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    Home » Recipes » Holiday & Special Occasions

    Published: Dec 12, 2022 by Rebecca Blackwell · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    20 Favorite Holiday Baking Recipes

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    A collage of 6 photos showing favorite holiday baking recipes.

    This delicious collection of favorite holiday baking recipes is suitable for any occasion, whether it's a small dinner party, a large holiday party, or a family meal.

    You'll find mini cakes, layer cakes, and a very special gingerbread Christmas cake. Plus cookies and pies, and two-bite butterscotch eclairs.

    Happiest of holidays and happy baking, friends!

    A collage of 9 photos showing favorite holiday baking recipes.

    Favorite Holiday Baking Recipes

    This delicious collection of favorite holiday baking recipes is suitable for any occasion, whether it's a small dinner party, a large holiday party, or a family meal.

    1

    Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Sugared Cranberries and Lemon Glaze

    This gingerbread cake is moist through and through and filled with the flavors of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and molasses. The tart lemon glaze and sugared cranberries are the perfect complement to the richness of the cake. If you like gingerbread that's richly flavorful, with a potent level of spice that's also well-balanced, this is your recipe.

    "Caked turned out gingerbread spicy with a great sweetness from the candied cranberries."

    2

    Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

    These rich and buttery homemade cinnamon rolls with gooey swirls of cinnamon sugar and vanilla cream cheese icing rise in the refrigerator overnight, making them an easy Christmas morning treat.

    "I made these rolls yesterday and they were just wonderful! My husband thought they were the best cinnamon rolls he has tried. A keeper for sure!" - Jessica

    3

    Homemade Dinner Rolls

    These dinner rolls are one of our family's favorite foods and a staple at every holiday celebration. I hope you enjoy these dinner rolls as much as we do!

    "So good! Super soft and fluffy, some of the best rolls I've ever had! And they were surprisingly easy to make! Love this recipe!" - Emily

    4

    Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread with White Chocolate Ganache

    This super easy pumpkin chocolate chip bread glazed with white chocolate ganache falls somewhere between a decadent quick bread and soft, chocolate-studded pumpkin cake.

    This recipe can be used to bake a standard 9-inch loaf cake, mini loaf cakes, or pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

    "Wow! This pumpkin bread is amazing!! Love that you paired white chocolate with the pumpkin, such a great combo! The melted white chocolate in the batter adds so much richness. Delicious!" - Chelsey

    5

    New York Cheesecake with a Shortbread Crust

    This is everything you need to know to bake the ultimate rich and creamy New York-style cheesecake. The recipe includes a traditional shortbread crust, but if a graham cracker crust is more your style, you'll find instructions in the recipe.

    "This is hands down the perfect cheesecake. Great texture and flavor, is not overly sweet, and something I always get requests for. Another winner!" - Judy

    6

    Intensely Flavorful, Super Moist Spice Cake

    This is my idea of the perfect Spice Cake. It's super moist and packed with the rich flavors of cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Dark brown sugar, applesauce, yogurt, and plenty of vanilla add even MORE flavor, while also keeping it moist and extremely tender. 

    "I have been making a different spice cake annually for years and finally found one I will come back to again and again. Thank you for this delicious recipe, the chocolate frosting was a perfect touch!" - Liz

    7

    Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream

    I am totally head-over-heels in love with these little two-bite chocolate peppermint cupcakes. Rich and fudgy chocolate cupcakes covered in peppermint spiked cream cheese buttercream with a fun candy cane swirl. They are, in my mind, exactly what Christmas should taste like.

    8

    Eggnog Pots de Creme {Little pots of eggnog custard}

    Pots de Creme is crazy easy to make but tastes like something you'd only find in a restaurant for which you might have to take out a second mortgage in order to pay the bill. It's one of my favorite things to serve guests for several reasons...

    1. It's one of the simplest desserts you can make.
    2. You can make it a day or two ahead of time.
    3. You bake and serve it in adorable little individual pots.

    No slicing, plating, saucing, or scooping is involved. Just pull the little pots from the refrigerator and serve them.

