For many people, baking is a big part of the holiday season. Whether it’s a beloved family recipe or a recipe you’re trying for the first time, this time of year in particular is perfect for delighting in the joys of baked goods.
I, however, am not a baker by nature. I can make a good cake if I need to—I just don’t really enjoy doing the baking process itself. That’s why I wanted to tap our team for their favorite baking recipes. I hope you find something to make in the list below!
7 Baking Recipes Our Team Loves
1. Apple and Olive Oil Cake from Sunday Suppers
Recommended by: Kate
I was first introduced to this recipe (shown above) way back in 2014. The cake was delicious—and incredibly memorable. It’s a really simple olive oil cake that’s fancy enough to be dessert, but also light and mild enough to be a great cake that you serve for breakfast or with tea. If I need to bake something that I’m confident people will love, this is the cake.
2. Spritz Cookies
Recommended by: Nancy, Executive Assistant
This is a family recipe I’ve made over and over again. I find this recipe tends to give you softer, more flavorful cookies than the average spritz cookie recipe.
Directions
Mix the following ingredients together. Blend well by hand or on medium-to-low speed with a hand mixer.
- 1 cup room temperature butter (Using good butter makes a difference!)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix in 2 cups flour, one cup at a time to more easily and fully blend.
I split the dough into two bowls at this point and add green food coloring to one to make Christmas tree spritz cookies and red food coloring to the other dough to make poinsettia spritz cookies. If you don’t want to add food coloring, you can bake them without it and then sprinkle with red and green sprinkles for a little extra sparkle.
Place dough in a cookie press and form shapes on a baking sheet. If you do not have a cookie press, it is ok to gently roll out the dough and use small cookie cutters—in whatever shape you prefer.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. It’s helpful to separate the baking time in half by baking the cookies on the bottom rack for half the time and then moving to the top rack for the second half.
3. Mint Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies from The Spruce Eats
Recommended by: Bridgette, Brand Director
When I was a kid, the holiday season meant two things to me: presents (obviously) and mint chocolate chip cookies. My mom would make a HUGE batch of these in early December in the hopes they’d last all season. (Spoiler alert: They never did.)
4. Monster Cookies from Half-Baked Harvest
Recommended by: Jackie, Editorial Director
I rarely bake these days, but when I do, this monster cookies recipe is my go-to. I swap out regular M&Ms for their peanut butter-filled counterpart, omit the pretzels and white chocolate chips, and add walnuts. The result is truly a dream.
If you don’t want to make them all in one fell swoop, they bake wonderfully after being stored in the freezer. Just put the dough balls on a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer them to your freezer bag of choice and put them back in the freezer to store. When you’re ready to make them, bake as usual, allowing a couple of extra minutes of baking time to account for the colder temperature.
5. Peanut Blossoms
Recommended by: Greta, Content Creator (recipe is from my grandma)
Directions
Combine:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Then add:
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Mix well and shape into balls. Roll the balls in a mixture of sugar plus red and green sprinkles. Then place onto a non-greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
When done, immediately top each with a candy star chocolate or Hershey’s Kiss. My personal trick is to top with mini chocolate chips instead. I think the chocolate-to-cookie ratio is better, and it doesn’t feel like as big of a bite!
6. Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia from Bon Appétit
Recommended by: Carolyn, Graphic Designer
I’m in love with this focaccia recipe. It’s the chewy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-bottom focaccia of my dreams. I like to cut the recipe in half, bake it in my biggest cast iron, skip the garlic butter step at the end, and, most importantly, add a bunch of castelvetrano olives after dimpling/before sprinkling with flaky sea salt.
7. Rhonda Rolls
Recommended by: Nancy
These are so delicious! They are a family favorite. We eat them on Christmas morning while we unwrap gifts because they taste like a mini cinnamon roll.
Directions
Cut together 4 cups flour and 1 lb. butter. Stir in 1 pint sour cream. Divide and shape into four balls, then refrigerate overnight.
Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 12-inch circle.
Mix these three ingredients together, then sprinkle ¼ of the mixture on each circle.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup nuts (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Using a pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 pie-shaped pieces.
Roll each piece starting at the wide end—each one should look like a mini crescent roll after it has been rolled.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
While the Rhonda rolls cool, mix the glaze ingredients together:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Set the Rhonda rolls out on parchment/wax paper and glaze once they have cooled. Continue to let cool after glazing so that the glaze can set.
Kate Arends
Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.
