I love to bake, and Sarah Kieffer's new cookbook is filled with recipes to get me through the holiday season—and beyond! I have pages earmarked and cannot wait to dive into her breads and cookies and brownies.

This cookbook, packed with ideas for edible treats and gifts, is sure to become a winter/holiday baking go-to.

Great holiday cookbook! Easy to follow recipes that create delicious and beautiful holiday goods. So many recipes like peppermint bark, no churn ice cream, turtle bars.mi could go on and on, so yummy!

Beautiful pictures and fun cookbook for the holidays. I would gift this book to a family member or put it on display in my house for Christmas. Great ideas for hosting and gifting inside.

These recipes are stunning and look so delicious. The photos really help with some of the step by step instructions. The only problem is that the recipes are not super user friendly so I'm not sure how realistic it is that I will try one of them.

This book would be a wonderful a wonderful addition to your collection or make an amazing gift to give. To start it is simply gorgeous! The photos are abundant and beautiful. An excellent array of recipes are included that cover a variety of sweet treats. Cakes, pies, cookies, bread and more are covered here and these recipes range from the simple to the more elaborate. The recipes are detailed, clear instructions are given and often variation are offered. This book also includes many tips and a lot of helpful information that will help up your baking game.

Sarah Kieffer has lots of warm memories of the winter holidays. She grew up in one of those close families that started celebrating before Thanksgiving and kept on long past New Year’s. They shared laughter and love, food and fellowship, photos and memories. If you are someone who got to grow up in his kind of family or if you are wanting to create that now, then Baking for the Holidays is the book you’re looking for.

Filled with lots of beautiful photographs, recipes for family breakfasts and holiday desserts, and gifts you can make and share, this cookbook brings a taste of a big family Christmas to readers. Whether you’ve experienced that kind of heartwarming holiday or not, Kieffer is prepared to get you in the mood with delicious recipes, ideas for new traditions, and a reminder of what’s really important during the holiday season.

If you’re not much of a baker, Kieffer offers lots of help, from talking about the ingredients and tools you’ll need to get started to including lots of photos to help you get your technique right. Do you want to try the Giant Cinnamon Roll? There are pictures showing how to roll it up, step by step, so you can make sure to get it right. Same with the Nutella Star Bread or the Pear-Almond Danish Braid. Other options for Morning Breads and Pastries include Powdered Sugar Doughnuts, Streusel Coffee Cake, or Coffee-Cardamom Monkey Bread.

If you’re planning out your holiday desserts, you can try the Carrot Cake with Burnt Honey Buttercream, Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake, or the Hazelnut Cheesecake. Rather have a pie? Try the Crème Brulèe Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Pie, or the Apple, Caramel, and Hard Cider Pie. Or are you looking for gifts to share with family and friends? There are Caramel Candies, Peanut Butter Cups, Turtle Bars, Modern Fruit Cakes, or Cut-Out Cookies.

Then there is a chapter called Beyond Christmas, which is filled with recipes that help you hang on to the warm holiday feelings through the cold month of January (and beyond). Try the Lemon Pull-Apart Bread, Blood Orange Turnovers, or Blueberry Streusel Buns. Need something for a snowy weekend? There’s the Hot Chocolate Cake. Want a celebration? Try the Confetti Cake.

The entire last chapter is extra recipes that can add special touches to your baking, like candied nuts, no-churn ice creams, pastry cream, lemon curd, and marshmallows. But throughout the book are more recipes for basics you can master, and once you have those, you are only limited by your own imagination. There are recipes for sweet dough, pie dough, rough puff pastry, and even a cheater’s croissant dough.

While these 50-some treat recipes are a great reason to buy Baking for the Holidays, the thing that makes this cookbook special is the feelings that evokes. The stories of Kieffer’s Christmases, whether as a child enjoying her presents or as a young adult working retail, are the stories that so many share. Singing the same songs every year and decorating the Christmas tree and wrapping presents, all with the sweet sugar smell of treats baking bring to mind the happy holidays we like to remember.

The downside to this cookbook is that there are not a lot of recipes, and it does focus on a certain type of Christmas holiday that not everyone gets excited about. The only December holiday included is Christmas, so anyone wanting to celebrate a different holiday or a different culture will need to find a different cookbook. Kieffer doesn’t make the book overly religious, but it is heavy on making family memories and celebrating traditions and rituals.

