Southerner has ever been unhappy to receive a tin of classic homemade peanut brittle around the holidays. Using a candy thermometer can help avoid burning the sugar. This old-fashion treat is a beloved tradition you should add to your family's to-do list this season. 03 of 18 Fruitcake Bark Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Fruitcake Bark Fruitcake is a Southern holiday staple, so use the ingredients for this classic dish to make an original bark recipe everyone on your gifting list will love. You can easily customize this bark to fits your family's preferences. Try adding various nuts or dried fruits and create your personalized signature dessert. 04 of 18 Mixed Nut Brittle Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Mixed Nut Brittle This perfectly salty and sweet treat travels well, so you can bring some to every relative you visit on your Christmas road trip. Switch up your brittle by adding toasted pecan halves and pistachios to one mixture and pumpkins seeds to a second. The flaky finishing salt tops this candy blend. 05 of 18 Cracker Toffee Abbi Wilt Recipe: Cracker Toffee Would you believe this delicious snack starts with a sleeve of saltine crackers? Chocolate morsels and brown sugar have a way of sweetening up any recipe. This cracker-based snack, topped with pecans, has a delightful texture. 06 of 18 Southern Pecan Pralines Southern Living Recipe: Southern Pecan Pralines One of the South's most iconic candies, pecan pralines are easy to make, but be sure you have a candy thermometer for guaranteed success. This classic candy, made from mostly pantry staples, is great when you need to whip up something sweet—mimicking round cookies. A pecan praline is a bite-size Christmas masterpiece. 07 of 18 Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy Ralph Anderson, Charles Walton IV / Styling Mindi Shapiro Levine, Rose Nguyen / Food Styling Marian Cooper Cairns, Angela Sellers Recipe: Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy This homemade candy seamlessly blends salty and sweet with just four ingredients. Start by placing chopped pecans on a tray and toasting them for around 10 minutes. After, alternate bittersweet and white chocolate baking bars in a checkerboard pattern. Top with coarse sea salt, and you have a flawless gift to share or a snack to enjoy with your family. 08 of 18 Triple-Chocolate-Covered Peanut Clusters Recipe: Triple-Chocolate-Covered Peanut Clusters While peanut clusters are not brittle or bark, they are still classic Christmas candy. Making this sweet treat in your slow cooker allows for total hands-off baking and ease that's always appreciated around the holidays. This recipe makes about 60 clusters so you won't miss anyone on your Christmas list. 09 of 18 Pecan Toffee Southern Living Recipe: Pecan Toffee Don't waste your money on store-bought treats this Christmas. This recipe only takes four ingredients for a homemade candy that is sure to impress your friends. Store it in an airtight container to enjoy this decadent candy throughout the season. 10 of 18 Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines This New Orleans favorite is always a must-bake during the holidays. Measure your bourbon and pecans before starting so you can easily continue to stir while slowly adding the ingredients to the mixture. Use a wooden spoon to scoop out praline portions onto a baking sheet or paper baking cups. 11 of 18 Mississippi Mud Medallions Alison Miksch Recipe: Mississippi Mud Medallions These four-ingredient bites are an easy snack to make with the kids while they're out of school this season. If espresso beans aren't your thing, you can substitute them for mini marshmallows. This swap creates a recipe for a s'more-like candy. 12 of 18 Pecan-Toffee Shortbread Southern Living Recipe: Pecan-Toffee Shortbread A simple shortbread base separates this festive toffee recipe from its counterparts. If you plan for a lot of holiday baking, toast extra pecans and store them covered in the refrigerator for the next time you bake. 13 of 18 Jessica B. Harris' Peanut Brittle Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Jessica B. Harris' Peanut Brittle You can never have too much peanut brittle around the holidays. The combination of unsalted butter, sugar, baking soda, and raw shelled peanuts without skins is about as simple as it gets. This dessert treat is perfect for hostess gifts or to bring to your next holiday event. 14 of 18 Stained Glass Candy Photographer: Frederick Hardy II, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Recipe: Stained Glass Candy Peppermint candy in a festive red color? Sign us up. You can double the batch and make a green to pair with this adorable treat. This candy is sure to be sweet because it's mainly sugar, corn syrup, and peppermint extract. 15 of 18 Toffee Candy Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Ali Ramee; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Recipe: Toffee Candy These 10 ingredients will help you make the best toffee candy of the holiday season. Kick this recipe's flavoring up a notch by adding cinnamon and instant espresso granules. After breaking this toffee into pieces, store it in an airtight container for up to seven days. 16 of 18 Texas Peanut Patties Courtesy Texas Tea Cake Company Recipe: Texas Peanut Patties This old-fashioned candy is perfect for your next holiday party, using as gifts, or even bringing to a cookie exchange. It's similar to peanut brittle but with a softer texture. Under a hard caramelized shell, the peanut patty mixture contains only six ingredients. 17 of 18 Homemade Turtles Micah A. Leal Recipe: Homemade Turtles Turtles are the ideal candy when you can't choose between chewy caramel and sweet chocolate. Plus, adding toasted pecans makes this sweet treat practically irresistible. Measure your ingredients ahead of time so you can continuously stir and prepare to scoop out the mixture onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. 18 of 18 Homemade Pralines Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Homemade Pralines Pralines are classic Southern candies. For a thick and chewy variety, swap the molasses for dark corn syrup and heavy cream for the milk in this praline recipe. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit