To kick off, host Jesse Palmer honors the tradition of making tasty treats for family and friends at a holiday open house. In the preheat, Jesse asks the 12 bakers to create holiday cheese ball desserts featuring a type of cheese and either nuts or dried fruit. Then, host gifts are the theme for delicious bites as the bakers create holiday bark inspired desserts that are both inventive and large scale to impress judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller.

To highlight Friendsgiving, host Jesse Palmer asks the remaining 10 bakers to create flavor friends desserts designed to make a seasonal flavor pairing shine. Then, the bakers are divided into two teams for the ultimate fall flavor showdown as they take on apple vs. pumpkin desserts in an all-out effort to settle the debate for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller.

Host Jesse Palmer loves both cookies and pies, so he asks the nine bakers to make holiday cookie-topped mini pies. Then, Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall judge the pie pandemonium as the competitors celebrate fall with flavor combos such as pumpkin-cider and chestnut-chocolate in double crust, cream pies, slab pies, lattice pies and custard pies.

Host Jesse Palmer throws a holiday cookie exchange party, and the bakers must create flavor-forward seasonal cookies -- but no decorated sugar cookies or gingerbread allowed! Judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller decide the winner of the preheat in a blind tasting, and the bakers get to vote for their favorite cookie as well! Then, the bakers must rise to the occasion by making holiday cookie cakes that feature two different types of cookies, a minimum of four layers and a flavor twist to help wash it all down.

Celebrating the Thanksgiving feast and sitting at the kid's table never felt so special as host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to make over-the-top Thanksgiving cupcakes for the preheat that are designed to make the adult table jealous. Kids Baking Championship alums and guest judges Matt Azuma and Summer Haque join judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller. Then, the bakers create Thanksgiving pies with 3-D decor elements to bring drama and deliciousness to the feast.

After a grocery delivery gone wrong, host Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with creating tasty desserts featuring ingredients used to make Thanksgiving dinner, including carrots, cornbread stuffing mix and sausage. Then, the jolly gingerbread man knows that he could be more than just a cookie -- and it's up to the bakers to make it happen! In the end, judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall send one baker heading for the exit.

Host Jesse Palmer steps back in time to the Victorian era for an old-fashioned Christmas party. In the preheat, the remaining nine bakers are tasked with making fruitcake-blend desserts with a marinated mix of dried fruit, spices and liquor. Then, the bakers must make Lambeth cakes featuring intricate piping, strong color schemes and an unexpected twist featuring an old-timey ingredient. Judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller decide which baker will be eliminated.

Jesse Palmer teaches the six bakers a lesson in repurposing holiday gifts in the first round, when they must turn panettone, the classic holiday Italian sweet bread, into an entirely new dessert. Then they're challenged to create a beautifully decorated cupcake mosaic inspired by a pair of holiday pajamas. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale send one baker packing

Some of the tastiest treats of Hanukkah are gold-covered chocolate coins, and Jesse Palmer challenges the four remaining bakers to give the classic treat a twist by incorporating candied orange, espresso beans, smoked salt or toasted coconut and create a dessert highlighting their chosen flavor. In the second challenge, the competitors bake up delicious cheesecakes with an assigned crust and decorated with an edible shiny ice rink on top. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale get serious about which three bakers move on to the finale.

Jesse Palmer challenges the five bakers to create assigned desserts that are inspired by and look like Santa Claus. To secure their place in the final four, the bakers are tasked with creating impressive cakes made to look like another icy North Pole staple: an igloo. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale decide which bakers move on to the next round and which one goes home.

Season's greetings! Host Jesse Palmer gets some welcoming inspiration for the first Preheat as he challenges the 12 bakers to create meringue pavlova wreaths in yummy fall flavors. For the Main Heat, Jesse settles a long-standing debate over the best holiday dessert by dividing the kitchen into the pie team and the cake team. The better bake wins immunity for their whole team, and judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall send one baker from the losing team home.

Grab your favorite ugly Christmas sweater and join host Jesse Palmer for presents, games and tasty holiday challenges. In the preheat, the bakers team up to make ooey-gooey holiday caramel and chocolate desserts. Then, the real party begins as the ice luge arrives, and the bakers make boozy trifles for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller that feature an assigned liqueur and a twist with a lot of personality.

The pumpkin spice phenomenon hits the championship; for the pre-heat, nine bakers attempt to wow the judges with creative pumpkin spiciness; in the main heat, the bakers must combine a yule log with a classic holiday treat.

For the pre-heat, the eight bakers work in teams to make four different kinds of pies on the same sheet pan; in the main heat, the bakers embrace the stuffed feeling after the Thanksgiving meal by making stuffed cakes featuring seasonal ingredients.

In the first challenge, Jesse Palmer tasks the seven bakers with taking a beloved holiday appetizer to a whole new level with baked Brie and jam mini pies. The main heat is all about being prepared for greatness as the bakers take a prepared ingredient and use it to make a crowd-pleasing Thanksgiving dessert. In the end, judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale send one competitor hom

Nothing beats waking up to the smell of a holiday brunch, so Jesse Palmer challenges the three remaining bakers to make a Christmas morning brunch using the classic holiday flavors of gingerbread, cinnamon and eggnog. In the final round, the bakers must create cakes that are plaid both on the inside and the outside. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale crown one baker the Holiday Baking Champion and award the $25,000 prize.

Host Jesse Palmer gives the seven bakers advent calendars filled with different types of chocolate to inspire them to make desserts with a surprise inside. Then, for the main heat, the competitors must bake one delicious cheesecake with three different flavors for judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall.

Host Jesse Palmer asks the five bakers to pull out all the stops and create the most-delicious, over-the-top version of a holiday trifle. Then, the classics continue in the main heat when the competitors make the ultimate Charlotte royale for judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall, as well as the king of Christmas -- Santa Claus!

The bakers feel the holiday rush as Jesse Palmer sends them through three heated challenges: create ugly sweater cakes, turn store-bought cake into tasty centerpieces and build a snowman croquembouche.

Mmm … can you smell it? The sweet aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven, or is it the pumpkin-spiced latte you're sipping? For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to combine two of the fall season's best treats and make seasonal coffee drink cinnamon rolls. Then, the bakers roll right into the main heat with a fall-themed yule log that Jesse calls Thanksgiving Swiss Rolls. In the end, judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller decide which baker is rolling home.

The remaining seven bakers create elegant trifles by combining all of their favorite Thanksgiving desserts into one; the bakers make Thanksgiving impostor cupcakes.

The final three must make snacks for North Pole characters other than Santa; the bakers must create a North Pole-inspired cake; the winner gets the title Holiday Baking Champion and a $50,000 prize.

Host Jesse Palmer asks the 10 bakers to highlight a nut or seed in a holiday dessert. Then, the competitors spin a wheel to determine which fundamental holiday ingredient -- holiday spice, dried fruit or holiday spirits -- they must add to unseasonable desserts, like icebox cakes or fruit tarts. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall make the call on which bakers pull it off.

Host Jesse Palmer challenges the eight remaining bakers to turn breakfast items, like French toast, into amazing Thanksgiving breakfast desserts. Then, the competitors take common Friendsgiving potluck dishes, such as glazed carrots, and use them in a dessert to impress judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall. Plus, since Friendsgiving is all about community, they're doing it in teams.

Host Jesse Palmer is turning things on their heads as he challenges the six competitors to work in teams to create jelly doughnut-inspired desserts, a twist on traditional Hanukkah jelly doughnuts. Then, the bakers get creative with the yummiest, gooiest holiday decorated upside-down cakes to satisfy judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall.