With Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the rest of the holidays just around the corner, here are some ideas to start you thinking about them. This roundup includes sweet as well as savory and some of the most popular recipes of the season.
Be sure to see the Cookie Roundup of 45 Cookies and Bars where you're sure to find a new cookie or two for the season.
My Chocolate Babka
Babka is a sweet bread from old-world Poland or at least central Europe. It is usually filled with cinnamon but the chocolate version takes this to another place taste wise. There is an easy way to get the dough twisted without the mess.
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Chocolate Cranberry Curd Tart
Chocolate Cranberry Curd had become an absolute favorite for the holidays at the bakery. Besides its vibrant color, the taste and texture are outstanding. We used it in tarts, cakes and petit fours. The tart itself is easy to make with its press in crust which means no rolling and the glaze is a simply two ingredients.
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Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Two Ways
These Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Two Ways with their subtle spicing are an easy recipe that take no time to make but yield great taste. This make ahead, foolproof dough can go from dinner roll to breakfast roll with the addition of one ingredient.
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Chocolate Cranberry Quick Bread
Quick breads are great because they come together in minutes. This chocolate cranberry version is just the thing to start celebrating the holidays since it can be stashed in the freezer and just thawed.
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Torta Rustica - A Savory Italian Pastry
This Torta Rustica belongs in your repertoire when it comes to savory dishes. Layers of spinach filling, red peppers, artichokes and provolone are enclosed in an Italian butter pastry that is foolproof and so distinctive on its own. It's very accommodating and can be eaten hot, warm, or at room temperature for brunch, lunch or dinner.
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Breakfast Scones - An Easy Morning Treat
Sausage and cheese highlight these breakfast scones. To turn these Breakfast Scones into a breakfast sandwich make an egg omelet adding peppers, onions, or anything else you want. The scones can be made and frozen ahead of time.
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Orange Cranberry Cake - A Holiday Specialty
This spectacular Orange Chiffon Cake is filled with cranberry curd and chocolate ganache then finished with whipped cream. The filled cake without the finish can be frozen then finished the day before.
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Salted Macadamia Rum Toffee
This Salted Macadamia Rum Toffee is simply a matter of adding a few ingredients at a time and taking the mixture to a stated temperature. Stir in a couple of more ingredients and pour it into a prepared pan. In a matter of minutes, it’s cool and ready to finish.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Caramel Rum Sauce
The Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart has a graham cracker crust that is pressed in and filled with a cream cheese mixture alternated with a pumpkin mixture which are swirled together. The baked tart can be frozen if made ahead. The simple Caramel Rum Sauce can be made weeks ahead and refrigerated.
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Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake
This Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake is a breeze to make and is tart from the cranberries balanced by the pecan streusel.
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Super Fast and Easy Brioche Rolls
These updated, super-fast, and easy Brioche Rolls are the perfect complement to any special dinner and never more so than during the holidays. When I say super easy, I mean super easy. Just a quick turn in a food processor and the dough is are ready to rise.
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Updated Pumpkin Mousse Torte
Pumpkin Mousse Torte is an easily made dessert that can be made ahead and frozen. This was, without question, the most popular dessert we made for the fall months including Thanksgiving. A crumb crust, cheesecake layer topped with a light, but intense pumpkin mousse soon became everyone's favorite.
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Reine de Saba Cake with Candied Cranberries
This frozen Reine de Saba cake is the perfect dessert for a busy schedule as the entire thing can be done a month ahead. If you do freeze it ahead, keep it in the pan so the filling doesn’t get smooshed.
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Hot Peppered Pecans
These pecans are a standout. Heat Alert - they are hot!! So if you don't favor a lot of heat, tone down all the pepper and the hot pepper sauce. Start with half and go from there. These make a great gift for anyone who loves snacks.
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Three Appetizers for an Instant Party
These Three Appetizers including spicy meatballs, artichoke croustades and sesame salmon are all make-aheads that allow you to enjoy your guests.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Sauce
This Pumpkin Cheesecake is highlighted by an out of this world Salted Caramel sauce. As if that weren't enough it is easy to put together with all the flavors of the season.
