What worked for me is sticking with recipes that require little or no-baking that my two year old can help with. So here they are – tried and true no-bake holiday recipes so easy (and delicious, and attractive) that you can make them with a toddler in the kitchen, give them away as gifts and even, dare I say it, have a little have fun too?

All-Around Favorite: Five-Minute Fudge Wreath                                   

Okay, so maybe this is more like a ten-minute wreath, but I still say that’s pretty darn good considering I had a two-year old perched on the kitchen counter. This special and extremely rich holiday dessert from Rachael Ray comes together with mostly pantry staples right on the stovetop. The best part is the candied green and red cherries that go on top – my daughter had a total blast and even her free form decorations looked cute. In other words, this one’s pretty hard to mess up. We gave wreaths away to just about everyone on our list this year.

Best Anytime Treat: Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bake Cookies

Chocolate drop cookies are held together by chewy oatmeal and accented with creamy peanut butter –yes, they taste as good as they sound! These little addictive morsels from the Food Network get my vote for best year-round treat. I whip these up just as frequently on a rainy summer afternoon as I do for a nice after dinner holiday treat to serve alongside coffee for my guests. Though not as fun for my daughter as decorating, she did enjoy licking plenty of batter off the spoon and because no raw eggs were involved, I basically let her go to town!

Best Bring to a Party Dessert: Santa Hat Brownie Bites

I used to get intimidated when a friend would ask me to bring dessert to a holiday event – until I discovered these festive, two-bite treats from Daisy's World. Yes, I know I know, brownies technically involve a little oven action, but using boxed mix means all you have to do is make the delicious frosting (which I usually end of eating half of) and frost and top each piece. My daughter’s favorite food in the entire world just happens to be strawberries so she usually eats two before remembering to use every third one to actually top a brownie!

Easiest, “I don’t feel like doing a thing!” Option: Decorate Your Own Sugar Cookies

My aunt taught second grade for 20 years and she said this was by far the most fun holiday project they did every year - and one of the most simple too. During your weekly grocery run, grab a couple dozen sugar cookies from the bakery, a tub of vanilla icing (add some red, green or blue food coloring for Christmas or Hanukkah if you like) and then go crazy buying assorted sprinkles and candy (red hots and gum drops are family favorites). You’ll probably be able to find some cheap deals on toppings at your local dollar store too.

Cover the floor or table with parchment paper, spread everything out along with a couple kid-safe knives and let the whole family go to town. Or invite the playgroup over and send everyone home toting a Tupperware with their masterpieces. And viola! Holiday fun without ever turning on your oven or stove.

*If you can muster up the energy, here’s a delicious homemade sugar cookie frosting recipe

Happy Holidays!