Five bakers remain, and the creepy, dangerous doughnuts they whip up in the first challenge are a sight to be seen. Then, for the main challenge, the bakers dig even deeper into their baking skills with graveyard pumpkin desserts that are to die for. But one baker won't make it out alive.
Santa wants to level up chocolate chip cookies, so host Jesse Palmer asks the nine remaining bakers to create amazing chocolate chip cookie holiday desserts using Ghirardelli chocolate chips. The best dessert is selected by judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown, and Molly Yeh to win a $1,000 prize package, along with Jesse's thanks for making him look good to the boss. The least successful baker is eliminated.
Down to six bakers and it's time for a big, bad, monster mash. The bakers spook the judges with their sculpted scary treats and then mash up flavors and themes to create devilishly delicious desserts! But one baker's creepy concoction doesn't cut it and gets the axe.
It's staff appreciation week at Santa's Village, and to shine a spotlight on the hardworking heroes who keep Christmas running smoothly, host Jesse Palmer asks the baking teams to make peppermint holiday desserts to honor the unsung heroes of the Peppermint Dept. In the main heat, the bakers appreciate the seamstresses and tailors who keep Santa's fit fresh by making radical red velvet desserts. Judges Duff Goldman, Kardea Brown, and Molly Yeh choose the winner of the $1,000 Ghirardelli prize package, and each member of the winning team earns 30 minutes of time that they can use throughout the rest of the season. After one baker from the losing team is eliminated, both teams are dissolved -- leaving every baker for themselves going forward.
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!
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.
Nothing says Halloween more than scary monsters, and in the pre-heat, the seven bakers must create creepy bite-sized monster treats. For the main heat, zombies attack as the bakers are faced with whipping up a zombie dessert that makes the judges hungry for a bite.
For the pre-heat, the six remaining bakers must work in teams and put their minds together to create the most outrageous and delicious left brain/right brain desserts. In the main heat, the bakers face their fears by using common phobias like insects and ghosts as inspirations for desserts.
Things are only getting spookier with just five bakers left in the competition, who must head to the haunted circus for the pre-heat and create a dozen scary clown cake pops. Then, the main heat moves to the freak show, as the bakers make frighteningly strange mashup desserts.