Creative Recipes for Leftover Holiday Cookies

What could be better than one cookie? Two cookies — with ice cream sandwiched between! You can also sandwich your favourite icing, sweet spreads or caramel, in between leftover cookies for a delicious after-dinner treat.

Whether you’ve got lots of regular gingerbread cookies sitting around or the remnants of a smashed gingerbread house, the broken pieces will work wonders in this clementine trifle. You can also swap citrus for your fruit of choice, or chocolate if you prefer something a little more rich and decadent.

Typically made with crumbled graham crackers, crust can be formed using any cookie of your choosing. For this classic grasshopper pie, chocolate cookies are crushed, mixed with melted butter and simply pressed into a pan, before filled with marshmallow fluff.

Looking to add a little texture to your ice cream sundae? Crumble up leftover shortbread cookies for a sweet, buttery topping. Soon you’ll be baking shortbread just for this reason alone!

No matter what shape your cookies may be, they’ll taste beyond delicious dipped into this chocolate fondue. Try serving a variety of cookies and fruit on a platter with plenty of dessert dip.

Another great way to use up gingersnaps or molasses cookies? Parfaits, of course! Break up the cookies and use in a simple layered dessert like Ina Garten’s pumpkin-flavoured parfait with whipped cream and crystallized ginger.

Although wafers are typically used in this no-bake dessert, any cookie you have leftover will do so long as the flavours work together. Here, Ina Garten uses chocolate chip cookie crumbs as a layer, so you get little bits of chocolate with every bite.

You may have heard of pull-away cupcakes, but this recipe bakes the cookies right into the cupcakes themselves. This celebration-worthy dessert will be a go-to for many birthdays to come.