Browse all episodes of Holiday Baking Championship

Runners Up Redemption

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.

Sweet Secrets

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.

Thanksgiving Family Feast

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.

Friendsgiving

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.

Cookie Exchange Party

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.

Old Fashioned Christmas Party

Bakers create eye-catching and tantalizing new holiday treats for seasonal parties; bakers create a dessert with an unusual candy cane flavor; for the main heat, they use a holiday cocktail as sweet inspiration; one unlucky baker goes home.

Holiday Party Delights

The bakers celebrate two classic holiday traditions: Hanukkah jelly doughnuts and ye olde fruitcake. They must create a dozen doughnuts featuring a challenging flavour combo. Then, they try their best to reinvent fruitcake.

Tradition! Tradition!

Three bakers grab two last-minute holiday gifts and combine them into one dessert before creating a 12 Days of Christmas dessert. The winning baker walks away with 50,000 dollars and the title of Holiday Baking Champion.

Twelve Days Of Christmas

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.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

In the pre-heat, eight bakers team up to make a dozen hand pies in a festive holiday shape; for the main heat, bakers create a holiday dessert duo inspired by classic holiday flavor combinations.

Season Of Sharing

The five remaining bakers ignite the holiday spirit with a fiery, pre-heat dessert. While in the main heat, they take a traditional holiday cheese board and turn it into an unusual cheesecake.

Comfort and Joy

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.

Office Christmas Party

The six remaining bakers create new takes on traditional holiday baking; inspired by an internet baking meme, for the pre-heat they use yellow cake mix to make anything but cake; in the main heat, bakers must holiday up a non-holiday dessert.

A New Holiday Spin

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

Thanksgiving It My All

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.

Gettin' Gifty with It

For the exclusive holiday desserts preheat, the six remaining bakers try to impress judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall by making tasty treats for guests with a dietary restriction. In the main heat, host Jesse Palmer challenges the competitors to update an assigned vintage holiday dessert to create a new Christmas delight.

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old

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.

First Snow

Seven bakers remain when the challenge is to get creative with Thanksgiving desserts, featuring canned cranberry sauce. Later, harvest ingredients, including sweet potato, pumpkin, apple, pear, pomegranate, carrot and lemon, are showcased in sweet dishes.

Thanksgiving's Just Around the Corner

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

Thanksgiving Joy

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.

Live from the North Pole

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.

Trendsetting Turkey day

The competition kicks off as host Jesse Palmer asks the twelve bakers to embrace the seasonal transition by making fall and winter doughnuts. For the main heat, the competitors combine holiday cheese board staples in creative apple and cheese desserts. A double elimination looms, and judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall must send two bakers home for the holidays.

Falling Into Winter

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.

Holiday Rush

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.

Holiday Open House

In the pre-heat, seven bakers must create a Thanksgiving dessert using a mystery canned fruit; in the main heat, bakers whip up new Turkey Day sensations by combining two traditional desserts.

Thanksgiving Genius

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.

Holiday Essentials

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.

Plenty of Gratitude

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

Holiday Survival Guide

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.

North Pole Vaulting

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!

A Classic Christmas

Host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to create sweet potato and spice desserts in honor of Kwanzaa. In the main heat, the competitors make Christmas card cakes that depict a perfect family snapshot for a holiday card to capture the smiles of judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall. In the end, one baker heads for the exit.

Holidays in All the Ways

These days, holiday turkeys can be smoked, fried, brined, roasted and bacon-wrapped, so host Jesse Palmer uses the five-way turkey as inspiration for the bakers' Preheat challenge. Then, the competitors divide into teams to create a flight of pies that takes judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall on a flavor progression journey, just like a flight of bourbon. Bottom crusts up, everyone! In the end, one baker goes home.

Feeling Sweet and Thankful

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.

Season's Best

Every Thanksgiving meal is centered around one vital component: the turkey! So for this preheat, host Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with creating turkey dome desserts, complete with edible feathers and heads. Then, no Thanksgiving is complete without a beautifully set table, and the bakers show judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller their tablescaping skills by making mini Thanksgiving table cakes!

Can't Wait For Turkey Day

Get cozy for the holiday pajama party! Host Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with making footie pajama macarons in the preheat. Then, it's time to decorate the tree as the bakers team up to make cream puff garlands. Finally, the competitors must make white elephant desserts consisting of either a Charlotte royale, entremets cake or a dacquoise cake and decorate it with a holiday stuffed cuddle toy. The stakes are high as judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller decide who will advance to the finale.

Holiday Pajama Party

Six bakers remain to take on the challenge of pie. First, they are given a store-bought crust to transform into something tasty; and later, they have to make three different varieties of pie.