Egalleys for Baking for the Holidays were provided by Chronicle Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Sarah Kieffer's new cookbook captures the magic of holiday baking, that mix of nostalgia and goodwill. Her recipes include more conventional treats like cinnamon rolls and caramels, but also holiday party cakes (I really want to try the carrot cake with burnt honey buttercream), frozen bonbons, assorted candies, etc. Each recipe is accompanied by at least one color photo to inspire you. Good for home bakers and mid-size library collections. This would also make a great gift book.

Baking for theHolidays is an interesting cookbook. It presents both traditional bakes and new ideas (such as a Hot Chocolate Cake recipe) for a truly innovative take on a seasonal book that goes beyond the Holidays. Standard recipes such as (Everything) Bundt Cake (which also has 5 variations options), Confetti Cake, Cut-Out Cookies stand alongside Cruffins, Lemon Pull-Apart Bread, Vanilla Bean Sablés (which also has variations) and many others. The book is divided into 5 parts: 1)Morning Breads and Pastries (includes recipes for Panettone Scones, Streusel Coffee Cake, Coffee-Cardamom Monkey Bread, Pear-Almond Danish Braid, Classic Cinnamon Rolls, etc); 2)Holiday Desserts (includes recipes for Crème Brûlée Pumpkin Pie; Apple, Caramel and Hard Cider Pie, Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake; White Cake with Cranberries and White Chocolate Buttercream, etc); 3)Gift Giving (yes, there is a section dedicated exclusively to gifting that includes recipes for Caramel Candies, Peanut Butter Cups, Triple Chocolate Peppermint Bark, Turtle Bars, Chocolate Gift Cakes, etc); 4) Beyond Christmas (Rough Puff Pastry, Confetti Cake, Hot Chocolate Cake, Coconut-Cardamom Cupcakes, Blueberry Streusel Buns, Passion Fruit-Poppy Seed Muffins, etc) 5)Extras (Caramel Chards, No-Churn Ice Cream, Pastry Cream, Lemon Curd, Marshmallow Fluff, etc).
I like the design of the book and though the photography isn't the most beautiful I've seen recently (that honor goes to Dorie Greenspan's upcoming book) it's still very nice - I quite like it. I really love that Ms. Kieffer includes a bibliography section here (as she did in 100 Cookies) acknowledging the previous work and the people that inspired and taught her.
One thing that somewhat bothered me was the presence of corn syrup in a lot of the recipes (it's just an ingredient I don't keep in my pantry). The recipes are well-explained, so to speak, though some of them are labor intensive - they will make for wonderful baking projects during the season.
I wish there had been more recipes. 50 is a reasonable number and there are variations available as previously mentioned, but, again, I wanted more (especially for the price).

4.3 stars

“Baking for the holidays” is the first entrant in the holiday baking books, and one that should have a space on your baking bookshelf. There are enough different, but definitely holiday appropriate recipes and variations on those recipes to keep the holiday baker happily dusted in flour for the full season!

Baking for the Holidays by Sarah Kieffer
50+ Treats for a Festive Season

What a treasure this book would be as a gift to oneself or to another. I can see creating holiday baking traditions using the recipes in this book, enjoying the process, and memories that would be treasured by the baker, assistant bakers, or recipients of the baked goods. So many of the recipes triggered personal memories of recipes I have made or would like to make in the future relatives or friends. I just wish that desserts didn’t have so many calories. Ah well…

What I liked:
* The introduction with memories of the author’s childhood
* The recipes selected for the book
* That many recipes provided variations on the basic recipe
* The notes on techniques, ingredients, and equipment
* The clear concise list of ingredients and directions for making the recipes
* The beautiful photographs
* The old favorites and some new ideas to try
* The gift section with smaller items like cookies, bars and candies
* That it put me in the mood for the holidays…and for cooler weather
* Thinking about someday being with family again during the holidays

What I didn’t like:
* I can’t really think of ANYTHING I didn’t like

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I like to own it? Yes
Would I buy it as a gift for someone else? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

This is a fantastic cookbook, with beautiful photographs and delicious recipes. I liked the step by step pictures, which are helpful when making a new recipe. There are several recipes that had variations of flavors on the basic recipe, which all sound appealing.

