35 Winter Baking Recipes

I love baking – heck, it’s why I started my blog! And while I dream of baking in the warmer months, there’s the stress of the heat. But with cold temps, turning on the oven to bake in the winter is so comforting to me. So here is a big collection of winter baking recipes for you!

And while some of us may feel a little “treated” out after the holidays, not all of these baked goods are sweet treats AND I’ve tried to note what can be frozen, so you can spread out enjoying them! And if you’re into the whole seasonal eating thing (we know I am), here is a slew of seasonal winter recipes – not jut baking ones!

Winter Baking Recipes

Baking brings me joy (most of the time). If it isn’t rushed, I have a very positive association with baking. If you’ve read my about page, you know I started my blog when I was in grad school. When my to do list was overwhelming, baking provided me the delicious and calculated science my soul needed – baking cookies and cinnamon streusel coffee cake was really good for my mental health! The blog was sort of an afterthought – and here we are over a decade later and it’s my job!

What Are The Benefits Of Baking In Winter

Yummy Scent in Our Homes

Ok, but anyway. I love winter baking recipes because there’s a natural scent that fills our home when we bake – something no candle or room spray can come close to doing.

Warms Up the House

I also like turning on the oven to help warm the house. And I love baking with my 6 year old as he learns to read recipes and appreciate home cooked food!

Bonding Activity

As someone who grew up cooking with my mom, I’m a firm believer that making chocolate chip cookies with him is a positive impact on his upbringing and his association with food and homemade morsels!

What to Bake in Winter

Apple Crisp

Apple crisp has been my favorite recipe to bake as long as I can remember. It was the recipe I submitted in second grade for the class cookbook. This apple crisp with oat topping gives you the option of also baking it with pears. IT calls for two nuts and uses melty butter to get that crunchy topping.

Orange Biscotti

Citrus is one of the saving graces of winter produce as it’s so bright and light amidst produce that tends to be heavier and sturdier. Orange biscotti is a fun one to enjoy with your tea or coffee. I also add chopped, dried dates because I think they add a beautiful sweetness that also sometimes reminds me of chocolate – a very common pairing with orange!

Key Lime Cookies

More citrus recipes, key lime cookies were a discovery of mine on a trip to South Carolina a decade ago. I don’t usually think of myself as a key lime person, but these little crunchy cookies were delectable. Key lime cookies are a great way to enjoy seasonal citrus in a butter cookie.

Pear Muffins

A yummy morning or afternoon treat, these pear muffins are nicely spiced with cardamom – one of my favorite spices with which to cook.

Short on buttermilk, just mix one teaspoon vinegar or citrus juice to one cup of milk and let it curdle for a minimum of 5 minutes. Watch a video of this buttermilk replacement idea.

Trifle Pudding

A partially baked recipe, this trifle pudding was one my mom introduced to me late in life from her decades-old recipe cards. Pieces of yellow cake are layered with chocolate pudding and whipped cream. You can serve it in a large trifle dish or individually in cups or mason jars. You can step this recipe up a bit with alcohol infused whipped cream too!

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Another favorite of mine, these cranberry orange biscotti take a familiar and favorite flavor combination and bake them into a classic Italian treat to enjoy with coffee or tea. This biscotti recipe (and all the cookie recipes) also freeze well, so you can pull them out one at a time to enjoy!!

Mini S’mores Tarts

This is a fun one to get the flavors of summer without the bonfire or the tent camping. Mini S’mores tarts takes a little work to get the graham cracker shell, but adding in the chocolate and mini marshmallows is easy – and good for kiddos to help with. Then just a quick broil in the oven to get that golden brown!!

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another fun one to make with kids or friends, mini chocolate chip cookies are cookie dough wrapped around a single chocolate chip. Yep, just one! They’ll be the bite-sized snack you just can’t get enough of!

Crunchy Cardamom Cookies

Hazelnut and Cardamom combine in a delectable treat. After discovering the pure flavor bliss of nutella on a piece of cardamom bread, I knew the combination of hazelnut and cardamom would be a winner in these cardamom cookies. Now if you dipped these in chocolate, then you’d really be in biscotti heaven!

Cardamom Cake

On the topic of cardamom, this cardamom cake is an unexpected treat you’ll love. I like to serve it with maple whipped cream – somehow a perfect balance of earthy sweetness. This recipe is baked in a bundt pan, but you could adjust the baking time for a regular rectangle cake.

