Host John Henson has a close encounter with a ghost that inspires ghostly transformation desserts, and one supernatural sweet scares up $1,000 after impressing judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell. But the bottom three bakers aren't so lucky, and they must dig into their personal histories and create a ghost dessert based on an actual ancestor. In the end, the judges are met with their toughest decision of the series yet.
Host John Henson has a close encounter with a ghost that inspires ghostly transformation desserts, and one supernatural sweet scares up $1,000 after impressing judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell. But the bottom three bakers aren't so lucky, and they must dig into their personal histories and create a ghost dessert based on an actual ancestor. In the end, the judges are met with their toughest decision of the series yet.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, nobody can compete with grandma's signature recipes, so Clash of the Grandmas star Norma Zager joins Bobby Deen to lend her expertise to the remaining eight bakers. For the pre-heat, they must whip up two types of cookies, with one inspired by dear old grandma. Then, in the main heat, the bakers compete to create the best pie by hand -- no appliances -- just like grandma used to!
Ten bakers explore the Chemistry Laboratory at Henson Labs, where the safety rating is negative 35. Lately, the spirits who haunt the lab have been demolishing all the beakers and petri dishes, so host John Henson leans into this devastation and tasks the bakers with creating broken glass desserts that feature sugar glass. Then, there's been a horrible spill in the Chem Lab, so John has a little fun with it and asks the bakers to create sinister bubbling desserts inspired by the toxic mess. Judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell test their poison tolerance before sending one baker to the cryo-freeze.
Host John Henson discovers a dead body in the refrigerator, and he turns out to be an organ donor. The bakers make organ donation desserts to honor the deceased, and one baker wins a cool $1,000. Then, the bottom three bakers take on demonic forces by making "when household items attack" desserts in the form of a possessed toaster, haunted handheld vacuum and demented old TV. In the end, judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell decide which baker is eliminated.
It's the finale, and three challenges await the five remaining bakers! For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to create "naughty" elf desserts in flavors like black licorice, sauerkraut, or red curry. Then, in an elimination challenge, the competitors make "nice" hot cocoa desserts. For the final bake, the bakers must make a large-scale, over-the-top naughty vs. nice cake with both themes clearly represented in the decorating. Guest judge Zac Young joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which talented baker walks away with $25,000 and the title of Holiday Baking Champion!
Instead of milk and cookies for old St. Nick, the final three must make delicious snacks for North Pole characters other than Santa. To top off the whole season, the bakers are tasked with baking and decorating a North Pole-inspired cake. The best creation will earn one baker the crown of Holiday Baking Champion and a $50,000 prize!
In the semifinals, the six remaining bakers are surprised to learn from host Jesse Palmer that there are no more teams, and they will be competing individually as they face a gauntlet of three challenges. First, the bakers must create retro Christmas desserts and add holiday flair to the decorating. Then, in a second heat, the competitors are tasked with making desserts with old-school gelatin mold flavors like lime cream cheese, peach buttermilk, or orange marshmallow. In the main heat, bakers must turn things like canned apple pie filling, canned pineapple, or instant chocolate pudding into retro ingredient desserts that are impressive enough to land them in the finale. Guest judge Stephanie Boswell joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which bakers move on and which baker is eliminated.
In the pre-heat, the remaining seven bakers must combine all of their favorite Thanksgiving desserts into one by creating elegant trifles. Then, for the main heat, the bakers have to produce Thanksgiving imposter cupcakes that will make everyone take a second look!
John Henson has a problem in the haunted Paranormal Research Lab, and he's hoping to summon the spirit of Beetlejuice to help broker a deal with the other spirits. To butter up the ghost with the most, John asks the bakers to make black and white desserts using black and white ingredients. Then, John challenges the bakers to create Shrinker desserts that feature a tiny desert on top and large dessert on the bottom. In the end, judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell banish one baker to the cyro-chamber.