    9

    Mini Cranberry Bundt Cakes with Lemon Glaze

    These tiny little cranberry bundt cakes drizzled with a sweet-tart lemon glaze are almost too cute to eat. Almost. Actually, not at all. I just ate four and have no qualms about going back for more.

    10

    Mini Chai Cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream

    These delicious little two-bite, Mini Cupcakes are flavored with vanilla and chai, and frosted with White Chocolate & Chai Italian Meringue Buttercream. 

    11

    Mini Butterscotch Éclairs

    These buttery little two-bite mini éclairs are bursting with butterscotch pastry cream and covered butterscotch sauce.

    12

    Cranberry Pineapple Upside Down Cake

    Buttery little Cranberry Pineapple Upside Down Cakes baked with pineapple slices, tart cranberry sauce, and gooey brown sugar caramel glaze.

    "Delicious cake! The combination of tart cranberries, sweet pineapple, and moist airy cake was incredible! Loved every bite:) Making your own cranberry sauce is definitely worth it - nothing from a can could compare and it’s really not that much effort! I used the juice from my zested orange instead of lemon juice - it was perfect! " -Valerie

    13

    Almond Cake with Cranberry Sauce

    Almond cake is one of those desserts that seems rather plain and unassuming and then blows you away with how delicious it is. The cake couldn't be simpler to make and only includes a handful of ingredients. But the finished result is both rich and elegant.

    14

    11 Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

    Likewise, I don't have one single memory of Christmas as a child (or an adult) that doesn't include platefuls of my mom's homemade Christmas cookies. That's the thing about Christmas and cookies. Christmas traditions may vary wildly from family to family, but generally, cookies are involved.

    These are 11 of my all-time favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Some are old, some are new, all are deliciously nostalgic.

    15

    Cast Iron Skillet Maple Pecan Pie

    This Cast Iron Skillet Pecan Pie is rich, creamy, and packed with the flavor of toasted pecans and maple syrup.

    Although corn syrup is traditionally used to make pecan pie, this recipe uses maple syrup instead. A touch of sour cream creates a silky smooth texture and plenty of toasted pecans add a nutty crunch to every bite.

    Cast iron is an excellent conductor of heat and the perfect pan to use when you want a pie with a golden, flaky, evenly baked crust.

    16

    One Layer Chocolate Almond Cake

    This one layer chocolate almond cake is both dense and light, supremely chocolatey, a little bit boozy, and honestly one of the best things that has ever come out of this chocolate lover's tiny kitchen.

    17

    Poached Pear Frangipane Tart

    Topped with red and white wine-poached pears, this stunning Pear and Frangipane Tart tastes as impressive as it looks.

    18

    Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

    This Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie includes layers of chocolate pastry cream, vanilla rum custard, bananas, and whipped cream in a buttery vanilla wafer crust.

    It's incredibly rich, creamy, and indulgent without being overly sweet, and has been a favorite recipe in our family for years and years.

    "Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for this recipe-I made this last week and it was just wonderful!!! Will be making this again to share with family!!! Delicious!!!" - Ashley

    19

    No Bake Chocolate Mousse Pie

    This dreamy No-Bake Chocolate Pie is impossibly light, delicate, and everything we love about really, really good chocolate mouse. It's NOT stodgy, heavy, or cloying at all. And, it's so easy to make, it borders on ridiculous.

    20

    Extra Creamy Coconut Cream Pie

    The ultimate rich and creamy Coconut Cream Pie, made with silky pastry cream, toasted coconut, and a buttery, crispy Toasted Almond Crust.

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    Rebecca Blackwell

    Hi! I'm Rebecca, a baker, recipe developer, food photographer, and full time RV nomad.

    I’ve been baking for 25 years, both professionally and just for the sheer pleasure of it. In 2013, I launched this blog as a way to share my most tested, trusted, and much-loved recipes.

    Learn more -->

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    Several logos from other publications that have featured recipes created by Rebecca Blackwell.

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