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The holidays are in full swing. Whether you\u2019re hosting the family or heading out of town for the festivities, we’re sure there is some baking happening along the way. While we’re big proponents of using store-bought shortcuts to make holidays easier, there’s something special about making a homemade dessert for\u2014and with\u2014your family members.\n<\/p>\n
Even professional bakers who spend all day in the kitchen swear by homemade treats. I asked five professional bakers for their favorite holiday desserts. Here are the nine they’re always bringing to get-togethers.\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n LauraLou<\/p>\n <\/span> If you’re in need of an easy holiday gift, Hale recommends our Crusted Cinnamon Walnuts recipe. While she usually uses lavender spices for her candy-coated walnuts, she says, “Any spiced nut recipe would be great for gifting, or to put out for nibbling when you have family and guests.”\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Allrecipes \/ Abbey Littlejohn<\/p>\n <\/span> Imagine: it’s Christmas morning and everybody is gathered around to open their presents while the smell of warm cinnamon wafts through the air. What could it be other than a batch of ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls? With our quick recipe, you’ll spend more time with your family and friends rather than in the kitchen.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Allrecipes \/ Oana Ennis<\/p>\n <\/span> “I like to give homemade hot cocoa mix as gifts during the holidays,” Levy says. This recipe makes 15 cups of hot cocoa mix, so you can divide it into Mason jars, add a festive bow, and give the gift of warm, creamy hot chocolate all season long.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Allrecipes \/ Diana Chistruga<\/p>\n <\/span> Kanya swears by our Saltine Cracker Toffee recipe\u2014and with more than 1,100 5-star reviews, she’s not the only one. “I have made this for two years now at Christmas time. I am a lazy baker\/candy maker. This is the EASIEST recipe and it is delicious just like what you buy at a department store. Wonderful toffee,” says reviewer gtollinda.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Morgan Hunt Glaze \/ Food Styling: Sally McKay \/ Prop Styling: Abby Armstrong<\/p>\n <\/span> Sometimes, you just can’t beat the classics, which is why Kanya loves to add these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies to her holiday cookie plate. They’re deliciously chocolatey and are sure to disappear in minutes.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n <\/span> Sure, you could make regular sugar cookies that everybody will know and love, but Reid recommends trying out this version that adds fluffy cream cheese to the dough. They’ll have a soft and chewy texture when baked and the dough makes them perfect for cutting out those festive shapes.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kim<\/p>\n <\/span> If you want to elevate your regular ol’ brownie and get into the festive spirit, Reid recommends making peppermint patty-stuffed brownies. Simply layer peppermint patties into the center of your brownie mix. Then, once baked, top the decadent dessert with crushed candy canes for an extra bit of mintiness.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Photographer: Jake Sternquist \/ Food Styling: Annie Probst \/ Prop Styling: Natalie Ghazali<\/p>\n <\/span> Oh, gingerbread. The magnum opus of holiday bakes. Kanya loves to bake these traditional cookies, but she also recommends swapping out the spices for pumpkin pie spice and decorating with candied ginger for a new flavor.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n <\/span> “I think cheesecake is the unsung, surefire holiday dessert,” Reid says\u2014and Kanya can’t help but agree. While this lemon meringue-topped cheesecake may be slightly unconventional for the holidays, it’s a nice way to bring a tart flavor to the otherwise sweet dessert table.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The holidays are in full swing. Whether you\u2019re hosting the family or heading out of town for the festivities, we’re sure there is some baking happening along the way. While we’re big proponents of using store-bought shortcuts to make holidays easier, there’s something special about making a homemade dessert for\u2014and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Our Panel of Baking Experts <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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Crusted Cinnamon Walnuts <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Quick Cinnamon Rolls <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Hot Cocoa Mix <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Saltine Cracker Toffee <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chocolate Crinkle Cookies <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Best Brownies <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Gingerbread Cookies <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Lemon Meringue Cheesecake <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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