Christmas Leftover Desserts

Now that the holiday is over, Christmas leftovers may seem to be taking over your fridge.  Here are some creative and tasty ways to clear out the space for some New Years dishes.

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream

Photo by Christmas Stock Images

If you are caroling this year, We Wish You a Merry Christmas is most likely on your singing list. As you sing out the lyrics, “bring us some figgy pudding,” you’re asking for a fig-filled version of Christmas pudding.  Originating from England, this dish would go great with ice cream.

Ingredients:

Leftover Christmas pudding

Vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

Crumble up the leftover Christmas pudding in a bowl and place in large mixing bowl.  Blend in ½ gallon vanilla ice cream on medium speed.  Scoop your Christmas pudding ice cream into a freezer-safe container for chilling.  Chill overnight and enjoy!

Fruitcake Ice Cream

Fruitcake may have a checkered past, but this recipe is perfect for the fruitcake lovers out there. You also may not have to worry about your fruitcake leftovers from expiring since the alcoholic preservatives can keep it fresh for over 20 years.  However, we wouldn’t recommend waiting that long to try Fruitcake Ice Cream.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup chopped fruitcake

½ gallon vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

Soften the vanilla ice cream in a bowl and stir in 1 cup of the fruitcake pieces.  Once the fruitcake is evenly dispersed in the ice cream you can place it in a freezer container and sprinkle the remaining fruitcake on top.  

Christmas Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Photo by Oakley Originals

If Santa couldn’t eat all your Christmas cookies this year, you can use them to make these delicious ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients:

An even number of cookies

Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructions:

Use a spoon to scoop a small amount onto one cookie, face down.  Spread the ice cream evenly with a small knife or spatula, and place the matching cookie face up on top of the ice cream covered cookie.

Candy Cane Ice Cream Sundaes

Each year more than 1.76 billion candy canes are produced specifically for the holiday season, so chances are you may have a few leftover after Christmas.  Instead of just throwing them out, you can take your extra candy canes, wrap them in sealed plastic bags, and crush them to make colorful and minty sundae toppings.  Add some hot fudge or chocolate for extra sweetness!

Candy Cane Drink Stirrers

Photo by Mark Doliner

Another clever use for leftover candy canes is to use them as flavorful stirrers in warm seasonal drinks like hot cocoa. You can dip them in some melted white, milk, or dark chocolate and wrap them up as favors for New Year’s party guests.