Best Christmas Sweet Bread Recipes

Spectacularly beautiful and delicious Holiday Loaves and Christmas Bread to bake for the season or special enough to give as holiday gifts.

She wrote in Huff Post, “I grew up in Seattle’s Scandinavian neighborhood, Ballard. My grandmother married a Norwegian. So Christmastime was never complete without yulekake (julekaka) bread. Even today, though I no longer live in Ballard, I will travel many miles to get yulekake. Otherwise, it just wouldn’t be Christmas.”

Challah: A braided Jewish egg bread eaten during Hanukkah (Chanukah). It began in ancient times as a piece of dough set aside for the temple priests.

Holiday Loaves And Christmas Bread Recipes

Julekake: A sweet bread is especially popular in Norway and Denmark. Traditionally it is spiced with cardamom filled with mixed candied fruits that give it the colors of the Christmas season.

Cesnica: A traditional Serbian wheat bread baked by women according to many rules on Christmas morning. The word “cest” means share. It is baked with an object inside and the loaf is sent counterclockwise around the Christmas table three times before eating.

Krendel: This Russian Christmas bread is shaped like a pretzel and either dusted with sugar or lightly iced. It is filled with fruit like prunes, apples, apricots, etc.

Exceptional Christmas Bread Recipes

Gubana: Originating in Slovenia/ North Italy (Friuli) this traditional bread is shaped like a snail shell and is eaten at various holidays throughout the year.

Three Kings Bread: Also known as Twelfth Night Cake. The Romans baked this bread and it is traditional in Span, Portugal and Mexico (Rosca de Reyes).

Not only does it act as a delicious appetizer, but it can also double as an awesome centerpiece for any holiday party.

Best Gingerbread Loaf

Vánočka is a traditional sweet bread from the Czech Republic. This buttery dessert is usually served for Christmas Eve breakfast along with a cup of Czech hot cocoa. A slice of vánočka sounds like an awesome breakfast to me!

Almond Cinnamon Babka Star Bread is an elegant, pull-apart sweet bread, intensely flavored with cinnamon, almonds, and raisins. Soft and tender, and addictive. A perfect holiday bread, like Christmas or Easter, or delicious with morning coffee!

“Julekage (pronounced yoo-ley-key-yeh) is a popular Norwegian Christmas fruit bread filled with candied fruit, golden raisins, and cardamom. Glistening sugar and snow-white icing top this special holiday bread.”

Christmas Tree Pull Apart Bread Recipe

This Christmas Cake is a delicious and moist cake packed with dried fruit, citrus zest, and applesauce. And with every bite, you will taste the holidays.

This pull-apart style sweet bread is a show-stopping riff on a classic cinnamon bun. As it bakes, the cinnamon-sugar filling caramelizes and gives the bread a wonderfully sweet and crunchy coating, while the interior remains soft and tender. It's a holiday breakfast treat that will disappear in a flash.

“Make Perfect Italian Panettone dough in your bread machine, then bake it in the oven for professional results in your own kitchen!”

Sweet Christmas Bread, Braided Holiday Bread

Churro Nutella Christmas Tree is a stunning 5-ingredient centerpiece for your Christmas dessert table! The BEST Churro tasting tree without any of the effort of making your own Churro dough!

Great British Bake Off’s Kimberley Wilson has created this stunning celebration bread with individually filled buns and a melting cheese middle – made for sharing.”

Christmas Swedish Tea Ring, filled with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins and topped with a simple powdered sugar glaze, is a beautiful and delicious Scandinavian recipe for the holiday season!

Christmas Tree Bread Recipe

These make-ahead rolls have been a holiday tradition for years. The eggnog in the frosting makes them extra special on Christmas morning.

A not-too-sweet alternative to coffee cake, this bread is a decorative and tender addition to the holiday breakfast table, an elegant hostess gift, or a delectable coffee-break snack.”

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches. Especially when thy branches have turned into melty cheesy herby garlic branches!!

Holiday Christmas Bread

If there is one recipe I need you to make this holiday season, it’s this braided cardamom bread, a.k.a., Finnish pulla, a.k.a., the softest, pillow-iest, most delicately spiced and icing-drizzled bread of all the breads.

Easy Homemade Italian Christmas Bread Panettone Recipe - perfect for the holidays! This Panettone Recipe does require some planning, but if you follow my instructions, you'll end up with a sweet, puffy and festive holiday bread.

It's the holiday baking season and these White Chocolate Cranberry Scones are top of my list! Buttery, mildly sweet, infused with fresh cranberries and rich, velvety white chocolate.

