Traditionally, Christmas desserts in Poland were served on Christmas Eve, but more recently, many people have begun to serve them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
These Polish Christmas desserts are perfect for your family, friends, and guests this holiday season.
If you’re unsure how to pronounce these delicacies’ names or where they originated, don’t worry! We’ve included pronunciation guides and interesting facts about all these Polish Christmas desserts.
You can share these with your family and friends as they eat their fill this holiday season!
1. Kisiel (Custard-like Fruit Dessert)
Kisiel is a custard-like fruit dessert typically made with plums, pears, apples, or cherries.
It is served cold and can be enjoyed as a snack or dessert. Kisiel is popular in Poland during the Christmas season.
The dish is also known by other names, including Kissel in German-speaking countries, Kisel in Romania, Quetschentaart in Switzerland, and Czechoslovakian Cherry Compote.
There are many versions of this dish, but they all have one thing in common: they are served cold and meant to be enjoyed on their own or as part of another dessert course. This starts our list of delicious Polish Christmas desserts.
2. Kogel-mogel (Polish Egg Dessert)
Kogel-mogel is second on this list of Polish Christmas desserts. It is a sweet, egg-based dessert popular in Poland during the winter holidays.
It is made from eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and raisins. Further, the mixture is boiled until it thickens and cooled before being served.
Whip cream or sour cream can be added to the Kogel-Mogel. It is served with waffles at breakfast or gingerbread cookies at tea time as an afternoon snack.
3. Racuchy (Yeast Pancakes)
Racuchy is yeast pancakes with raisins, typically served for breakfast in Poland. The dough is made of flour, butter, and eggs.
The batter is allowed to rise before it is cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan with butter. Moreover, they can be eaten plain or dipped in sugar syrup.
Racuchy may also be the base for other desserts such as sernik (cheesecake) or wigilia (Christmas Eve dinner). The list of the various Polish Christmas desserts isn’t complete without the Racuchy!
4. Krówki (Polish Fudge)
Krówki is one of the most popular Polish Christmas desserts, and it’s not hard to see why.
These treats contain three ingredients: sugar, butter, and chocolate. They’re a cross between fudge and a brownie, and they’re delicious!
Usually, Krówki is shaped like a small loaf of bread or sometimes as a bar, but they can also be made in any shape you want.
The traditional way is to bake them for about 10 minutes (or until they’re nice and crispy on the outside). But you can enjoy them right out of the fridge if you don’t have time.
5. Kompot Z Suszu (Dried Fruit Compote)
One traditional Polish Christmas dessert, Kompot Z Suszu, is a simple and delicious treat. Dried fruit is boiled with water until the liquid has evaporated, creating a thick and syrupy consistency.
The whole spices are removed from the pot before mixing with apple juice, grape wine, and raisins.
Finally, the mixture is sweetened with sugar before it can be served, either warm or cold. This dish has been passed down through many generations of families in Poland.
It is typically created during the autumn harvest by combining various types of dried fruits, including apples, apricots, cherries, figs, grapes, pears, and plums.
6. Chocolate Ready-to-eat Sweets
Chocolate ready-to-eat sweets are a common and popular dessert in Poland during the holiday season.
A few of the most popular chocolate ready-to-eat sweets are Czekolada Zwykla, Chocolate with Caramel and Hazelnuts, Chocolate with Vanilla Cream, Meringue with Chocolate, and Walnuts.
Enjoy these delicious Polish Christmas desserts this holiday season!
7. Budyń (Polish Custard)
Budyń is a very popular Polish dessert served during the holidays. It is a traditional and elegant sweet made with eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla, and flour.
The most popular version of this dessert is budyniówka, which translates to custard.
Typically, these are made in large glass dishes or bowls and can be filled with fruit such as apricots or cherries.
Budyń can be served as a stand-alone dish or as a topping for other desserts, such as cakes, tarts, or pies.
Budyń may look complicated, but it’s quite easy to make. Try this one of the Polish Christmas desserts and give your tongue a tingling sensation!
8. Faworki (Angel Wings)
Faworki is a traditional Polish dessert that is served at most holiday meals. These light, tender cookies are made by rolling out puff pastry dough.
After that, cut the dough into strips and fold them with melted butter and sugar. The resulting pastries look like colorful angel wings, hence the name.
Besides, all you need to make these pretty little treats, Polish Christmas desserts, are flour, butter, sugar, and one egg.