Baked Butternut Squash

This is a grownup recipe for a favorite dish my mom made growing up – cinnamon sugar squash is a simple combination of flavors – cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter atop baked squash, but it’s somehow just so perfect. We enjoy it as a side dish with dinner, but I often nibble on the leftovers as a side for lunch or even a dessert!

Chocolate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars

Think rice krispie treats, but with a chocolate cereal. Chocolate Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars are a fast and easy recipe to make for a small crowd. You can use your cereal of choice, the recipe is largely the same, but if you can get the chocolate cereal, this one is a great one!

Cakey Brownies

Move over fudgy brownies, these cakey brownies are taking over – and rightly so. These were a childhood favorite of mine, out of the kids cookbook with the plastic measuring spoons on the spiral binding. As far as I’m concerned this is the only brownie recipe you need, but I’ll leave it at the only cakey brownie recipe you need!!

Lemon Biscotti

This was the first biscotti recipe I ever made and it’s what opened my eyes to the joy of homemade biscotti. The original lemon biscotti recipe I followed dipped these in white chocolate, which I always found to be too heavy (and frankly a lot of work). Now it’s just lemon zest and chopped almonds for a perfect combination.

7 Layer Bars

This classic and viral dessert recipe has been the most popular on my site for years now. Seven layer bars have just 7 ingredients and come together pretty quickly. They’re also enjoyed pretty quickly as well, so don’t plan to save these. They do freeze well, though. Just make sure to let them thaw before biting into one.

Saffron Cookies

If you like a little sweet but something that has depth and unexpected flavor, you’ll LOVE saffron cookies. This is your classic shortbread cookie with the saffron threads mixed in. These are great as gifts or just to enjoy on your own!!

Muesli Cookies

These cookies are a fun twist on my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. In place of chocolate chips and pecans, there’s muesli – an oat-based granola that adds just the right amount of flavor and chew to a classic cookie dough recipe. Muesli cookies are sure to become your new favorite cookie (you never knew about)!

Gingerbread Crust Cheesecake Bars

A family favorite for the holidays and beyond, these gingerbread crust cheesecake bars are quite simple to make and sublimely delicious. Top with seasonal fruit (think pomegranate, orange slices, and chopped kiwi for bright color! YUM!

Matcha Cookies

Love the flavor of matcha tea? You’ll love these shortbread matcha cookies. Powder powder is mixed into the shortbread before it’s rolled in chopped pistachios for the hint of green you know and love. They’re a grown up and natural cookie you’ll adore.

Chocolate Crust Custard Tarts

It’s all about the crust, right? These chocolate crust tarts are delicious. Perfectly spiced custard goes inside the tarts and it’s just delicious the whole way through. It’s good they’re mini because I always want more than one!

Mexican Chocolate Cake

Possibly one of my favorite recipes – think hot cocoa and Mexican spices – it’s heaven. For my Mexican chocolate cake, chocolate cake is baked with spices and topped with a warm cinnamon glaze. Want the flavor without the baking? Try my iced Mexican Mochas (also fine not iced).

Peanut Butter Granola Cookies

I love peanut butter but don’t love that cookies are always crunchy, so I took my family’s beloved peanut butter cookie recipe (peanut blossoms originally) and added crunchy granola for my kind of morsel – peanut butter granola cookies. The oats, seeds, and nuts are so yummy in an otherwise one-dimensional cookie base!

Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet potato is actually one of my favorite things with which to bake and cook. These sweet potato muffins were originally a recipe for a friends’ baby shower. She adores coconut, so it was in everything, including these yummy treats. You’ll wonder where these have been all your life!!

Focaccia Rolls

Ok, time for another savory options. These focaccia rolls are a individual size version of our favorite class Italian bread. I like to top ours with everything seasoning and serve them with dinner, but you can also skip the topping, or swap it our for parmesan and dried herbs. The topping world is your oyster!

Chocolate Rolls

Based on the chocolate rolls at the San Francisco are favorite Arizmendi, this roll actually isn’t sweet. Imagine a delicious, dense roll with occasional chocolate chunks. It’s actually the perfect morning treat to me since it isn’t super sweet all the way through!

