Ree Drummond rolls these party-favorite treats in a selection of chopped pecans, sanding sugar, powdered sugar and nonpareils to create a range of delicious textures.
Host Jesse Palmer kicks things off with a swanky Christmas open house for judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall and asks the bakers to create dessert charcuterie boards. Then, the bottom two bakers face off in a sudden elimination challenge of dueling holiday pinata desserts. In the final main heat, the competitors take on holiday party theme cakes and incorporate lights into their designs. The most successful cake maker becomes the Holiday Baking Champion and walks away with $25,000!
For the semifinals, host Jesse Palmer explores the reasons behind some great holiday traditions. Kwanzaa is around the corner, and one of the most traditional ingredients to cook with is plantains, so the bakers craft Kwanzaa plantain desserts. Then in a team heat, Carla Hall celebrates a centuries-old tradition by crafting ornaments, inspiring baking teams to make large-scale edible ornaments in Holiday Baking's first ever T’Ornament of Tastiness! Another ageless holiday tradition is putting up a Christmas tree, so for the main heat, the bakers create blitz puff pastry Christmas tree pull-aparts for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller to tear into!
Jesse Palmer hosts a Holiday Baking Championship redemption special. Three previous runners-up compete, and all they want for Christmas is a second chance to win. First, each returning baker takes on a judge's favorite holiday dessert. Then the bakers create holiday centerpiece cakes and receive tips and advice from judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale along the way.