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Buche de Noel
The Buche de Noel is a spectacular extravaganza from France. While it looks complicated, it can be done over several weeks. I have posted a schedule. Buche de Noel translates to Yule Log. It is basically a jelly roll with the ends cut off and decorated to look like a tree trunk lying on the ground.
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Time to Make Mincemeat
This modern Mincemeat is meatless and easily made. Coming from England, it essentially consists of cutting up a lot of fruit and letting it age with citrus, spices, rum, and brandy. It is important if you are going to use Mincemeat to start it now.
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Make Ahead Cranberry Linzer Tart
Cranberry Linzer Tart with its bright deep red, vibrant, cranberry filling is a variation of the Viennese Linzer Tart with raspberry filling. The spiced Linzer pastry is a perfect partner with the cranberries. It is best made ahead so the flavors can blend making this a natural for the holiday season. It can also be baked and frozen until needed.
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Salmon Wellington with Lemon Asparagus Risotto Cakes
These are particularly good for entertaining as they must be frozen solid - so you can make them a month in advance, wrap well and tuck away in the freezer. By freezing them solid, the salmon won't overcook in the time it takes to bake the puff pastry. It makes a perfect entrée for entertaining.
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Orange Date Bread Pudding
Dates and oranges used two ways make this a great winter dessert when so many fruits are not back until spring. Easily made, these are perfect for a casual or formal dinner.
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Hazelnut Gianduja Cake
This Hazelnut Gianduja Cake is the perfect celebration or holiday cake and the updated methods and instructions make it completely approachable and doable for the home baker. The cake recipe consists of several component parts and three of the four can be made ahead. Actually, the entire cake can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen if desired.
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Cranberry Fresh Pineapple Relish
Cranberries, fresh pineapple and a hint of orange made this one of the most popular recipes from my take out shop and we featured it every year for Thanksgiving. I still do. I think if you try it, it will become one of your traditions also.
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Puff Pastry Crackers
I don't know about you, but last minute everything seems to happen at my house and these Puff Pastry Crackers take care of that. With little time to plan or think ahead, it makes it difficult sometimes when your guests expect something a bit out of the ordinary.
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Apple Crisp Cheesecake
This Apple Crisp cheesecake is perfect for Thanksgiving. It can be frozen and thawed for several days in the refrigerator, or for a day at room temperature with no harm.
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Chocolate Chocolate Truffles
At the bakery we were known for our chocolate. These Chocolate Chocolate Truffleswere the same ones we made - hundreds and hundreds that were hand dipped.
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Really Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Really Easy Pumpkin Muffins with pecan streusel couldn't be any easier. Two bowls and a few measuring utensils, a whisk and, a rubber spatula are all that are needed. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the liquid ingredients in another, mix them together, plop them in the cups and into the oven they go.
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Pumpkin Cake Donut Recipe
This quick, easy Pumpkin Cake Donut Recipe doesn't get any faster. With no yeast to wait for, these are ready in no time. They stay fresh for days. No cake donut pan? No problem. There's a work around below.
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Tourte Milanese
I came across Tourte Milanase years ago. It’s a spectacular tour de force. And, as with most spectaculars, it requires a bit of preparation to get it finished. But when it’s done and you cut into it, the striking layers of green, red, pink and white are dramatic.
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Cranapple Pie with a Pleated Crust
This Cranapple Pie was one of of the favorite dessert combinations at the bakery. This pie uses a galette style crust which is a usually freeform and finished in one piece, without an upper crust. This leaves the filling exposed and makes a beautiful presentation.
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Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Dazzle your friends and family with these classic Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes. Fruity, gooey, and caramelly this is one of America's favorite cakes.
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Hot Curried Party Mix
The greatest thing about these is how easy they are to prepare. Be sure to make this Hot Curried Party Mix a minimum of one day ahead – a week is better. Stored in an airtight container, this will last a month, if you can keep out of it.
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Caramel Apple Tart
Caramel Apple Tart is everything you would want in an apple dessert. Full of apples, spices, brown sugar and brandy, it's covered with walnut streusel and caramel. This was a fall favorite with my clientele at the bakery.