Sweet Potato Bread

Possibly my favorite baking recipe I’ve made (not just for winter), this sweet potato bread uses sweet potato puree (a great use for leftovers) in a recipe akin to pumpkin bread. And then I mixed in pecans for a bit of crunch. I’m sure it’d be tasty with chocolate chips, but I’ve never tried it!

Greek Cornbread

Another restaurant dish I recreated at home. This Greek Cornbread was a yummy appetizer we had in Chicago years ago. Yummy cornbread is topped with honey, thyme, lemon zest, and feta for a great recipe in and of itself!

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

The recipe that started it all here on Luci’s Morsels. I grew up loving this cinnamon streusel coffee cake that I made frequently with my mom. Now my son loves making it with me, though he calls it coffee bread! It’s a family favorite because it’s the best!!

Orange Muffins

Baking recipes in winter are somehow more delicious when they use the seasonal fruit at hand like the fresh citrus flavor in these orange muffins. Made with grated carrot, these are a healthy muffin you can feel good about eating – great fiber, loads of vitamin c, and tons of flavor!

Savory Biscotti

You know my love of biscotti now, but how about savory biscotti? While delicious in any scenario, I imagine these dipped in soup – the perfect cozy and comforting winter dinner. Flavored with a bit of cheese and Italian dried herbs, they’re ideal with any sort of soup!

Cherry Scones

Scones can be heavenly (if they don’t dry out) and these cherry scones are a fun winter baking recipe treat. Dried cherries and a touch of amaretto combine in these scones. The tart cherry is a lovely treat in a bland time of year and the amaretto adds depth of flavor to these morning (or afternoon) morsels!

Egg Soufflés

A full on savory breakfast dish (or breakfast for dinner!), these egg soufflés are light, filled with protein, and fairly easy to throw together. Enjoy with a light salad and/or one of these other bready morsels for a breakfast or brunch you won’t soon forget.

Pumpkin Cake

Another family-favorite recipe, this pumpkin cake has two layers with homemade whipped cream between the layers and a warm cinnamon glaze all over the top. It’s so good!!

Savory Cheese Scones

If you’re looking for something savory to enjoy with a salad or soup, try these savory cheese scones. Fresh herbs and sharp cheddar cheese make these scones delicious. I obviously love them with butter, but they are truthfully delicious on their own – especially warm, right out of the oven.

Meal-Prep Breakfast Tacos

We don’t do a lot of meal prep, but weekday meal prep on a Sunday is absolutely something we do for my husband. A large egg bake with sausage portions out perfectly with corn tortillas for a yummy and healthy low FODMAP breakfast (think very easy to digest) that everyone will enjoy!

Raisin Rosemary Crisps

This was my first ever copycat recipe, I think. Based on my love of the raisin rosemary crisps from Trader Joe’s, I wanted to make my own version at home with fewer preservatives and less plastic. This recipe is it – so yummy!

Cornbread Crackers

Another Trader Joe’s copycat recipe at its beginning, these cornbread crackers are SO good. I love to serve them on a fall charcuterie board, but they’re truthfully delicious year round (just like cornbread always hits the spot)!

Soft Pretzels

These soft pretzels take a bit of work to make but they are worth every ounce of work. Top them with salt and you can even make a IPA beer cheese dip to serve them with. This recipe won over our new neighbors just after we moved to LA many years ago.

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Possibly the best recipe everyone should have in their arsenal. Homemade cheese crackers are like a little grilled cheese cracker in every bite and they’re SO GOOD!!

Ritz Peanut Butter Crackers

A harkening back to a favorite snack of my childhood, homemade Ritz peanut butter crackers taste like the real thing but somehow so much better because they have that homemade flavor (Sans the preservatives and packaging). You can also use this recipe just for the ritz cracker part too!

Fig Granola

A hearty granola to have with milk, with yogurt, or (don’t judge me) atop ice cream, this pumpkin seed granola is another favorite of mine. It’s made with dried figs, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and chopped nuts. This is also a great homemade winter baking recipe to share with friends and neighbors!

Cranberry Granola

Many of my recipes comes from inspiration at various restaurants. This cranberry granola is a recipe for the hotel we stayed at in downtown Leavenworth, Washington. I told them how good it was and they gave me their recipe – only it made 2 gallons worth!! So, I had to do the math to get it down to a homemade size. It also uses fresh orange juice – perfect timing!