The Coziest, Comforting Recipes to Make This Holiday Season

Make this year's holiday festivities comfy, warming and delicious with these creative and nostalgic dishes. This story is sponsored by Undeniably Dairy.

Related To:

Photo By: Matt Armendariz

Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher

Photo By: Kate Mathis

Photo By: Lucy Schaeffer

Cheesecake-Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

The classic flavors of red velvet cake are transformed into cookies with the cream cheese baked right inside. It's such a welcome surprise inside this soft, chewy and festive dessert.

Get the Recipe: Cheesecake-Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

Bagel Breakfast Casserole

Christmas morning calls for a special breakfast — and a comforting casserole makes it easy to make breakfast for everyone at once. This dish has everything you love about a traditional bagel breakfast sandwich, but it's all baked into a creamy, cheesy casserole that can be made the night before.

Get the Recipe: Bagel Breakfast Casserole

Pizza Wreath

Stuff store-bought pizza dough (a handy shortcut we love for holiday appetizers) with tomato sauce, sausage, pepperoni and mozzarella, and with a few easy snips and twists, you've made a holiday centerpiece that everyone will love to pull apart — the melty cheesy bits are so satisfying!

Get the Recipe: Pizza Wreath

White Baked Ziti

A super-creamy, Parmesan-packed bechamel sauce replaces the usual tomato sauce in this twist on baked ziti. The result is a silky, savory and nutty dish that's perfect for a cozy celebration — and the leftovers are great for a weeknight.

Get the Recipe: White Baked Ziti

Sufganiyot

During Hanukkah it is customary to eat lots of sweet and savory foods fried in oil, and there is no more comforting (or more delicious!) way to honor that tradition than by making these sweet, pillowy, lemon-scented sufganiyot. These jelly doughnuts are typically filled with raspberry, strawberry or apricot jam — and pleasingly powdered with confectioners' sugar.

Get the Recipe: Sufganiyot

Christmas Cookie Dip

This creamy dip will remind you of the spoonfuls of cookie dough everyone loves to sneak out of the mixing bowl. Its light, fluffy texture pairs well with a variety of fun dippers. Top the dip with sprinkles in holiday colors to add even more flair.

Get the Recipe: Christmas Cookie Dip

Red Chili Pork Tamales

While it's common to make tamales all year round, these delicious bundles are traditionally made and shared around the holidays. In our version, the pork shoulder filling is cooked low and slow in a flavorful sauce of dried chiles, aromatics and spices and then wrapped in a fluffy, tender masa dough. We bet you'll be back for seconds ... and thirds.

Get the Recipe: Red Chile Pork Tamales

Julekage

This pretty, pearl sugar-topped bread is a Danish Christmas tradition. The dough is enriched with butter and eggs, perfumed with cinnamon and cardamom, and studded with dried fruit. Each slice is tender, sweet, warm and bright all at once — but the flavors and textures are balanced perfectly.

Get the Recipe: Julekage

Hot Chocolate Pudding

We love this holiday trick — take something ordinary (a hot cocoa packet) and turn it into something extraordinary (this lovely, chocolately pudding!). Topped with whipped cream, this easy dessert as elegant as it is comforting.

Get the Recipe: Hot Chocolate Pudding

All-Crust Sheet Pan Scalloped Potatoes

Rows and rows of shingled potatoes look even more impressive on a large sheet pan than in a casserole dish, but that's not even the best reason to make this classic dinner party dish this way. The larger surface area maximizes the crunchy, cheesy bits without sacrificing the creaminess of the potatoes underneath.

Get the Recipe: All-Crust Sheet-Pan Scalloped Potatoes

Cream Puffs

Cream puffs are a classic dessert, but their adorable shape and pillowy filling make them playful and fun. Don't shy from trying your hand at piping choux dough — your platter of puffs will look inviting whether the sizes are all uniform or more free-form and casual.

Get the Recipe: Cream Puffs

Sausage and Leek Savory Bread Pudding

Individual-sized ramekins make this Gruyere-topped, creamy bread pudding even easier to cuddle up with. Tell your family to grab their slippers, a cozy blanket and a spoon, and enjoy this dish cozied up around the tree together.

Get the Recipe: Sausage and Leek Savory Bread Pudding