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Scones with Cranberry Strawberry Jam
The scones are easily made and the jam requires no canning if kept in the refrigerator or freezer. The combination of the cranberries and strawberries makes a sweet-tart topping for the scones, toast, biscuits, or pancakes and waffles. A jar of the jam makes a perfect hostess gift.
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Brown Butter Tarts
These make a stunning finish to a meal. Not to big but loaded with flavor these Brown Butter Tarts feature an easy press in crust, brickle (think toffee) filling and a unbelievable brown butter topping. The best part is that these can be frozen for a couple of months.
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Cheddar Pecan Shortbreads
They are perfect for the holidays as they can be kept in an airtight tin for weeks or in the freezer, unbaked for months. This makes a lot which is good because they are eaten quickly. These make a great gift also.
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Carrot Cake Cheesecake
This unusual carrot cake consists of two layers of carrot cake sandwiched with a creamy cheesecake and finished with the traditional cream cheese frosting.
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Cinnamon Bun Apple Pie
This is a fun apple pie with the top crust made to look like cinnamon buns. The use of undiluted frozen apple juice concentrate ups the flavor.
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European Nut Roll with Three Fillings
Nut rolls are especially popular during holidays and celebrations in Central Europe. This yeast dough is the easiest dough of its kind I have ever worked with. When you roll it out there is absolutely no recalcitrance or spring back. I recommend you make the dough a day, or several days, ahead and work it cold. It truly is a joy.
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60 Second Brioche
The title, "60 Second Brioche" (pronounced BREE-ohsh) comes from my article title as it appeared in Bon Appetit Magazine. While it takes a few minutes to prepare the ingredients, it does indeed come together in about sixty seconds in the food processor, making it the fastest brioche around.
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TJ's Cowboy Bark
Easy, quick and absolutely delicious. How can you go wrong with oreos, peanuts, almonds, toffee bits and pretzels. Sweet and salty all at once.
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Brandied Chocolate Cherry Almond Garmisch
Garmisch is another wonderful yeasted coffeecake as only the Germans can make them. Superb bakers, their products not only look beautiful but are luxurious tasting. The original filling was walnuts and while delicious, the chocolate cherry almond filling adds a note of excitement.
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Chocolate Raspberry Marzipan Gateau
This Chocolate Raspberry Marzipan Gateau is a prime example of French baking. Many of the component parts of this Marzipan Gateau can be made well ahead, in fact all of them. Assembly is quick and easy.
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Butter-Rum Pecan Tart
An easy pressed in pecan crust is filled with brown sugar, rum and more pecans. Perfect for a holiday dessert.
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Updated GF Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake
This Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake naturally gluten free and is ultra-smooth and has a deep, intense chocolate taste without being bitter or overwhelming.
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Conchas - A Mexican Sweet Bread
Conchas are a not overly sweet roll often served at breakfast with coffee or hot chocolate in Mexico. Also known as Pan Dulce and Sweet Bread this buttery yeast dough is flavored with cinnamon, vanilla and anise.
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Monika says
What a spectacular roundup! I’ve made your chocolate cranberry curd tart and pumpkin mousse torte with great success. Looking forward to making many more from this list!
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Monika, Ahhhh, two of the favorites over the years with my readers. I'm happy you're looking to add more.
Hilda Willman says
It would appear that I must buy a deep freeze as so many of these can be frozen ahead. Happy baking, Helen! Thanks for the post.
Helen S Fletcher says
The best thing about blogging is the marvelous and hilarious comments I get. It seems like in this hectic world time is of the essence so I try to find ways to help out with holiday baking....or anytime for that matter. Happy to see you're still at it.
Astrid Lobo says
Good Morning, Helen - thamk you for this post. You have made my Monday hapoy and bright! I have tried a couple of recipes from there, mostly recently the Pumpkim Mousse Torte. The cheesecake layer takes it from super to sublime! All your recipes are outstanding. Looking forward to this weekend for I have checked off the Chocolate Babka and Pumpkin rolls to try. Thank you for sharing your recipes and for your time and effort doing this. Xoxo
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Astrid - thank you for for your kind words. I think you will like both of those. The Chocolate Babka is one of my favs. I love yeast doughs and this is a really easy one to work with. Love that you've already picked out a few.