It's Not the Holidays Without Pie

It's all about cake for the five remaining bakers, who are first asked to do something new with fruitcake; and later, they are given the challenge of reinventing the yule log.

The Great Holiday Cake-Over

S2, Ep1

1 Nov. 2015 We're Nuts for the Holidays

Season 2 kicks off with 10 competing bakers taking on a nutty chocolate dessert in the first challenge and beautifully decorated holiday pies in the main heat. In the end, one person will be eliminated.

We're Nuts for the Holidays

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.

Take Holiday Pies by Surprise

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.

It's the Inside That Counts

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.

Topsy-Turvy Holidays

In a nod to the day after Thanksgiving, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to use Black Friday kitchen gadgets like a spiralizer or an espresso machine to make desserts.

Best Thanksgiving Ever

Touchdown! For many families, Thanksgiving day means food and football! When host Jesse Palmer watches football, his must-have dish is 7-layer dip, so he challenges the bakers to create holiday 7-layer desserts inspired by his favorite snack. Then in the main heat, the games continue with the first ever Thanksgiving pie-off, where bakers go head-to-head baking the same flavor pie to win over judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller. The losing baker in each match automatically lands in the bottom.

Hallmarks Of Thanksgiving

For the semifinals, host Jesse Palmer explores the reasons behind some great holiday traditions. Kwanzaa is around the corner, and one of the most traditional ingredients to cook with is plantains, so the bakers craft Kwanzaa plantain desserts. Then in a team heat, Carla Hall celebrates a centuries-old tradition by crafting ornaments, inspiring baking teams to make large-scale edible ornaments in Holiday Baking's first ever T’Ornament of Tastiness! Another ageless holiday tradition is putting up a Christmas tree, so for the main heat, the bakers create blitz puff pastry Christmas tree pull-aparts for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller to tear into!

Reasons For the Season

It's the season finale, and the last five bakers face three challenges. Christmas Eve is filled with so much excitement and so many gifts, and the sweetest gift of all is a plate of cookies for Santa. For the final preheat, host Jesse Palmer wants the bakers to upgrade those cookies by making macaron wreaths for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller! The bottom two bakers battle it out to see who makes it to the final main heat by taking on a stocking-stuffed eclairs challenge. Then, its “All aboard!” as the remaining four bakers make showstopping, championship-worthy holiday train cakes with actual trains running through them! In the end, a Holiday Baking Champion is crowned and takes home $25,000!

Holiday Gifts Galore

In the season finale, host Jesse Palmer is throwing a gingerbread house party with all the trimmings! In the preheat, the bakers create faux candy desserts, traditional candy decorations that are actually desserts on the inside. Then, the competitors must take inspiration from holiday eggnog flavors to create the most impressive eggnog desserts for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller, and one baker will be eliminated. For the final challenge, the bakers construct gingerbread house cakes in unique architectural styles like modern, Tudor, cozy cottage or castle. In the end, only one baker will be named Holiday Baking Champion and take home $25,000!

Gingerbread House Party

Two cookie challenges are featured in the premiere of this holiday baking competition.

Holiday Cookie Madness

Candied ginger is highlighted in mini-desserts created by the six remaining bakers, who also must prepare three different types of holiday cookies, inspired by family traditions.

Ginger and Spice and Everything Nice

The five remaining bakers are asked to reinvent two Hanukkah classics: rugelach and macaroons. Then, they must create their own unique versions of a holiday croquembouche.

World Class Classics

Re-gifting is the theme, when the four remaining bakers make a candy-apple dessert; and later, they must figure out how to turn the contents of a traditional gift basket into something deliciously sweet.

Re-Gifting

Season 2 comes to a close with the final three bakers showing off their decorating skills, when making sugar cookie trees and cakes that represent an assigned holiday tradition.

Holiday Hoopla

Three stars from Kids Baking Championship (2015) and three stars from Holiday Baking Championship (2014) compete in a holiday-themed showdown for the $10,000 prize.

Adults vs. Kids

Host Jesse Palmer kicks off the competition by challenging 12 bakers to make holiday decorated quick bread wreaths with assigned flavors. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall decide which baker will be at the top of the naughty or nice list and which baker will be eliminated.

Holiday Style

Host Jesse Palmer asks the 11 remaining competitors to bake a cake inspired by a winter hat to impress judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall. The baker that falls to the bottom of the naughty or nice list will be going home.

Holiday Goodie Games

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.

Hosting the Holidays

Dressed as a Christmas tree, host Jesse Palmer kicks things off by asking the final four competitors to honor the holiday tree in the form of a beautifully decorated macaron tower. In the Christmas past, present and future main heat, the bakers must feature an assigned icing style in a stunning cake that evokes their assigned time period -- marzipan from the past, buttercream from the present or mirror glaze from the future. In the end, judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall will decide the one baker who will be crowned Holiday Baking Champion and walk away $25,000 richer!

