12 Ritz Cracker Christmas Cookies That Need No Oven and Vanish in Minutes

The cookie tray needs one more thing and the oven is already full of a turkey, a casserole and someone’s ambitious pie. These are the ones you build instead of bake: a buttery round cracker, a filling, a dip, a scatter of something red or green, done. No mixer, no chilling dough overnight, no timer you forget about.

Every recipe below works the same way: sandwich, dip, decorate, set. That makes them the right project for small hands, so if you want the whole afternoon sorted, this list of oven-off Christmas treats pairs well with the tray.

Across the twelve you will meet peanut butter, chocolate, hazelnut spread, pecans and pretzels, so check for peanut, tree nut, gluten, dairy and soy before you set the tray out at a mixed party. None of it needs a grown-up pour either: every recipe here is built for a table with kids at it.

Most of these keep in an airtight container for about a week and several freeze cleanly, so you can build the whole dozen across two quiet evenings instead of one frantic one.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies Dipped In Chocolate

This is the one people already know, which is exactly the point: it tastes like the inside of a candy bar and costs almost nothing. Salty cracker, thick peanut butter, a full coat of chocolate. Nobody asks what it is, they just reach for a second one.

Keep the peanut butter smooth rather than chunky so the sandwich stays flat enough to dip cleanly. If your kitchen runs warm, chill the filled sandwiches for ten minutes before they go anywhere near the melted chocolate.

Prep: 20 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on 20 of the crackers.
3. Press a second cracker on top of each to close the sandwich.
4. Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in 20 second bursts, stirring between each.
5. Drop each sandwich into the melted chocolate and turn to coat fully.
6. Lift out with a fork, let the excess chocolate drip off, then set on the parchment.
7. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt while the chocolate is still wet.
8. Chill for 15 minutes, or until the chocolate is firm.

White Chocolate Sprinkle Crackers

This is the cream-colored one your tray actually needs, because every other entry here leans chocolate brown. One ingredient, one dip, one scatter of sprinkles, and the whole plate suddenly reads as Christmas.

No filling means no spreading step, so this is the fastest recipe on the list. If you only have ten minutes before the car pool arrives, start here.

Prep: 15 minutes · Total: 30 minutes · Yield: 48 crackers

Ingredients

• 48 Ritz crackers
• 20 oz white chocolate melting wafers
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons red sprinkles
• 2 tablespoons green sprinkles

Instructions

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt the white chocolate with the coconut oil in short bursts, stirring until smooth.
3. Dip each cracker halfway into the melted chocolate.
4. Shake off the extra chocolate gently over the bowl.
5. Set the cracker chocolate side up on the parchment.
6. Scatter red and green sprinkles over the wet chocolate right away.
7. Work through the rest of the crackers in small batches so the chocolate stays glossy.
8. Let the tray sit until the chocolate hardens fully.

Grinch Green Dipped Crackers

You know the joke before anyone tells it: a green, slightly grumpy little cookie with one red heart stuck on top. It is a one-note visual gag and it works every single time on a kids’ table.

Green candy melts behave a little differently from chocolate, so keep the heat gentle and stir often. Press the red sprinkle on within seconds of dipping or it will slide off instead of sticking.

Prep: 20 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 16 oz green candy melts
• 20 small red heart sprinkles

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread peanut butter on 20 of the crackers.
3. Close each sandwich with a remaining cracker.
4. Melt the green candy melts in 20 second bursts until smooth.
5. Dip each sandwich fully into the green coating.
6. Tap off the excess coating over the bowl.
7. Press one red heart sprinkle onto the top of each while wet.
8. Set on parchment until completely firm.

Peppermint Bark Crackers

This takes the flavor everyone already loves off the candy counter and onto a cracker, which is somehow more fun to eat with your hands. Dark chocolate underneath, a white drizzle on top, crushed candy cane caught in between.

If you would rather skip a second melt, stir the crushed candy cane straight into the dark chocolate before dipping and leave off the white drizzle entirely.

Prep: 20 minutes · Total: 40 minutes · Yield: 40 crackers

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 12 oz dark chocolate melting wafers
• 4 oz white chocolate melting wafers
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Instructions

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt the dark chocolate in short bursts until smooth.
3. Dip each cracker fully into the dark chocolate.
4. Set the dipped crackers onto the parchment.
5. Melt the white chocolate separately until smooth.
6. Drizzle the white chocolate back and forth over the dark coating.
7. Sprinkle crushed candy cane over the wet drizzle right away.
8. Let the crackers set completely before stacking or serving.

