Baking for the holidays 50+ treats for a festive season

The debate continues: Is baking an art or a science? Kieffer (100 Cookies, 2020) melds the two skillfully, from her upfront best practices (use parchment paper, for example) to the recipes themselves. Across five categories (morning breads and pastries, holiday desserts, gift-giving, beyond Christmas, and extras), the baked goods include updated traditional goodies, like cinnamon rolls, as well as refreshingly modern items such as caramel candies, lemon pull-apart bread, and crème brûlée pumpkin pie. What differentiates Kieffer's collection are her emphasis on variations (extra fillings, spice additions), directions for making ahead, explanations of how to make items "holiday," and the great step-by-step color photographs demonstrating techniques like braiding breads and rolling up pastries. Mouthwatering photographs accompany every dish, with hard-to-resist Nutella star bread, modern fruit cake, and cruffins (croissants and muffins, combined). Not just for the holidays. Appendixes include music to bake to, conversions, bibliography, and resources.

In this cheerful collection, Kieffer (100 Cookies), founder of The Vanilla Bean Blog, shares dozens of sweet recipes perfect for the holiday season. In addition to Christmas classics like triple chocolate peppermint bark and fruit cake, she offers a number of desserts--coffee-cardamom monkey bread, crème brûlée pumpkin pie, cruffins (a hybrid of croissants and muffins)--that are ideal for cozying up with in the colder months. Throughout, there are plenty of fun twists: after sharing the recipe for classic cinnamon rolls, Kieffer pivots to instructions on how to make a cinnamon braid, while a recipe for vanilla bean sables includes citrus and rosemary chocolate chip variations. She thoughtfully includes several post-holiday-rush recipes--including blueberry streusel buns, passion fruit-poppy seed muffins, and lemon pull-apart bread--that use a pop of fresh or frozen fruit to help readers get through the "long, winter days." In addition to the recipes, Kieffer shares lighthearted anecdotes ("I have plenty of memories of my sister and I fighting over cookie cutters," she reminisces before introducing her cut-out cookies) and even suggestions for music to bake to. Avid holiday bakers should put this on their wish list. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Sept.)

Following the success of 100 Cookies, the latest from blogger Kieffer brings more than 50 recipes for the winter holidays, particularly themed around Christmas and Hanukkah. This title again showcases Kieffer's accessible approach to baking and offers recipes with a range of complexity that will suit bakers at different skill levels (including beginners). Sweet tooths will swoon over creations such as Carrot Cake with Burnt Honey Buttercream, Hot Chocolate Cake with Marshmallow Fluff Filling, and pumpkin pie topped with crème brûlée. Beyond the show-stopping desserts, there are breakfast pastries (scones, coffee cakes, muffins) with holiday flavors, and more challenging yeasted recipes that use Kieffer's innovative Cheater's Croissant Dough, which simplifies laminated pastry. Kieffer also writes a chapter on homemade gifts (candies, chocolates, cookies) to share with family and friends. VERDICT This approachable guide to baking for the holidays offers plenty of inspiration for bakers of all levels; it's a delightful seasonal complement to Kieffer's hit 100 Cookies.--Kelsy Peterson, Brighton Grammar Sch., Melbourne, Australia