Bring some twinkle to your holiday baking with these star recipes. From eggnog bourbon layer cake and spiced fruitcakes to decadent bars and festive cookies, these are the recipes to wow everyone this season. Here are our top choices for your holiday essentials—including exclusive recipe shares from our November/December issue.
With their elegant tapering necks and firm texture, whole Bosc pears baked into this rustic loaf elevate its look and taste.
The beauty of the Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake is its versatility. Sure, you can make chocolate-covered white cake all day long, and we sincerely doubt anyone will complain. But this base recipe is perfect for gussying up with practically any variation you can think of. This variation is a beautiful Eggnog Bourbon Cake perfect for more than just the holidays. Find more variations on the 1-2-3-4 cake, here.
3. Stollen
This buttery yeast bread is a German Christmas classic. Studded with rum-spiked dried fruit and filled with homemade marzipan, meet your new holiday addiction.
4. Double Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Rich with double the chocolate and a festive sprinkle of crushed candy canes, these Double Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies are the perfect way to ring in the holidays! Find more holiday cookie recipes from Mary Ann Dwyer of The Beach House Kitchen in our Holiday Cookies Special Issue, co-produced with feedfeed.
5. Figgy Duff
Originating from Newfoundland on the Canadian East Coast, this traditional steamed bread pudding derives its eclectic name from two old Cornish colloquialisms: “figgy,” a word for raisins, and “duff,” another term for pudding. Here, we spike our sultana-rich bread pudding with warm rum and top the tender finished product with a maple-infused butter sauce. Look to our November/December issue for more on Canadian baking!