Reindeer Crackers With Pretzel Antlers

This is the one your kids will fight over the assembly job for, because it is less recipe and more craft project you can eat. Two pretzel twists, two candy eyes, one red nose, done.

Hand her three year old the eyes and the nose while you manage the pretzels: nobody needs the faces to match for the plate to read as a herd of reindeer. For the rest of the party, a few quick games fill the gap while these set.

Prep: 15 minutes · Total: 20 minutes · Yield: 24 reindeer crackers

Ingredients

• 24 Ritz crackers
• 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
• 48 mini pretzel twists
• 48 candy eyes
• 24 red mini candies, for noses

Instructions

1. Spread about 1 teaspoon of hazelnut spread on each cracker.
2. Press two pretzel twists into the top edge as antlers.
3. Add two candy eyes just below the antlers.
4. Press one red candy below the eyes as the nose.
5. Repeat with the remaining crackers and toppings.
6. Let the trays sit for 5 minutes so the spread grips the toppings.
7. Serve the same day while the pretzel antlers are still crisp.

Hazelnut Spread Cracker Sandwiches

Fewer sprinkles here, more flavor: this one leans on the hazelnut spread itself to do the festive work. A little crunch of chopped hazelnut on the edge is the only decoration it needs.

No melting, no dipping, nothing to burn. If a nut allergy rules this out for the party, swap in sunflower seed butter and leave the chopped hazelnuts off the edge entirely.

Prep: 15 minutes · Total: 25 minutes · Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
• Sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. Spread about 1 teaspoon of hazelnut spread on 20 of the crackers.
2. Top each with a remaining cracker to close the sandwich.
3. Press the sandwich edges into the chopped hazelnuts.
4. Sprinkle the tops with a little sea salt.
5. Arrange on a tray to serve right away.
6. Chill for 10 minutes first if your kitchen is warm.

Caramel Pecan Crackers

This is the grown-up end of the tray: soft caramel, toasted pecan, a thin run of chocolate over the top. It looks like something from a candy shop window and takes about twenty-five active minutes.

It also holds up to being boxed, so if you need something to hand a neighbor, pair it with a few other no-oven candy gifts for a full tin.

Prep: 25 minutes · Total: 45 minutes · Yield: 40 crackers

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 1 cup soft caramel candies, unwrapped
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup chocolate melting wafers

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the crackers out flat.
2. Melt the caramels with the cream over low heat, stirring until smooth.
3. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of warm caramel onto each cracker.
4. Sprinkle chopped pecans over the caramel while it is still soft.
5. Chill the tray for 15 minutes, or until the caramel firms up.
6. Melt the chocolate melting wafers until smooth.
7. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the pecan tops.
8. Let the chocolate set fully before stacking.

Snowman Crackers With White Candy Melts

Full disclosure: this one takes a little more patience than the others, because the face has to go on before the coating sets. The payoff is a cracker that looks like it came from a bakery counter, not a sandwich bag.

Work on one snowman at a time rather than dipping a whole tray first. It makes a good classroom project too, alongside a few short games a teacher can run while the trays set.

Prep: 25 minutes · Total: 45 minutes · Yield: 12 snowman crackers

Ingredients

• 24 Ritz crackers
• 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
• 16 oz white candy melts
• Mini chocolate chips, for faces
• Orange sprinkles, for noses

Instructions

1. Spread about 1 teaspoon of marshmallow fluff on 12 of the crackers.
2. Top each with a remaining cracker to close the sandwich.
3. Melt the white candy melts in short bursts until smooth.
4. Dip each sandwich fully into the melted candy coating.
5. Set on parchment and add three mini chips down the center as buttons.
6. Add two mini chips higher up as eyes.
7. Press one orange sprinkle on as the nose.
8. Let the snowman crackers set fully on the parchment.

S’mores Crackers

These are warm, which makes them the odd one out on a cold tray, and that is exactly why people remember them. Ten seconds in the microwave softens the chocolate and the marshmallow into something closer to the campfire version.

Assemble the whole batch ahead of time and leave the microwave step for right before serving. That way nobody eats a cold, stiff version by accident.

Prep: 10 minutes · Total: 12 minutes · Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 20 small chocolate squares
• 20 mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Arrange 20 crackers on a microwave-safe plate.
2. Place a chocolate square on each cracker.
3. Microwave for 10 seconds to soften the chocolate.
4. Add one mini marshmallow on top of each square.
5. Microwave for 5 more seconds to soften the marshmallow.
6. Top each with a remaining cracker.
7. Press down gently to seal the sandwich and serve warm.

