Holiday Baking!

One of the best things about this time of year is the nearly constant stream of delicious goodies that turn up at work functions, or are dropped off by kindly neighbors and family. Baking at home fills the house with familiar smells of special spices, and let’s be honest: having the oven on to warm up the kitchen doesn’t hurt any!

Dessert is pretty much my favorite part of a meal (unless there’s cheese involved. or risotto…), and in a way is responsible for this whole blogging adventure, since the first recipe we posted way back in 2011 was for the first version of lemoncakes.

Since we are still limited by physical distance, we can’t have a big holiday bakeoff together (OR COULD WE?!?), but in the spirit of the season, here are some of my favorite recipes from the blog that have a little holiday flair. Most are great for delivering as little gifts to neighbors or bringing to a holiday party. I’m hoping to make up little plates and deliver them to neighbors.

I’d love to know what your families make every holiday season, SO as a bonus, if you comment below with your favorite holiday treat, I’ll put your name in a drawing for a set of Game of Thrones wax seal coasters (like these). The drawing will take place next Wednesday, Dec. 14th, at noon est.

Update: And the winner is Elizabeth F, who recommended some tasty sounding St. Nicholas cookies she encountered in Prague. Congrats!

Image result for game of thrones wax seal coasters

In the meantime, try some of these tasty recipes:

And Happy Holiday Baking!

51 Responses

  1. My mom’s jam tart recipe with lemon curd or apricot jam. They look so lovely on a cookie plate and they taste delicious!

  5. My mother was never much of a baker, so I’ve no traditional delights that I must have from my childhood. However, I’ve started some must have fall/winter things of my own!

    Firstly – pumpkin cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese icing. I always had (canned) cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning as a kid, so now that I have my own kitchen, I make them myself!

    Secondly – pumpkin snickerdoodles. Yes, pumpkin again, but these cookies are almost cake soft and squishy and delightful. Another twist from a childhood memory (this one from grandma who would put a pecan half on each cookie)

  6. My Aunt Lil’s shortbread/crushed pecan cookies made in a sort of crescent shape. Baked low and slow and as soon as they come out of the oven you roll them in sifted powdered sugar. One year I made them with crushed almonds instead and added a little bit of rosewater. Heavenly!

  7. I make cranberry orange sauce with jalapeno every year for my family – some for the feast, and quite a bit bottled for use after. Always a hit!

  8. My Aunt Lil’s crushed pecan shortbread cookies. Crescent shaped and baked low and slow to avoid browning. As soon as they come out of the oven you roll them in sifted powdered sugar. One year I made them with crushed almonds instead and added a bit of rosewater. Heavenly!

  9. It’s so hard to pick what my favorite traditional treat is. We always had Dr. Bird cake (a dense-ish bready cake full of bananas and pineapple), pecan balls, cereal snack mix, decorated sugar cookies… If i had to pick, though, i’d probably choose Hello Dollies: bars of chocolate and butterscotch chips and coconut, with a graham cracker crust, held together with sweetened condensed milk and baked for a while. They’re so good.

  10. My favorite holiday recipe is a tie between my grandfather’s Hungarian goulash or my father in law’s french Canadian pork pie. Both a passed down from generations and both get top billing Christmas eve

  12. Since you have shared the Artichoke pie recipe, It has become a regular fixture for all occasions. It was on the Thanksgiving table, and just made one Sunday night. It is always a hit!

  14. I make pizzelle cookies every year. I love the traditional anise ones, but I’ve also made chocolate and almond pizzelles. This year I’m going to take some of the traditional ones and dip them in chocolate.

  16. Nutmeg Logs. My husband makes them. Their an insanely simple cookie with an insanely simple frosting. But when you combine them and dust with freshly grated nutmeg; they’re simply magical.

  17. my favorite holiday treat is shortbread cookies with orange zest, cranberries and coconut. They are simply delicious and addictive!

  18. I am Polish but my family comes from the east, what is now Ukraine and my favourite Christmas dessert comes from there. It’s called Kutia and consists of boiled whole wheat grains and minced poppy seeds mixed with lots of dried fruit, nuts and honey. It’s supposed to bring you luck for the following year too ;)

  19. My mother’s peanut butter balls. Not really baking, but oh my, are they good. And the caramel coffee shortbreads too, those at least get baked, and are almost as good as the PB balls

      • My mother’s are like buckeyes but fully coated in chocolate, with crushed peanut brittle on top. I think there’d be a riot if she ever tried to change it up, she makes a 4x batch every year and they’re always the first thing to run out.

        Also, I have no idea how I forgot about the lemon sugar cookies. Crisp and so lemony, they’re so simple and so good!