My favorites so far are Creme Brûlée Pumpkin Pie, Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies, Lemon Pull-Apart Bread, and Meyer Lemon White Chocolate Scones.

I highly recommend this book, 5 stars. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for the digital review copy!

Cozy with a clean format, this cookbook is beautifully made. It comes with several recipes that utilize cardamom and takes a torch the traditional pumpkin pie - seriously! Sarah adds a personal touch by tying her stories to the recipes and even shares a curated holiday playlist to bake to!

This book goes beyond the holidays by incorporating other recipes such as "Cheater's Croissant Dough" and "Sweet Dough," which can be transformed for any special breakfast occasion.

I personally made the "Carrot Cake with Burnt Honey Buttercream." At first, I thought it would be complicated, but the author created such clear instructions that my daughter helped me make it - and it was amazing! Other recipes that caught my attention: "Coffee Cardamom Monkey Bread" and "Pear-Almond Danish Braid."

This would be a great book to give as a gift with the homemade caramel candies featured in the book.

I received this Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review, and honestly - I plan on purchasing this book because I know that I will use this for years to come.

Baking for the Holidays by Sarah Kiefer is a collection of over 50 treats for a festive season. The book is well written, the photographs are beautiful and the recipes easy to understand and with ingredients that are easy to find if you don’t have them on-hand.

Thank you Chronicle Books for this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Of all the recipes in this book, my favorites are: Cruffins, Morning Buns, Hot Chocolate Cake and Caramel Candies! I’m confident if you enjoy Christmas treats like I do, you will love and use this book for years to come!

Publication Date: September 2021

Baking for the Holidays is a gorgeous cookbook filled with show-stopping holiday treats! It features recipes for breakfast mainstays to cookies to cakes and beyond. The recipes are of varying complexity, perfect for the person who loves to bake. The recipes are mouthwatering and some are absolutely gorgeous to behold. A perfect holiday addition to your cookbook collection!

Thank you Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

This was almost a home run for me for a baking book. I liked all the descriptions, recipes, and photos but the story cozy bit was a bit too much for me. But still the book would be great to give for the holidays also!

Baking for the Holidays is a comprehensive collection of all the special treats we associate with the holidays. Beautiful photography of delicious dishes, including step by step photos of particularly complex recipes. The recipes are in both metric and customary units. This book is a delight for the eyes and inspiration for all level of bakers.

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
What a lovely holiday book! Divided into five main sections, including Christmas breakfast/brunch recipes, desserts, food gifts to give and recipes for year-round use; this book adds even more fun to the Christmas season with a Spotify playlist. Highly informative basic information as well as gorgeous photography round out a book to cherish for many years to come.
With so much unknown about the coming holiday season, spend a little homebody time with this book and plan for a season of joy and comfort.

This baker can do no wrong! After an amazing baking book in the form of “100 Cookies” I was so excited to read and bake from the newest book from the kitchen of Sarah Kieffer. I loved the structure of this book. The morning recipes with sweet bread for cinnamon rolls and the chocolate hazelnut twist is out of this world! As always, Kieffer delivers easy to read and follow recipes with a dash of coziness that makes each dessert special and will remind people of home during the holidays. I’ll be purchasing a hard copy of this one to keep in my kitchen for years to come!

Everyone likes a new cookbook for the holidays . If baking is your thing or if you want to give baking a try this book has it all .
Beautiful pictures, Ingredients you will be able to find and possibly already have stocked . Easy to follow instructions with some step by step pictures.
Dress up your holiday table with beautiful sweets or bake and gift, the receiver will know it was made with love ❤️
These baked treats will definitely remain dancing in my head .

Sarah Kieffer of The Vanilla Bean Baking Blog has come up with another beautiful, well put together baking book. In this book, Baking for the Holidays, she shares holiday inspired desserts as well as desserts you can enjoy all year long.

I am a baking cookbook connoisseur and there are a few things that make a good cookbook. In my opinion they are: recipes with clear directions and steps, gorgeous photographs of most if not all the recipes and recipes that are unique or teach a new method to common recipes. Baking for the Holidays does just that! Not only is the book designed beautifully, the photos are stunning and make you want to dive in and start baking. What I appreciate most is the more unique recipes such as the cruffins which are a tall muffin and croissant hybrid that looks so good. Not only do I plan on purchasing this book for our library's collection but I want to go and buy my own copy as well.