I am no stranger to baking. My favorite confections to create have to be banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, and blueberry muffins. Every holiday season, I like to experiment and bake things I’ve never baked before. Last year, I baked snowman meringues, which was an extreme challenge, but once I figured it out, it was like having a sturdier cotton candy.
So this year I’m asking you (yes, you!) to challenge yourself and bake something you’ve never baked, whilst watching your favorite holiday film.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is a holiday classic, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t personally relate to the Grinch on some level. That’s why I think pairing this film with a matcha white chocolate chip cookie is perfect. Matcha isn’t for everyone, but for those who like it, they understand that it’s not only a trend but a lifestyle.
This recipe from Teak & Thyme is simple, easy, and requires no overnight chilling. It adds the perfect amount of elasticity to shape these cookies into mini Grinch heads.
The Holdovers
“The Holdovers” is the type of film that has that nostalgic holiday feeling we all yearn for. It has that grainy, snow-packed, comedic, and unexpected lesson you learn with every holiday film.
So to eat like the characters, Professor Paul Hunham, Mary, and Angus, try this recipe from Wine Enthusiast. A cherry jubilee, a simple dessert. You flambé cherries with sugar and liqueur, usually a kirschwasser or rum. It’s exciting, sweet, tart, and fun to make. It can melt, so be warned when taking it to go!
Home Alone
Another holiday classic and a personal favorite. There’s nothing like the original “Home Alone” that feeling of holding hot cocoa, snuggled in a big woven blanket, watching Kevin McCallister ruin Christmas for adults trying to rob his house.
This dessert is a lot like Kevin’s ice cream sundae, but with a twist. It’s a cake made out of ice cream cookie sandwiches! I personally like my sundaes to have some sort of cookie or cake in them, which makes this recipe perfect for those who want their ice cream sandwich dreams come to life. From the blog of thesupermomlife, baker Heather has created this decadent treat, which will make the holidays more comforting.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Delightfully spooky and spectacularly merry, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of those holiday classics that can really warm you up on a winter’s night. The dessert I chose for this film is a caramel apple, shaped like our spooky protagonist. A caramel apple covered in white chocolate is the perfect sweet treat to eat while watching the film. The recipe itself is super easy and fully customizable as well, which means you could use it for any Fall/Winter occasion. From the blog of Sarah, aka bombshell bling, in which she creates the perfect spooky and cheerful dessert, I present to you Jack Skellington Caramel Apples.
The Polar Express
In the film “The Polar Express,” there are many treats we as an audience consume with our eyes. In the film, the children are offered sugar cookies, but nothing compares to making your own.
I have personally used this recipe for my own holiday parties, and they make the softest, chewiest cookies ever. What makes it extra fun is that you can decorate the cookies yourself with baker Sam Merritt’s icing recipe. Get some sprinkles, because everything is better when it’s covered in sprinkles!
This dessert is completely customizable when it comes to what you put on it. You can dye your icing any color for any upcoming occasion, so it’s a great yearly dessert to bring to functions.
Mean Girls
“Mean Girls” is one of those holiday classics where you can just quote the film word for word, verbatim, which makes this recipe so much more fun. It’s easy to do, but it’s also warm and cozy. The best part is it’s not Regina’s Kälteen Bars, and they definitely taste better than them. Also, Gretchen’s father would think it would be so fetch of you to do this recipe, seeing as he’s the inventor of Toaster Strudel. From Sandhya Ramakrishnan’s wonderful food blog, “My Cooking Journey,” we have homemade toaster strudels. Toaster strudels have been a pinnacle breakfast item thanks to Pilsbury, but now you can make them at home with all sorts of confectionery fillings, which makes this recipe customizable and great for kids and adults.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
When I think of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” I think of candy, and what’s better than candy? Bark—well, at least I know that’s what Snoopy’s going to be doing once he sees this treat. This simple yet effectively delicious treat will have everyone knocking at your door for the recipe. From the baker Candice Braun Davison in the Delish test kitchen comes “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving-Inspired Chocolate Bark.” The wonderful thing about chocolate bark is that you can test out any flavor combos you like. For example, in the recipe, there’s a mix of M&M’s and pretzels, it’s the perfect combination of sweet and salty that is what this season feels like.
Little Women
Last but not least is “Little Women.” For this dessert, I wanted something that gave elegance and sophistication, like many of the women in this movie, but of course, like every good story, it’s going to be complicated.
The dessert I chose is a Victoria sponge cake from the website Good Food by Barney Desmazery. It has the charm of any sweet confection, but it also has a delicate composition, meaning one misstep can really mess it all up. I personally have made a sponge cake, and there’s truly nothing like it when you get it right.
No matter what you bake this holiday season, I just hope it tastes as delicious as the holidays feel. Anyways, happy holidays and happy baking!
