What We’re Baking This Season

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got four grocery lists working. I’ve got the list for brunch with my boyfriend this weekend. I’ve got this prep list for Thanksgiving week, and the list of things I’ll need to buy fresh a few days before Thanksgiving.  It’s wild, and I’m not even planning a major Thanksgiving.

It’s just that – we’re really cookin’ this year. We’ve been quarantined-up on a banana bread journey, on a sourdough journey, and now we’re on a Thanksgiving and fall baking journey. Now you know I stay in the kitchen for the last 12 years running. Here is a quickie list of a few of my favorite cozy holiday baking ideas you might want to add to your grocery list this week.

Some of these posts are older and I’ve gone in and updated the recipes with notes and substitutions that might feel relevant.  I hope there are a few things here you’ll add to your table this holiday!

•  Give.Me.All.The.Gingerbread!  Jon and I developed this Gingerbread Swirl Bundt Cake while standing in front of my pantry trying to figure out our last recipe to shoot last holiday season.  This little gingerbread brainstorm turned into the cake of the year and the most popular post on Joy the Baker last year.  It’s a workhorse of a pound cake swirled with holiday cheer. It’s perfectly moist and stays that ways for a week. It’s just a little wonder and you must make it this year!  But while we’re gingerbreading, this Orange Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a more traditional and intensely flavored gingerbread moment.  And here’s how to gingerbread for breakfast: Gingerbread Dutch Baby.

•  I’m usually so caught up in Dad’s Sweet Potato Pie that I ignore pumpkin pie all together.  It wasn’t until last year that I put a traditional pumpkin pie up on the blog.  Well…. traditional with the addition of chocolate because you know I can’t leave well enough alone.  Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream

•  Count on me to turn my favorite cookie into the cookie for every season: Maple Pumpkin Black and White Cookies.  (I made this cookie into a cake in Joy the Baker Magazine, just sayin’.)

•  Here’s what you might want to do with that extra can of cranberry sauce you’ll find in the pantry after Thanksgiving.  They make for a really lovely holiday weekend breakfast: Cranberry Cornmeal Scones.

•  It’s a sweet potato casserole topped with creamy mashed potatoes and fried onion strings. I can tell you from experience that it’s hard to keep the fried onion on top of the potatoes, people will snag them before this dish even hits the table. Sweet and Savory Mashed Potatoes with Fried Onions

•  It’s pie season which means it’s POT pie season and this hearty roasted pumpkin version is welcome by all: Vegetarian Pumpkin Pot Pie

•  Maybe we’re putting our pot pies in individual ramekins for this strange-trip of a year we’re having.  These Steak and Stout Pot Pie are hearty, with a rich gravy and topped with a flaky buttery crust.

•  This was one of my favorite pies a few years back. Pears bake up with a bit more tender mush than apples but there’s something lovely about that.  A streusel is the most lazy-delicious top crust and I even toss a handful of the crumble topping into the filling.  Also, bourbon, amen.  Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie

•  I’ll tell ya that shredded vegetables and flax seeds go a long way towards making baked goods vegan and delicious.  These muffins can also be easily made gluten-free aaaannnnddd they freeze well too? Have I talked you into veggies in muffins yet? Vegan Carrot Zucchini Harvest Muffins. And while we’re talking about veggies, I feel like this  Zucchini Upside Down Cake didn’t get the excitement it deserves.

Happy Baking, friends!

We good!

xo Joy