Favorite Holiday Baking Ideas
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate, and a King Arthur Baking affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Once Thanksgiving arrives, I gear up for lots of holiday baking. Cookies, breads, cakes, and special desserts–many of which turn into food gifts for loved ones. I love the warm spices that scent the air–cinnamon, peppermint, nutmeg, and cloves. Can a person have too many Favorite Holiday Baking Ideas?
(Post modified with new photos on 11/9/22.)
I think not! Some of my yearly traditions include Christmas Stollen, Yule Log, Gingerbread Houses, and yes, Fruitcake. I love fruitcake and have been making my special mini cakes for several years now. Dried figs, dates, raisins, and cranberries soaked in a spiced rum. So delicious.
And then there are the Gingerbread Houses! As a mom of three daughters, and now three grandchildren, I have made my share of homemade gingerbread houses and gingerbread men!
My Favorite Holiday Baking Ideas
Let’s Begin with Gingerbread
I love starting the holiday season by decorating a gingerbread house and/or giant gingerbread men with our daughters and grandchildren. And of course, they love it, too! See my favorite homemade recipe for gingerbread and royal icing below.
Favorite Holiday Cake Recipes
I enjoy making Irish Cream Cake at Christmas, which uses a cake mix as its base and is flavored with miniature chocolate chips and Irish Cream Liqueur. The Irish Cream icing seeps into the cake and creates a sweet and crusty film on the outside–like a cake donut! It’s so good. Perfect for any holiday celebration with family or friends.
I’ve been making this Cinnamon Coffee Cake recipe for many years now. I usually make it during the Christmas holidays, but really, it’s delicious any time of year. It’s moist, packed with cinnamon and pecans.
A few years ago I made my first Christmas Yule Log and it was so much fun and surprisingly easy that I decided to make it an annual tradition! Delicious chocolate sponge cake rolled up in a creamy filling and covered in a rich ganache icing. So yummy!
I enjoy making Orange-Glazed Cranberry Fruitcake during the Christmas season. Made with dried cranberries, raisins, dates, figs, and pecans, it’s not your average fruitcake. Plus, it makes 8 small loaves, so it’s perfect for gift-giving for those on your fruitcake-lovers list.
Cranberry Pound Cake with Almonds is a delicious recipe to make for your family during the holidays. It’s especially good when it has set for 1-2 days. It is amazingly flavorful and moist, and I love the added sweet bites of cranberries. So yummy!
Now for Some of my Favorite Holiday Breads
Christmas Stollen with Marzipan – Here is a traditional German recipe for Christmas Stollen with Marzipan. I love this sweet bread as a snack in the morning or afternoon with tea or coffee. The surprise marzipan treat in the center is probably my favorite! I’m like a kid that way, I guess.
Poppy Seed Bread is a recipe I received from my Aunt Ruth. It’s a super moist bread to share with your loved ones and friends at Christmas and one of our favorites. And while it’s perfect to give as a Christmas food gift, you’ll want to save back a few loaves for your own enjoyment.
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread is moist and tender, flavored with pumpkin puree and yummy mini chocolate chips. It’s lovely with a cup of coffee or to serve at your next tea party!
I enjoy serving Cherry Danish Loaves on Christmas morning. I always make them the day before, and then give two of the loaves as gifts to both of our parents. Of course, I save two for ourselves, as our kids really love this Danish-style sweet bread.
Ending with Shortbread, Bars, and Tarts
Try this classic recipe for English Shortbread with Pecans this holiday season. Perfect for an shared afternoon tea with a friend or loved one. Not too sweet, with the perfect amount of nuttiness from the pecans, plus hints of vanilla and orange. So good.
This recipe for Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars is one we make every year during the holidays–but you can make them any time! With only six ingredients, they are easy to make. Caramel candies, evaporated milk, butter, pecans, chocolate chips, and a German Chocolate Cake Mix. So delicious!
My mom makes these Buttery Pecan Tarts almost every Christmas. They are so yummy, with a buttery, cream cheese shell, and then more butter in the sweet pecan filling. They practically melt in your mouth! Perfect for the upcoming holiday season.
See more Holiday Baking Ideas Here. View Christmas Cookie Recipes Here. Browse Holiday Meal Ideas Here.