The holidays are here! Here are 5 easy-to-make dessert recipes that you can set out at family get-togethers or enjoy on a cozy night at home. Happy Holidays!

Winter Cookie Pops (The Gazette)

You will need:

-20 vanilla wafer cookies

-1/2 cup peanut butter

-1 6-ounce bag of white chocolate chips

-1 6-ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips

– colored candy sprinkles, red, green, white & blue

– cake decorating writer gel in green, red, black, white, and blue

– red food coloring

– ice cream or lollipop sticks

– wax paper or paper plates

Instructions:

First, spread the peanut butter on the flat side of the cookies. Next, place an ice cream stick into the peanut butter on half of the cookies. Top with another cookie so that the stick is sandwiched between the two cookies.

Now, melt the chocolate chips. Before melting, separate the white chips into two bowls. After melting, add drops of red food coloring to one of the bowls of white chips until you’ve made red chocolate. Dip the cookie pops into the melted chips, covering completely.

Now you can roll the pops in the sprinkles and lay them or stand them on the waxed paper or paper plates. Place in the refrigerator to chill.

*If you want to add some fun variations to the cookie pops, you can drizzle melted chocolate over the cookie to create a cool look! You can also use the decorating writer gel to write fun holiday sayings on plain pops. Add your own creativity to this simple dessert recipe and enjoy!

Holiday Trees (The Gazette)

This fun recipe makes 12 trees and has a preparation time of only 10 minutes.

You will need:

-green food coloring paste

-8 (2-ounce) white chocolate bark coating squares, chopped and melted

-12 pointed ice-cream cones

Toppings: green and white sparkling sugars, holiday sprinkles, candy-coated chocolate pieces, gumdrops.

Instructions:

Stir paste into melted coating until blended and you’ve achieved your desired color.

Next, dip each cone into the coating, and immediately sprinkle with green sugar. Press the candies into the coating, and press 1 gumdrop on top of each cone. Dry on a wire rack. Next, pour the white sparkling sugar in the bottom of a clear plastic cup and add a tree; place in a plastic bag and tie with a ribbon if desired.

Quick Apple Dumplings (Southern Living)

This recipe has a preparation time of 25 minutes, cooks for 15 minutes and bakes for 45 minutes. It makes 8 servings.

You will need:

-1 ½ cups sugar

-2 cups water

– ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

– ½ tsp. ground nutmeg, divided

– ¼ cup butter or margarine

– 2/3 cup sugar

– 2 (15-oz.) packages refrigerated piecrusts

– 8 medium Braeburn apples, peeled and cored

– 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, cut up

– vanilla ice cream (optional)

Instructions:

Bring 1 ½ cups sugar, 2 cups water, ¼ tsp. cinnamon, and ¼ tsp. nutmeg to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; bring down the heat to low, and simmer, making sure you keep stirring occasionally. Do this for 10 minutes, and then remove the pan from heat, and stir in ¼ cup butter or margarine, whichever you prefer. Set the syrup aside for now.

Next, combine 2/3 cup sugar, the remaining ¼ tsp. cinnamon, and the remaining ¼ tsp. nutmeg.

Cut the piecrusts in half and roll them into 8-inch circles. Place 1 apple in the center of each circle. Sprinkle each evenly with a cinnamon-sugar mixture and dot evenly with 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine.

Fold the dough over the apples, pinching the dough to seal. Place in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Drizzle the dumpling with syrup.

Bake the dumplings at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes. If you’re an ice cream lover, pair the dumplings with a vanilla ice cream of your choice and enjoy.

Peanut Butter Snowballs (Southern Living)

This recipe has a preparation time of 25 minutes, bakes for 15 minutes per batch and cools for 5 minutes per batch. It makes about 5 dozen peanut butter snowballs.

You will need:

-1 cup of softened butter

-2/3 cup granulated sugar

-2/3 cup chunky peanut butter

-2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

-1/4 tsp. salt

-3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

-white edible glitter (if desired)

Instructions:

Beat the softened butter at a medium speed with an electric mixer until it’s creamy and gradually add the granulated sugar, mixing well. Next, stir in the chunky peanut butter until the mixture is blended.

Combine the flour and salt; gradually adding peanut butter to the mixture, mixing until it’s well blended.

Roll the dough into 60 (1-inch) balls; and place them about 1 inch apart from each other on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake the snowballs at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then roll the cookies in powdered sugar.

*If you want to add a touch of pizzazz to the cookies, you can dust them with white edible glitter, which can be found at local craft stores.

Red-and-Green Pistachio Bark (Southern Living)

This recipe has a preparation time of only 10 minutes, cooks for 1o minutes, and chills for 1 hour. It makes 3 ½ lb.

You will need:

-1 ¼ cups dried cherries, chopped

-2 Tbsp. water

-2 (12-oz.) packages of white chocolate chips

-2 (12-oz.) vanilla bark coating squares

-1 ¼ cups of chopped green pistachios

Instructions:

Microwave the cherries and 2 Tbsp. water in a small glass bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes; and drain.

Melt the chocolate chips and bark coating in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in cherries and pistachios. Spread into a wax paper-lined 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.

Chill for 1 hour or until the bark is firm. Break the bark into pieces and enjoy!

*Keep the leftovers in an airtight Tupperware container to keep them fresh.