Cookie Butter Crackers

If cookie butter already lives in your pantry for secret spoon-eating, this is the socially acceptable way to use it. Spiced, toasty filling between two crisp crackers, a dip of white chocolate, a scatter of crumbs on top.

No nuts, no peanut butter, which makes this one a safer pick for a mixed school party than most of the list. Keep a jar of extra cookie butter on hand; it disappears faster than the crackers do.

Prep: 20 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 1 cup cookie butter
• 8 oz white chocolate melting wafers
• 1/4 cup crushed cookie crumbs

Instructions

1. Spread about 1 teaspoon of cookie butter on 20 of the crackers.
2. Close each sandwich with a remaining cracker.
3. Melt the white chocolate in short bursts until smooth.
4. Dip half of each sandwich into the melted chocolate.
5. Sprinkle crushed cookie crumbs over the wet chocolate immediately.
6. Place on parchment paper to set.
7. Chill for 10 minutes for a clean, crisp snap.

Strawberry Jam Crackers

This is the lightest thing on the tray, almost a cheesecake bite in disguise, and it earns its spot next to all the chocolate by being the one thing that is not chocolate. Cream cheese, a little jam, a dusting of powdered sugar.

Keep these refrigerated rather than left out, since the cream cheese filling is softer than the others. They also come together fastest if you let the cream cheese sit at room temperature first.

Prep: 15 minutes · Total: 25 minutes · Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 40 Ritz crackers
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and soft.
2. Spread a thin layer on 20 of the crackers.
3. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of jam onto each one.
4. Top each with a remaining cracker.
5. Press gently to seal the sandwich.
6. Dust the tops lightly with powdered sugar.
7. Chill for 10 minutes before serving.

Christmas Tree Crackers With Green Icing

Of everything on this tray, this is the one that looks like it took real skill and genuinely did not. A zigzag of melted candy from a piping bag, pressed flat into a tree shape, a few tiny sprinkles for ornaments, one star on top.

Practice the zigzag on parchment first if piping is new to you. The shape forgives wobbles far more than it forgives going too slowly and letting the candy set mid-line.

Prep: 20 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Yield: 24 tree crackers

Ingredients

• 24 Ritz crackers
• 1 cup green candy melts
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• Mini round sprinkles, for ornaments
• Yellow star sprinkles, for toppers

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Melt the green candy melts with the shortening until smooth and pourable.
3. Spoon the melted candy into a piping bag or a zip-top bag.
4. Snip a small corner off the bag.
5. Pipe a zigzag tree shape onto each cracker.
6. Press mini round sprinkles onto the wet candy as ornaments.
7. Add one yellow star sprinkle at the top of each tree.
8. Let the trees set fully before stacking or boxing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store Ritz cracker Christmas cookies?

Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature, with a sheet of wax or parchment paper between any stacked layers so the coating does not stick. One well-tested version says to store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 7-10 days, with wax paper or parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking. Keep the container somewhere cool and dry rather than near the oven or dishwasher.

Can you freeze Ritz cracker cookies?

Yes, and it is the easiest way to get ahead of a party. You can freeze them in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic freezer bag for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator rather than on the counter so the coating does not sweat.

Do Ritz cracker cookies need to be refrigerated?

Not strictly, but it helps more than it hurts. They don’t have to be, but they hold their shape best when stored in the refrigerator, especially in warm climates. Anything with cream cheese or marshmallow fluff filling, like the strawberry jam or snowman crackers here, is worth keeping cold.

Can I use a different nut butter instead of peanut butter?

Yes, and this is the easiest swap on the whole tray for a nut-free or peanut-free classroom. Almond butter, sunflower butter, and even cookie butter work beautifully. The cookie butter recipe above is built on that exact substitution.

How do I keep the crackers from going soft or soggy?

Moisture is the real enemy here, not time. Keep crackers in a cool, dry place away from heat sources and humidity to maintain crispness. Let any melted coating or filling cool slightly before it touches the cracker, and avoid stacking warm batches straight into a sealed container.

How far in advance can I make these for a party?

Further than you would think. You can make these a couple of days in advance and store them in the refrigerator, or in the freezer for 2-3 months. Build the dipped and sandwiched ones early and save anything piped, like the Christmas tree crackers, for closer to the day so the icing stays sharp.