  20. Already started. Traditionally Norwegian christmas baking consists of lots of different dry cakes/cookies so they last a long while. Already finished potetmelstopper and serinakaker. To go are Sarah Bernard, finske pinner, pepperkaker (gingerbread cookies), sirupssnipper, bordstabelbakels and krumkaker. Plus various “candies”: truffles, fudge, peppermint patties and troika pieces (marzipan, nougat and raspberry jelly covered in chocolate). Basically absurd amounts of sugar, flour and butter. Not much egg/cream.

  21. Rumballs! I adapted the old family recipe and use dark spiced rum now. Fond memories of eating too many as a child, getting tipsy, and falling asleep under the living room coffee table one Christmas.

  22. I started to get into canning and preserving this year, and I made a version of Marissa Mcclellan’s “Fruitcake Compote” (in Naturally Sweet Food in Jars), all the goodness of alcohol-soaked (or plain grape juice if you prefer) dried fruits without whatever it is about fruitcake some people don’t like. It is delicious spooned over poundcake, angelfood cake, gingerbread cake, ice cream, whatever…

  23. My mom always makes the most amazing fudge – the old-fashioned kind that you have to beat ’til your arm aches or it goes all grainy. There’s always a plate full on her kitchen counter for pretty much the whole month of December. And about nine years ago she discovered a recipe for what I can only describe as “Cheeto-brittle,” which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: crunchy style Cheetos tossed in a sweet-salty coating, then baked ’til the coating is crisp. This stuff is fairly horrifying, but it’s become a tradition, mostly because I think my mom really enjoys inflicting it on us. (And the truth is, it’s actually kind of addictive).

  25. My favorite holiday treat would have to be my mom’s sugar cookies — they’re nothing fancy, just cut-outs frosted with buttercream — but Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without them!

  26. The last two years I made gingerbread men from a recipe at the BBC website, but I’m bored of them now. This year I’ll probably try some other kind of spicy cookie.

    THE traditional dessert here is called Pan Dulce; it’s a local version of the Pannettone, but it’s rather complex to make so I’ve never tried T_T

  27. Pavlova, and each year I try and change it up, either changing the fruit, making it a layered pav, or a roll. This year will be either a layered pav or roll, with chocolate mousse instead of cream and summer berries

  28. Traditional shortbread.
    1 lb softened butter
    1 cup granulated white sugar
    4 cups white AP flour plus a little

    Cream soft, but not melted, butter and granulated sugar.
    Gently mix in 4 cups AP flour. You will probably need more flour depending on humidity but it’s important not to over mix so go carefully. A tablespoon up to 1/2 cup in extremely humid conditions.
    You’re looking for a consistency where when you pull at the dough it tears jaggedly and doesn’t just stretch. Almost to the point that the dough doesn’t want to come together, almost but not quite. This step can be extremely difficult to master but when you get it right your shortbread will be out of this world good.

    Rest your dough for as long as you can handle waiting.
    Roll out to 1/4″ thickness. Cut into squares and dock with a fork. Put into a 350° oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. After you’ve done a few batches you’ll come to know by smell when they’re done.

    Adding orange zest or finely ground vanilla chai tea make for some excellent variations.

  29. My moms Bourbon Balls! She usually used burbon extract but one year used actual Burbon! The entire household was just a little tipsy. Talk about holiday party cheer!

  30. Holiday Spice. Apple pie spice. Pumpkin spice, etc.
    I use the same seasoning for apple and pumpkin pies, eggnog, Xmas coffee, everything. My 6 and 11 year old both demand it on their eggnog. Give it a try and I’m sure you’ll love it too.
    Kinda familiar, just different enough to make you remember.

    2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
    1 Tbsp ground nutmeg
    1 Tbsp ground ginger
    2 tsp ground fennel
    1&1/2 tsp ground cardamom.

    Wherever possible use fresh ground spices except for the ginger. Fresh ginger has a much different flavour and would prevent being able to store it in the cupboard.

  32. We aren’t very good dessert people, though I do have one cake in my repertoire. We call it Bangkok Laura’s Cinnamon Caramel Cake. It is a recipe a friend developed, and I am sworn to secrecy. But it is pretty darn good! More of a dense torte than a cake, and intensely cinnamon-y.

  33. Cream Wafer cookies. Just 4 ingredients for the cookies (flour, butter, and cream, then coated in sugar), plus butter cream frosting for the filling. They are a petite sandwich cookie. My mom made these every year. Light and flaky, they melt on the tongue. Now when I make them, it’s hard to get them to last long enough to be filled.

  34. a winter staple in my family is a pumpkin cake, made with pumkin puree, corn flour, a bit of butter, a couple of eggs and raisins. Pine nuts and dried figs optional.it is rich in calories, but my family from dad’s side cames from a valley in the Italian Alps and recipes tend to be cheap and nutritous, corn flour in particular was staple food.

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