Sourdough Stollen Recipe

“This marzipan tubular bread is an ABSOLUTE must for the Christmas season, and a traditional dinner would not be complete without this Christmas Kringle for dessert.”

“As a traditional German fruitcake with a profound history, it’s no wonder that there are as many variations of stollen as there are people who make it. This version includes a rich filling of marzipan, which adds to the decadence of the bread-like cake. Stollen’s dense butter and sugar coating makes it an excellent candidate for preparing ahead of the busy holiday season, wrapping, and giving to friends and family up to 2 weeks later.”

Since 1474, Dresden Christmas Stollen has been a favorite advent season treat. A buttery, moist and heavy cake-like fruit bread made simply with yeast, dried fruits and the zests of citrus. Liberally dusted with confectioners sugar, it’s a tradition all of its own.

My Favourite Christmas Bread Recipes

“Be sure to soften butter until it’s spreadable. The silky dough is a dream to work with, so even beginning bakers can make this beautiful wreath.”

Fruitcake... or fruit bread? This quick and easy batter bread is packed with fruit and nuts, but is less sweet and very mildly spiced, unlike traditional fruitcakes. This is a great cake to bake if you feel obliged, by the holiday spirit, to have a fruitcake in the house.

“Perfect for the holidays — or those late night cravings — or with a cup of coffee in the morning. And… they’re incredibly easy, with items you may already have on hand.”

The Best Panettone: Bakers Reveal The Secrets To Making The Italian Christmas Loaf, Plus Six Of The Best Places To Buy

An ultimate chocolate lover’s dream — Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Espresso. A rich, moist texture and superb banana chocolate flavor, and that hint of energizing espresso, just makes it extra special!

Eggnog Bread-this easy eggnog quick bread with a sweet eggnog glaze is a Christmas favorite. It is great for breakfast or dessert.

“This gingerbread loaf is probably going to be one of my favorite holiday breads, just because of all its familiar spices and it smelling just like gingerbread cookies that I love so much.”

Panettone Italian Christmas Sweet Bread Recipe

“A delicious bread filled with the flavors and scents of the season, Fresh Cranberry and Orange Zest Holiday Loaf is perfect for any party or giving as a gift.”

“Delight one and all with the sweet, nutty flavor of dates and pecans in this whole-wheat no-knead bread. Neufchatel cheese offers a nice tangy counterpoint. Looking for something more firmly in the dessert category?”

Chai spice tastes great in your tea mug and even better in these moist and tender loaf cakes. Bake these do-ahead gifts up to three months ahead — just cool them, wrap tightly in foil, and freeze.

Best Christmas Dessert Ideas From Around The World

“Quick breads, familiar favorites to most, become extraordinary when made in the French tradition. Savory Ham and Gruyere Quick Bread is one way of making a delicious and savory cake salé.”There is no doubt that the holidays are a time for baking, baking and more baking! From Christmas cookies to cupcakes that are decorated with red and green frosting galore, there is always something delicious to bake around this time of the year. Whether it’s a tradition to make cinnamon rolls every Christmas morning or if you were inspired by The Great British Baking Show and want to experiment in the kitchen, this is the best time of the year to get in the kitchen and whip up some beautiful Christmas bread.

Christmas breads are often more decorative and have celebratory qualities to them, such as the Bulgarian Christmas Bread that symbolizes prosperity for the upcoming year. Other classic Christmas breads from around the world include Panettone or Stollen which are filled with fruits and nuts. Whatever type of bread that you like, you can’t go wrong with the ones we have listed below! Alternatively, if you have your hands full this holiday season but still want to enjoy a warm, fresh loaf of bread, you can add one of these bread makers to your wish list. Just add the ingredients to the machine, and a few hours later you will have a freshly baked loaf.

This butter-brushed and sugar-dusted classic German loaf is made 3-4 weeks before serving so it has time to develop its balanced flavor. A good stollen should have a consistency similar to quick bread or biscuits, says Julia Foerster, the blogger behind Plated Cravings.

Christmas Bread (stollen Recipe)

Foerster grew up in a small village in northern Bavaria, where her paternal grandparents would dole out stollen as Christmas gifts. She recommends making the bread from scratch because the dessert lasts “forever” — she once forgot about a loaf she'd baked, and upon discovering it months later, it was still flavorful.

Buñuelos are a popular Christmas bread that you'll find in Colombia. However, according to food blogger Erica Dinho, these can also be enjoyed all year round with a hot cup of chocolate or coffee.

Make this tasty Russian Christmas bread that has a

Christmas Cake Recipe