If you would like your faworki to be colored, add some food coloring and mix it in with the butter before adding it to the dough.
Faworki is a fairly simple cookie but requires patience and a little time while baking in the oven.
9. Kołacz (Polish Wheel Cake)
Kołacz is a traditional Polish dessert that is served on Christmas Eve. They’re made with a yeast dough rolled out and then baked in the oven.
After they are cooled, they are cut into strips and covered with a layer of icing or chocolate. Kołacz originated in Poland and is used as a cake and a cookie.
There are different stories about how this type of cake came to be, but one says nuns created it. It was heard that they had too much leftover bread dough after baking communion wafers.
Whatever the true story, kołacz has been around for centuries, and they remain one of the relishing Polish Christmas desserts!
10. Chałka (Polish Sweet Yeast Bread)
Chałka is a traditional Polish dessert that’s typically served at Christmas. It’s a sweet yeasted bread with orange zest and raisins, which is thought to symbolize the sun and the harvest.
The dough for chałka is made with milk and sugar, and then the yeast is allowed to work its magic.
After about 20 minutes of cooking, this yeast bread should be golden brown on the outside but still soft on the inside.
The best part of chałka is that you can eat it while it’s still warm or toast it later to make it crispy again.
If you are looking for very delectable Polish Christmas desserts to impress your guests, you can’t go wrong with Chalka!
10. Toruńskie Pierniki (Toruń Gingerbread)
Toruńskie Pierniki (Toruń gingerbread) is a traditional Polish Christmas dessert.
It is made with butter, sugar, flour, eggs, lemon rind, and ground ginger.
The dough is then rolled into a cylinder and cut into slices for baking.
After the dough is baked in the oven, it is coated in granulated and icing sugar.
Finally, they are cooled on a wire rack for about two hours.
11. Babka (Traditional Easter Bundt Cake)
Babka is a traditional Eastern European Easter cake shaped like a Bundt cake.
It’s usually made with yeasted dough filled with poppy or raspberry jam.
If you’re looking for something different for your Christmas dinner table, this is the perfect dessert – it looks great and tastes delicious! Just be sure to make it ahead of time, as it needs time in the fridge before baking.
On this list of Polish Christmas desserts, we aren’t done yet!
12. Mazurek (Traditional Easter Shortcake)
Speak about traditional Polish Christmas desserts; here’s one traditionally made with yeast dough. It is rolled out and covered with butter, milk, or sugar. The dough is then shaped into a round cake and cut in half.
It can be eaten plain or filled with fruit preserves, poppy seeds, nuts, chocolate chips, cherry jelly, or anything you want!
The word mazurek comes from the Polish word maździerz, which means a wooden board used in cutting cakes. Mazureks are usually served for breakfast on Easter morning.
This is because of the tradition of breaking off small pieces of the cake to share with loved ones before going to church.
13. Pączki (Polish Doughnuts)
Pączki is a traditional Polish dessert served in many cultures on special occasions. They are doughnuts (usually filled with jam) that have been deep-fried and then dusted with powdered sugar.
It is customary to eat them on New Year’s Eve or Christmas Eve. Furthermore, Pączki was traditionally made by the family’s mother on December 24th.
However, they have been available at most bakeries and grocery stores since World War II. These Polish Christmas desserts are not to be missed—you won’t know you’ll love them until you taste them!
14. Ciasto Drożdżowe (Yeast Cake)
Ciasto drożdżowe (yeast cake) is one of the most popular holiday desserts.
It’s a dense, yeast-based cake that can be made in many different flavors, including walnut and raisin.
The dough is kneaded with butter and sugar before rising for about an hour.
It is then divided into small balls, rolled out into long ropes, and braided.
In short, they are not excluded from our list of palatable Polish Christmas desserts!
15. Makowiec (Poppy Seed Cake)
Makowiec is a traditional Polish Christmas dessert that can be served at other times of the year. However, it’s most commonly served on or near Christmas.
It’s made with yeast dough, often enriched with egg yolks and butter, which gives it a rich flavor and texture.
Proceeding, the dough is shaped into rings and baked in the oven until golden brown. The rings are then cooled before being cut into slices and spread with a sweet poppy seed filling.
This filling is made from ground poppy seeds, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and lemon zest. The makowiec can be topped with slivered almonds or powdered sugar before serving.
16. Kremówka (Cream pie)
Kremówka is a sweet and creamy pie traditionally served during the holidays.
