These are the holiday baking stars you’ve been waiting for. With the Thanksgiving baking frenzy on the horizon, we’re bringing you our favorite recipes from our November/December issue, sharing why we love them, and more importantly, how they’ll make your holidays even brighter. From a traditional Canadian Sugar Pie and a cookie butter-loaded confection to a revamped Christmas cookie classic and a roasted chestnut treat, we’ve picked each of these winning recipes just for you. Get the recipes in our November/December issue, out on newsstands now!
Editor-in-Chief Brian Hart Hoffman’s pick pairs the molasses, toffee, and caramel flavors of muscovado, an unprocessed cane sugar, wonderfully with a little hit of Chinese five-spice. That rich trio of tastes is the perfect contrast to the spicy notes of cloves, cinnamon, and Szechuan peppercorn found in the blend. (Get the exclusive recipe share on our site!)
- Chocolate-Chestnut Mousse Cake
This s’mores-inspired cake, which feature a thick, velvety layer of chocolate mousse enriched with roasted chestnuts. A splash of rum in the mousse mellows zippy ginger in the cake’s base. Topped with a Salty Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue, this decadent dessert will be your go-to this year.
3. Swedish Saffranskrans
This brilliant golden wreath bread will brighten your holiday table. In Saffranskrans, a buttery saffron dough is filled with candied orange peel and raisins. While baking, our orange-and-cardamom marmalade filling caramelizes on the crust. Swedish pearl sugar and almond slices deliver the perfect crunch. Sprinkle more of both on top before serving for added texture. This bread is often served on December 13 for St. Lucia Day, a winter solstice celebration also called the “Festival of Lights.”
4. Sugar Pie
For Quebecers, sugar pie, or tarte au sucre, is synonymous with Christmas indulgence. Brought to Quebec by French immigrants, this sweet pie combines brown sugar and maple syrup, a sugar combo that slowly caramelizes while baking, creating a light crunchy top and a custard-like silky interior.
- Cookie Butter Truffles
Cookie butter, much like peanut butter, pulverizes a good thing (Biscoff Cookies) into an addictive spread. These truffles double down on the Biscoff flavor with alternating layers of Cookie Butter Ganache and straight cookie butter. Try not to get too attached—these truffles will be the first to disappear at your holiday get-together.
- Cranberry Orange Yule Log Cookies
We gave the classic holiday roulade also known as Bûche de Noël a mini makeover. These bite-size Yule logs have a tart and citrusy dough complemented with a sweet “bark” coating of white or semisweet chocolate. Miniature Gumdrop Mushrooms and Leaves add a precious level of detail to your small-scale masterpiece.
