Holiday Baking Ideas

The single most enjoyable aspect of the holiday season, in my opinion, is baking. Food is a binding force for friends and families, a connection that shines the brightest during the holidays. I find baking to be a very important and vital part of the holidays, so here is a list of items I will be baking this holiday season, and possibly a list of items you can bake as well.

First and foremost, I will be baking my favorite Gingerbread cupcakes. If you’re looking for something seemingly elegant, yet very simple to make, look no further. These Gingerbread cupcakes are aesthetically pleasing and have essentially the same baking process as a regular cupcake, requiring only about an hour of your time.

If gingerbread is not your favorite, you could also make peppermint chocolate cupcakes. These are extremely festive, with a quite simple and speedy baking process as well, also needing about an hour of your time. The exception to this is that, unless you’re a stellar and seasoned baker, you likely will have to take a trip to the grocery store to get a jar of peppermint extract.

If you’re looking for something a bit less sweet, try baking pumpkin bread. This isn’t a traditional type of bread-baking process--you don’t need to wait two hours for your dough to rise--but it is nonetheless delicious. It’s similar to the process of baking a cake, and if you’d like to spice up your loaf more, you could add a ganache or glaze to the top. 

Furthermore, I will be baking brown sugar cookies. If you’re someone who prefers blondies over brownies, these are most definitely for you. The chewiness of these cookies, due to the brown sugar, makes for the perfect bite. I prefer dark chocolate chips in these cookies, but you can spice it up however you’d like, with white chocolate chips, milk chocolate, the sky is the limit. 

Another perfect holiday baked good I will bake this year is cinnamon rolls. These are a staple crowd pleaser in my home during the holidays. They have a bit more of an intricate baking process than the previously listed baked goods, but they are certainly worth the time required to bake them. 

Cake pops are also a must-bake of mine this year. The process of baking these is quite simple, essentially foolproof. These are also quite nice because they are very easy to dress up, with sprinkles, melted chocolate, etc. 

This list of baked goods will no doubt lift my holiday spirit and tie my family and friends together, which is what the holidays are all about!