It can be made in two different styles: one with heavy cream, eggs, and sugar, and the other with vanilla extract, beaten egg whites, and sugar.
The first type of kremówka is usually baked on a cookie sheet or tart pan lined with pastry dough.
The second type is usually baked in individual cups. It is one of the best Polish Christmas desserts, and it is one you’ll wish to have repeatedly.
17. Wuzetka (Chocolate Cream Pie)
Traditional Polish Christmas desserts include Wuzetka, a fruit-based alcohol often made from plums, apples, or cherries.
Wuzetka can be served warm or cold and is usually accompanied by gingerbread cookies called święconka.
18. Piernik (Polish Gingerbread Cake)
Another tradition is the piernik, a cake with honey and spices like cinnamon and cloves.
Also, it includes nuts like almonds and walnuts (or pistachios), dried fruits like raisins or figs, and sometimes candied fruit peelings.
Pierniki is typically served as an after-dinner dessert on December 24th and can be topped with whipped cream or ice cream.
Even if you wish to skip some Polish Christmas desserts for later, Piernik shouldn’t be one of them; try this particular treat now!
20. Kutia (Polish Christmas Wheat Pudding)
Kutia is a traditional Polish dish that is traditionally served on Christmas Eve. It’s a type of wheat pudding that is made with eggs, honey, and butter.
The most important ingredient in Kutia is the poppy seeds, which are used as a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
All in all, Kutia, as one of the sumptuous Polish Christmas desserts, is a very hearty dish that will keep you warm when winter arrives.
21. Sernik (Polish Cheesecake)
Sernik is a traditional Polish holiday dessert made with cream cheese filling and topped with nuts, lemon zest, and vanilla sugar.
The ingredients are not complicated, and you can make it beforehand.
This makes this dish of Polish Christmas desserts perfect for holiday gatherings.
If you’re looking for something sweet after dinner but don’t want something too rich or heavy, this dish is for you.
In addition, it’s easy to make sernik by combining cream cheese with eggs and sugar.
To create the perfect fluffy texture, you must beat them together until they are light in color and fluffy in consistency.
Once your cream cheese mixture has been mixed, pour it into a greased baking pan or pie dish.
22. Karpatka (Carpathian Mountain Cream Cake)
Can we discuss the various Polish Christmas desserts without Karpatka? That’ll be wrong. Karpatka is a traditional Carpathian Mountain cream cake.
It is made of sponge cake, tarte Tatin-style caramelized apples, and whipped cream. The dessert’s name means Carpathian mountain in Ukrainian.
What’s more, it has become popular in Poland and Ukraine, where it is also served on Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
The recipe for Karpatka was first published in 1969 in the Polish magazine Świat Kuchni (World of Cooking), which Maria Skłodowska-Curie edited.
23. Ciepłe Lody (Warm Ice Cream)
Delectable Polish Christmas desserts? This is one of them! Ciepłe lody (warm ice cream) is a popular dessert in Poland, especially around Christmas. It’s usually made with vanilla, milk, and sometimes chocolate syrup.
Making ciepłe lody is simple. You only need to pour milk into a pot over medium heat and stir it until it starts boiling. Then add sugar or any other sweetener you prefer and stir until it dissolves.
24. Sękacz (Polish Tree Cake)
Sękacz is a traditional Polish dessert that has been made for centuries. It was originally called święconka, but after Communism fell in 1989, the name was changed to be more politically correct.
The original name, święconka, means blessing or a ritual of sprinkling holy water on something or someone to bless them.
Further, the tradition of sprinkling holy water on a Sękacz goes back centuries.
It is meant as a blessing for the family, who enjoys it and often thinks of new life and health in the coming year. So, this is one of the delicious Polish Christmas desserts and signifies blessings.
25. Ciasto Z Rabarbarem (Rhubarb Cake)
Lastly, we have Ciasto Z Rabarbarem (Rhubarb Cake) to summarize our Polish Christmas desserts list. This is a traditional Polish Christmas cake served on December 24th in Poland.
It’s made of a yeasted dough with cinnamon, sugar, and butter, which is then covered with rhubarb jam and baked.
Often, the cake is sprinkled with powdered sugar before being served. This dessert can be traced back to the 16th century when it was first mentioned in written records from the Royal Court of Poland.
Ciasto Z Rabarbarem can be found in many bakeries throughout Poland, but it’s also easy to make at home. We’ll draw the curtains on the Polish Christmas desserts here!
