Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Iowa chapter.

It’s holiday season! This is the best time of year to indulge in delicious desserts. Here are three holiday-themed treats you need to make this holiday season!

Snowman Oreo Cookies

Who doesn’t love an Oreo? These snowman Oreo cookies are easy to make and look adorable!

Prep Time: 15 mins  Cook Time: 5 mins  Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 Package Oreo Cookies
    • You can substitute the Oreos for peanut butter sandwiches (Two Ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle) for a sweet and salty version of this treat!
  • 1/2 lb Almond Bark or Candy coating
  • 1/4 cup Regular Chocolate Chips
  • 1/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
  • 1/4 cup Candy Corn

Instructions

1. Melt the Almond bark in the microwave in a small bowl. I usually do 60, 30 and then 15-second increments stirring between each until smooth.

2. Place an Oreo in the melted Almond Bark. Flip it using a large fork. Ensure the cookie is completely coated. Keeping the fork tines level, gently tap the handle of the fork on the rim of the bowl. Use a straight up and down motion so the cookie doesn’t slide off of the fork. This will give a nice smooth coating on top of the cookie. Place the cookie on a piece of wax or parchment paper.

3. To build the face start with the nose. Place a Candy corn right in the middle of the cookie.

4. Next, two regular Chocolate Chips, pointy end down, for the eyes just above the Candy corn.

5. Now, place 6 Mini Chocolate Chips beneath the Candy corn to make a smile.

6. Let cool and set at least 20 minutes.

7. Store in an airtight container.

No-Bake Santa Cheesecakes

Traditional holiday desserts tend to be richer. Lighten it up with these no-bake Santa cheesecakes!

 

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 0 mins Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup – Teddy graham crackers, chocolate
  • 3 tablespoon – coconut oil
  • 8 ounce – cream cheese, low fat
  • 1/2 container (4 oz) – Greek Yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon – honey
  • 1/2 tablespoon – lemon juice
  • 1 tsp – vanilla extract
  • 1 dash – salt
  • 24 medium (1-1/4″ dia) – strawberries

Directions

1. Finely crush chocolate graham crackers in a blender or food processor and combine with melted coconut oil.  Grease a mini cupcake pan and then place a heaping teaspoon of crust into each well and flatten.

2. Place in the freezer to let firm while you make the filling.

3. Combine softened cream cheese with Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt.  Mix until smooth.  Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling into each well of your mini cupcake pan, then smooth out.  (I used extra cheesecake filling to make the top of my Santa hat, so I froze it in a small bowl so I could roll them later.  BUT you can use whipped cream to top off your Santa hats instead.)

4. Place in the freezer to firm for at least 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to pop them out of your pan!

5. Top with a strawberry (I chopped off the stems) to make it look like a Santa hat! For the top of the Santa hat, either roll little balls of your extra cheesecake filling or put a little whipped cream on top

Snowman Cake Pops

Unleash your creativity while making these snowmen cake pops! These will steal the show at any holiday get together!

 

Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 30 mins Total Time: 1 hour and 30 mins

What You Will Need:

  • Lollipop sticks
  • 1 to 1 1/2 bags of white candy melts
  • Food decorating pens
  • Thin pretzel sticks
  • White frosting
  • Vanilla boxed cake mix
  • All the ingredients on the back of the boxed cake mix

Directions

  1. Bake the cake according to the instructions on the box. Let it cool completely.
  2. Use a knife to cut it into pieces and cut away the brown parts on the top, bottom and sides.
  3. Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Make sure there aren’t large lumps left.
  4. Use a large spoon to add frosting to the cake crumbs. Start with a heaping spoon and distribute evenly. Add more as need to get the mixture to still look crumbly but moist enough to mold into a ball.
  5. Mold the mixture into ping-pong sized balls. Make sure you roll tightly so it holds together well. Make half the balls slightly smaller.
  6. Place the completed balls on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  7. Melt a few white candy melts in the microwave. Use the defrost setting, start at 1 min, then in 30-second intervals until smooth with no lumps.
  8. Use a stick or table knife to put a bit of melted coating on the tops of the larger cake ball and place the small ball on top. Then dip the tip of your lollipop stick into the coating and push through the two balls, stopping just short of the bottom. Repeat with all balls.
  9. Put the cake pops in the freezer for 15 minutes so the lollipop sticks set and hold well.
  10. Melt the remaining bag and a half of white candy melts according to instructions until smooth. Use a deep, small container/bowl.
  11. Take the cake pops out of the freezer and carefully dip them into the coating on an angle, not straight down. Let the excess coating drip off by holding the cake pop almost upside down, not on the side. 
  12. Break a pretzel stick in half and insert the sticks into the cake pop, making arms for the snowman.
  13. Set for about 15 minutes at room temperature (do NOT freeze or refrigerate or they will crack)
  14. Use the edible pens to draw little faces, buttons, scarves, etc. 

Enjoy these sweet treats during your holiday festivities! You won’t regret it!

Zoey is a third-year student studying English and Creative Writing and Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Iowa. When she is not running social media for patchwork lit mag or editing Her Campus Iowa articles, you can often find her curled up with a glass of wine watching cheesy reality television.
U Iowa chapter of the nation's #1 online magazine for college women.Â