Some of the best Christmas memories happen in the kitchen, with flour on the counter and sprinkles everywhere. These adorable Christmas treats are easy enough for little hands to help with, and fun enough that the kids will ask to make them again next year.
Each recipe below includes a note on how kids can help, from rolling dough in sprinkles to pressing in thumbprints and decorating snowmen. Most of them bake in the air fryer in just a few minutes, which is perfect for short attention spans. An adult should always handle the hot air fryer, but the mixing, rolling, and decorating are all fair game.
Cookies to Decorate
The best part of Christmas baking for most kids is the decorating.
1. Air Fryer Melting Snowman Cookies
Soft sugar cookies topped with marshmallow “heads” and candy decorations so each snowman looks like it’s melting. No two snowmen turn out the same, which is half the fun.
How kids can help: Placing the marshmallows and adding candy faces, buttons, and scarves.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Melting Snowman Cookies
2. Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies
Classic gingerbread men with warm ginger and cinnamon. They bake at 320°F for 5 to 7 minutes and are ready for decorating once they cool.
How kids can help: Cutting out shapes with cookie cutters and giving each gingerbread man his own icing outfit.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies
3. Air Fryer Snowflake Sugar Cookies
Soft snowflake-shaped sugar cookies that bake at 320°F in just 4 to 6 minutes. Let them cool completely before frosting.
How kids can help: Cutting snowflakes and frosting them with icing and sparkly sugar.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Snowflake Sugar Cookies
4. Air Fryer Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
The easiest cookie on the list. Pre-shaped holiday sugar cookie dough goes onto a cold air fryer tray and bakes at 330°F for about 4 minutes.
How kids can help: Peeling the cookies off the sheet and arranging them on the tray. It’s perfect for the littlest bakers.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
Mix, Scoop, and Press Cookies
Hands-on cookies with fun jobs for every age.
5. Air Fryer Christmas M&M Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies loaded with red and green M&M’s. Chill the dough first for thicker cookies.
How kids can help: Stirring in the M&M’s and pressing extra candies on top before baking.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Christmas M&M Cookies
6. Easy Air Fryer Christmas Brownie Mix Cookies
A box of brownie mix turns into rich, fudgy cookies with soft centers. It’s a simple recipe with very little measuring.
How kids can help: Dumping in the mix, stirring the dough, and scooping the cookies.
Get the recipe: Easy Air Fryer Christmas Brownie Mix Cookies
7. Air Fryer Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Sprinkles
A sugar cookie mix dough rolled in rainbow sprinkles with a chocolate chunk pressed into the middle. Use red and green sprinkles for Christmas.
How kids can help: Rolling the dough balls in sprinkles. Kids love this job.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Sprinkles
8. Air Fryer Red Velvet Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
A red velvet twist on the classic peanut butter blossom, with a Hershey’s Kiss in the center. The bright red color looks so festive.
How kids can help: Unwrapping the Kisses and pressing one into each warm cookie, with an adult nearby.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Red Velvet Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
9. Air Fryer Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
Tender butter cookies with a pool of strawberry jam in the center. They look like they came from a bakery.
How kids can help: Making the thumbprints, the job is right there in the name, and spooning in the jam.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
Gooey, Chocolatey Fun
Treats that feel like a party.
10. Air Fryer S’mores Cookie Cups
A buttery graham crust with toasted marshmallow and melty chocolate on top, ready in about 20 minutes. Silicone muffin cups make them easy to pop out.
How kids can help: Pressing the graham crust into the cups and adding the chocolate and marshmallows.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer S’mores Cookie Cups
11. Easy Air Fryer Chocolate Bark
Chocolate chips melt in the air fryer at 300°F in about 4 to 5 minutes, then get covered in fun toppings like crushed peppermint candy, Oreos, pretzels, or M&M’s.
How kids can help: Sprinkling on all the toppings and breaking the set bark into pieces.
Get the recipe: Easy Air Fryer Chocolate Bark
12. Easy Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Bites
Store-bought cinnamon rolls cut into bite-size shapes with a biscuit cutter, air fried at 320°F for 3 to 4 minutes, and drizzled with icing.
How kids can help: Flattening the rolls and cutting out the shapes. Use a small star or tree cutter for Christmas morning.
Get the recipe: Easy Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Bites
Tips for Baking With Kids
- Prep before you start. Measure ingredients into small bowls ahead of time so kids can dump and stir without long waits.
- Give everyone a job. Toddlers can sprinkle and stir, school-age kids can scoop and roll, and older kids can measure and cut shapes.
- Adults handle the heat. Keep little hands away from the air fryer, and let an adult load and unload the basket.
- Set up a decorating station. Put out frosting, sprinkles, and candies in muffin tins so everyone can grab what they need.
- Embrace the mess. Lay down parchment or a washable tablecloth, put on aprons, and expect a few lopsided snowmen. That’s part of the fun.
- Make it a tradition. Pick one afternoon each December for holiday baking, and save the recipes the kids love most.
Christmas Baking With Kids FAQs
What are the easiest Christmas treats to make with kids? The Pillsbury sugar cookies, brownie mix cookies, and chocolate bark are the easiest. They use very few ingredients and give kids plenty of hands-on jobs.
What age can kids start helping in the kitchen? Even toddlers can help with simple jobs like stirring and adding sprinkles. Older kids can scoop dough, cut shapes, and decorate. Always keep an adult in charge of the air fryer and anything hot.
Which treats are best for decorating? Melting snowman cookies, gingerbread men, and snowflake sugar cookies are made for decorating with icing, sprinkles, and candy.
Can these treats be gifted? Yes. Chocolate bark, M&M cookies, and decorated sugar cookies make sweet homemade gifts for teachers, grandparents, and neighbors, and kids love giving something they made.
Merry Christmas, and happy baking with your little helpers!
