Our Favorite Holiday Recipes

If you enjoy baking cookies for the holidays and making food gifts like pumpkin bread and homemade granola, we’ve got some recipes you’ll want to try this holiday season! Last year, I made small loaves of Spiced Pumpkin bread for Christmas gifts for our neighbors.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Check out this recipe

Pie Crust

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Flaky Pie Crust from How to Cook Everything

Check out this recipe

Ingredients for Molasses Cookies in East Fork Pottery bowls on a maple cutting board surface.

Old Fashioned Molasses Spice Cookies

These Old Fashioned Chewy Molasses Cookies are soft, chewy, packed with flavor, and have a lovely sugar crust.

Check out this recipe

Four carmelitas (caramel, chocolate, oat bars) on a bright blue plate.

Carmelitas: A Simple Delicious Dessert

A simple, delicious crowd pleaser! Carmelitas are a go-to for potlucks, care packages, and cookouts.

Check out this recipe

Three bowls on a wooden surface: one with cooked apples and the other two filled with granola.

Apple Crisp Granola

These delicious, cinnamon scented apples are cooked on the stove top and make a great topping to homemade granola. Save some of the cooking liquid to use the next time you make oatmeal!

Check out this recipe

Young girl with blond hair in a ponytail rolling out dough at a flour-covered kitchen counter.

Maida Heatter’s Sugar Cookies

Bake these yummy cookies up either crispy or soft.

Check out this recipe

M & M Cookies

In the recipe I use Valentine's M & Ms, but you can use Thanksgiving or Christmas M & Ms for the holidays.

Check out this recipe

This year, I also want to make Deb Perlman’s incredibly delicious Apple Cider Caramels to give as gifts (and to enjoy ourselves).

Family Holiday Recipes

We’ve entered the holiday season, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Maybe you’re headed to celebrate with family or friends. What dish do you like to contribute? What are your favorite foods if you order or enjoy your meal at a restaurant?

Wherever we are, we make what we think of as our traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

Thanksgiving desserts — Pumpkin Steamed Pudding

Chad and I make our Brussels sprouts, and I make mashed potatoes and Thanksgiving dessert: Pumpkin Steamed Pudding topped with plenty of lightly sweetened whipped cream. And last year I made these delicious Buttermilk Rolls that were so good we voted them onto our family Thanksgiving menu permanently.

Anna always makes her family holiday recipes for Corn Pudding and Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie. I also now make Anna’s corn pudding for holiday gatherings! It’s so simple and delicious! I love her pumpkin pie too!

And if you’re looking ahead to New Year’s, you’ll love our one-pot pork, sauerkraut, and black eyed peas recipe.

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A Sugar Cookie Recipe Plus Simple Tips for Cooking with Kids
Festive Chocolate Chip Cookies (substitute red and green M&M’s in the recipe)

Tips to navigate food and diet talk during the holidays

If you’re wondering how to navigate food and diet talk around the holidays, we’ve got just the resources for you. Check out our podcast episode and blog posts.