14 Creative Christmas Desserts with Fruits: Easy Recipes + Serving Tips

Choose scrumptious holiday desserts that are made with fruits—and feel a little less guilty! Of course, desserts will always be sugar-loaded. But when you see seasonal fruits like apples, pears, berries, and cherries in the mix, all those extra calories seem “healthier” somehow. Plus, fruit-based desserts bring the festive look of Christmas to your holiday party table, along with sentimental yuletide flavors like chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, and nutmeg and toppings like whipped cream, meringue, nuts, and syrups.

Tips for Serving Fruit-based Christmas Desserts

  • For easy holiday entertaining, it’s best to have desserts in single servings. So see how you can divide a recipe you like into cups, small bowls, or slices.
  • Many fruit-based recipes have a step for chilling. This allows you to make these desserts ahead and save on some pre-party stress!
  • As much as possible, choose fruits in season (see list below) so you can save on cost and have the freshest flavors and textures for your desserts.
  • Also, choose fruits for their Christmas-y colors of red and green—making your desserts serve as part of the holiday decor!

Popular Fruits for Holiday Desserts

  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Cherries
  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Grapes
  • Canned fruits (not necessarily in season) – peaches, oranges, pineapple, mixed tropical fruits

Okay, on to these 14 recipes we found and some tips for how to serve them!

Easy Prep Christmas Desserts Made with Fruits

Just looking at this array of confections featuring fruits is like having “visions of sugarplums dance in our heads”! Click on each link for the deliciously doable recipes.

Creative Easy Prep Christmas Desserts Made with Fruits from Apples to Pears to Berries

1 – Fruit Trifle – A sure crowd pleaser, this dessert from Dole Sunshine features crushed pineapple, canned tropical fruits, cubes of pound cake, raspberry jam, and whipped cream layered in a 3-quart glass bowl and chilled thoroughly before serving.

2 – Easy Fruit Parfaits – A super simple treat for the holidays also from Dole Sunshine, using red gelatin as the base then topped with canned tropical fruit and whipped cream.

3 – Berry Bordeaux Desserts – These look fancy but are actually easy to make! Just layer Pepperidge Farm® Bordeaux® Cookies in a baking dish with whipped heavy cream, refrigerate till soft, then top with blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries and a sprig of mint.

4 – Berry Brownies with Brandy Ganache – This decadent-looking brownie treat from Driscoll’s has chopped fresh blackberries and dark chocolate bits mixed in, and a topping of a rich ganache and fresh berries. (Blackberry brandy in the ganache is optional for a grownup version.)

5 – Christmas Tree Berry Hand Pies – How delightful are these tree-shaped pies from Driscoll’s, with a filling of cooked mixed berries baked between layers of pie crust cut with a cookie cutter. Kids and adults alike will love them!

6 – Cinnamon Roll Stuffed Baked Apples – This clever recipe from Imperial Sugar gets a little help from store-bought cinnamon rolls, which you then bake in hollowed-out apples and top with a cream cheese frosting.

7 – Poached Pears in Chocolate Sauce with Walnuts – Looking oh so elegant, this dessert we found via USA Pears features whole pears cooked in a poaching liquid that includes red wine, all-spice, cinnamon, and cloves. Then, chocolate sauce is spooned over each one and chopped walnuts added.

8 – Mini Cheesecake with Sparkling Caramel Sauce and Frosted Grapes – Lots of secret treats in this recipe from Welch’s! Gingersnap crumbs for the bottom layer of each mini cheesecake, lemon juice in the cream cheese mixture, egg whites to coat each grape cluster with sugar, and sparkling white grape juice to make the caramel sauce. Such a pretty result!

9 – Cherries Jubilee – Dark sweet cherries cooked with cherry liqueur and brandy make the perfect tart complement to scoops of sweet ice cream. See the recipe from Land O Lakes.

10 – Fruit and Hazelnut Bars – Layering is all the skill needed for this pretty party dessert from Life Gets Better. Simply alternate layers of “broas” (lady fingers), hazelnut spread, all-purpose cream, and cooked canned fruit cocktail in a baking dish and chill to set.

11 – Apple Cranberry Crisp with Allspice – Lots of organic goodness in this yummy treat from Simply Organic. Aside from apples and cranberries, it features rolled oats, cinnamon, honey, orange juice and zest, and organic sugar all baked together—then served with whipped cream and a sprinkling of allspice.

12 – No-cook Cherry Vanilla Pudding with Lemon Wafers – This recipe from Whole Foods Market had us from “no-cook”! Simply arrange the ready-to-use ingredients in individual cups and put a cherry on top.

13 – Fiesta Fruit Jelly – Definitely festive-looking enough for a holiday fiesta, this chilled dessert from Life Gets Better mentions gelatin ingredients that you can simply substitute with green, red, and cream-colored jell-o. Then, layer canned fruit cocktail and the colored gelatin cubes in a large serving bowl, and end with a top layer of whipped cream and more fruits.

14 – Heavenly Filled Strawberries – Just add grated chocolate, confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese, and almond extract! The key is in topping the strawberries with a sweet filling sprinkled with chocolate. Find this easy recipe at Carandale Farm.

This post is part of a series on healthy + frugal holiday entertaining!  Our first post covers delicious dips for holiday veggie platters!

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