Whether you’re making a dessert for the whole family or for your own snacking pleasure, gingerbread cookies are a classic holiday treat. For decoration, gingerbread house-building kits are available. | Wikimedia Commons
As November winds down, people are already making plans for the holiday season this year with Christmas shopping, buying plane tickets and planning Christmas dinner.
If the responsibility of bringing a dish to the family’s Christmas dinner has been bestowed upon you, there’s really no way to go wrong with contributing a dessert — the course essential in making the classic holiday dinner experience complete.
Gingerbread Cookies
Everyone remembers when they built their first gingerbread house, and — perhaps more so — the stomach ache that soon followed its demolition.
When done right, this dense holiday cookie is perfect for dunking in a glass of milk or eggnog.
Pumpkin Pie
An interchangeable baked good that bounces from Thanksgiving to Christmas and equally welcome for both occasions, pumpkin pie is a celebration to human ingenuity of taking something naturally unsweetened like a pumpkin and turning it into a seasonal favorite.
Eggnog
A by-product of frothing up eggs, milk and sugar, then hit with a shot of hard liquor, eggnog finds its way onto the table every year in most homes in America. While the alcohols may change from rum to whiskey, and in some cases moonshine, the tasty end result remains the same.
Figgy Pudding
Most people get confused by the name but figgy pudding is a more of a custard dish. It is reminiscent of what would happen if flan and bread pudding made a baby. It is probably one of the more decadent of the classic Christmas desserts. It even has its own verse in We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
While each of these desserts are unique, I have the hardest time when it comes to baking them. I am a savory chef before a pastry chef. Thankfully I have found a dessert that I can make with my eyes closed, and if I can make it, surely anyone can.
