Recipes from Duff's Sweet Spot

Host Duff Goldman's dish, as seen on Food Network's Duff's Sweet Spot, Season 3.

Photo: Patrick Wymore ©

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New Year's Decadence in a Bite

For the perfect party bite that Elvis himself would swoon over, Duff starts with a banana panna cotta and tops it with bacon, a peanut praline and homemade peanut butter mousse.

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Host Duff Goldman's dish, Snowman, as seen on Food Network's Duff's Sweet Spot, Season 3.

Photo: Patrick Wymore ©

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Yellow Cake with Swiss Buttercream

You only need a few simple ingredients and a dash of patience to make your own 3-D snowman cake. Layers of yellow cake are carved into spheres, frosted with buttercream and covered in fondant. The rest of the decorating is up to you.

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Photo: Patrick Wymore ©

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Pate-a-Choux Waffles

Pate a choux is a light, fluffy and eggy pastry with that decadent melt-in-your-mouth texture. For a sweet breakfast treat, top a pate-a-choux waffle with Duff's homemade cinnamon roll ice cream, dulce de leche sauce and whipped cream, then sprinkle it with a dusting of crushed ice cream cone.

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Host Duff Goldman's dish, as seen on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship: Duff's Sweet Spot, Season 3.

Photo: Patrick Wymore ©

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Entremet Gift Box

If you're going to give an edible gift, why not gift it in an edible package? Think of it like building a house of cards, but with chocolate mousse and icing.

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Host Duff Goldman's dish, Homemade S'Mores, as seen on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship: Duff's Sweet Spot, Season 3.

Photo: Adam Rose ©

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S'mores Through the Roof

Fresh homemade marshmallow is the star of this classed-up campfire dessert. Sitting atop a graham cracker and a sphere of chocolate mousse, the marshmallow is torched and topped with Japanese snack cookies that emulate the campfire sticks used to make a classic s'more.

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Photo: Patrick Wymore ©

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Stuffing Cupcakes

Just because you're making cupcakes doesn't mean they have to be sweet. Duff has three recipes for "imposter" cupcakes:Stuffing Cupcakes (pictured), Bacon Cornbread Cupcakes and Spinach Casserole Cupcakes.

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Host Duff Goldman's dish, Thanksgiving Pie, as seen on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship: Duff's Sweet Spot, Season 3.

Photo: Adam Rose ©

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Decorated Pumpkin Pie

A circle cutter, some pie dough and a bit of egg wash is all you need to beautify your traditional pumpkin pie. Duff's recipe for pie dough roses and vines is a quick and easy way to dress up your dessert.

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Host Duff Goldman's dish, Rompope Pastry Cream Churro, as seen on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship: Duff's Sweet Spot, Season 3.

Photo: Adam Rose ©

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Rompope-Filled Churros

Rompope is the Mexican version of eggnog. Duff transforms the drink into a pastry cream and pipes it into homemade churros topped with a sprinkling of red and green sugar for a fun, festive holiday bite.

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Yellow Cake with American Buttercream

To give this whimsical creation its 3-D shape, Duff piles yellow cake with buttercream frosting on a wood and Styrofoam structure. Once the cake layers are carved into the desired skate shape, Duff frosts the sculpture with additional buttercream and decorates with black, white and light blue fondant.

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Chocolate-Covered Maple Brandy Jellies with Nuts

When tempering the chocolate for the outer shell of these jiggly treats, keep this helpful tip from Duff in mind: If the chocolate solidifies and appears shiny, it's tempered. If it solidifies and looks dusty, it isn't.

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Triple Pastry Cream Croquembouche

Duff uses chocolate-orange, chocolate-peppermint and caramel-cinnamon cream puffs to make this sugary tower. For decoration, he creates spun-sugar snowballs and tinsel by dipping a headless whisk into hot sugar and trailing it over chopsticks.

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Spiced-Apple Chestnut Hamantaschen

To give these cookies a jazzed-up holiday flavor, Duff replaces traditional dry fillings with cinnamon sugar, chopped Granny Smith apples, applesauce and pecans.

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Butternut Squash Meringue Box Harvest Dessert

Duff's beautifully decorated meringue gift box is filled with sumptuous butternut squash diplomat cream. Now that's a present no one will refuse.

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Cherry Pie-Stuffed Chocolate Cake

The surprise "cherry pie" inside this chocolate cake will have everyone talking. Put the recipe together using store-bought cake mix, frosting, pie crust and cherry pie filling to cut down on prep time.

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Madeleine Wreath with Sour Cherry Mousse

The holiday wreath never looked so delicious. Green-tinted madeleines are pieced together with the help of a sour cherry-flavored cream cheese mousse. Finish it off with cherries and a red modeling-chocolate bow.

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Cinnamon Chess Pie

The traditional chess pie gets dressed up for the holidays with Christmassy decorations made from sable cookie dough tinted in different colors. The cookies are added in the last 10 minutes of bake time.

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Toffee, Chocolate and Orange Cookies

These cookies hide a surprise: Classic shortbread is spread with raspberry jam and toffee nougat, then enveloped in chocolate and topped with bruleed candied orange peel for a final flourish

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Sugar and Spice Panna Cotta

Layers of three differently sweetened panna cottas hide differently spiced mini shortbread cookies in this take on the classic holiday sugar and spice combination. Make sure to refrigerate between layering.

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Pumpkin Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust and Rum Cheesecake Topping

This pie is actually two desserts in one: a pumpkin cream topped with a rum-flavored cheesecake. Use either homemade or store-bought gingersnaps for the crust.

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Yule Log Chocolate Tree Stump

Use Duff's recipe for pumpkin and chocolate chip cake to build this yule stump filled with buerre noisette buttercream. Then use your imagination to decorate the outside with fondant and modeling chocolate.

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Danish with Goat Cheese and Pear Filling

A laminated buttery dough is the secret to a flaky breakfast pastry, like in this Danish recipe, which features a sweet and savory pear and goat cheese filling.

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Gingerbread Platter and Bowl with Candied Walnut Mousse and Cinnamon Sugar Chips

This recipe thinks outside of the gingerbread house, turning out a crowd-pleasing treat platter: a bowl of candied walnut maple mousse with cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips for dipping, perfect for game day.

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