Christmas Windows in Time

The holidays are a season for indulgence, so some families splurge on their festive celebrations at a steakhouse. In the Preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to transform classic steakhouse desserts into holiday treats. For the Main Heat, the competitors turn one of the most-iconic steakhouse desserts into a baked Alaska Christmas tree. In the end, judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall will send one baker home.

Dining Out for the Holidays

Love you a latke! Hanukkah is almost here, and Nancy Fuller is teaching Jesse Palmer how to make a traditional latke. For the preheat, the bakers must use their imaginations as they take the latke basics and turn them into latke-inspired desserts. Then, the bakers really let their imaginations run wild in the main heat while creating letterboard holiday bars that feature cute sayings to put judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller in the holiday spirit.

Holiday Imagination

The remaining nine bakers get crafty as they attempt to amp up the visual impact of holiday baked goods, while creating festive candy cane and holiday wreath desserts.

Holiday Craftiness

The eight remaining bakers begin by making their best holiday whoopie pies, that evoke a randomly assigned theme of turkey, pumpkin, Pilgrims or fall foliage. Then, they must create stuffed holiday cakes, that reveal a surprise center when sliced open.

Stuffing Is the Best Part

Seven bakers must make a dessert combining cranberry with another flavor; to combat the sleepiness that follows turkey, the main heat challenges the bakers to create a sweet treat that pairs coffee with an unusual flavor of coffee syrup.

Turkey Day Delights

It's bottoms up for judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall as the 10 bakers team up to take on boozy desserts. In the main heat, host Jesse Palmer challenges the competitors with five different styles of yule log cakes in 10 different flavor combinations. In the end, one baker leaves the competition.

Yule Be Merry

Desserts highlighting the flavors of peppermint and hot chocolate are made; and later, the competing bakers are tasked with creating a holiday breakfast featuring three sweet dishes.

Great Holiday Traditions

For the pre-heat, host Bobby Deen challenges the nine bakers to take seasonal hot beverages like hot chocolate and apple cider a step further by turning them into desserts. Then, in the main heat, these culinary artisans show off their decorating skills by creating a filled Bundt cake wreath.

Signs Of The Season

The remaining four bakers recreate their childhood memories of Christmas mornings by making edible dessert stockings; the bakers build colorful cream pull Christmas trees.

Christmas Morning

In the first challenge, host Jesse Palmer asks the 10 bakers to introduce themselves with edible place cards and one-bite signature holiday desserts. The main heat is all about holiday wreath cakes, and the competitors must bake and decorate a Danish Kransekake featuring holiday ingredients like chestnuts, graham crackers or toffee. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale have the final say in which baker goes home.

Gearing Up for the Holidays

The popularity of holiday spiced nuts inspires Jesse Palmer's challenge to the nine bakers: Use the crowd-pleasing holiday gift to create holiday spiced nut desserts. In the main heat, each baker must make three pies using an assigned harvest ingredient and decorate each pie crust differently. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale send one baker packing.

Sweet Revenge

In honor of the Hanukkah oil that kept burning, host Jesse Palmer asks the seven remaining bakers to create festive Hanukkah olive oil cakes. In the main heat, it's all about gift exchange desserts as the competitors randomly choose a dreaded holiday dessert and attempt to spin it into holiday happiness to please judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall.

Gifts That Keep on Giving

With the popularity of English period dramas at an all-time high, host Jesse Palmer dons a Regency-era waistcoat and challenges the bakers to create a splendid holiday high tea. In the Main Heat, it's all about the rom-com as bakers use an ingredient inspired by a holiday movie trope to create a dessert that's dripping with festive decorations. After all the desserts are tasted by judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall, one baker will be sent out the door as the credits roll.

Holiday Movie Magic

The bakers must whip up ugly Christmas sweater desserts for the pre-heat; in the main heat, the bakers create edible gift boxes filled with treats.

Sweet Surprises

The holidays are a time for artistry and decorations, so for the pre-heat, inflatable holiday decorations inspire the six bakers' cute cream puff displays; in the main heat, the bakers dazzle the judges with delicious hand-painted eggnog cakes.

Holiday Artistry

Five bakers have to update traditional rugelach with unexpected new flavors like cardamom, grapefruit, guava paste, peanut butter or chai; the judges are craving their favorite ingredients in the form of a light and creamy tiramisu in the main heat.

Light and Inspiring

In the pre-heat, bakers have to combine common pantry ingredients like balsamic vinegar, potato chips, oatmeal, red wine and olive oil in a new version of a classic holiday dessert; the bakers must use two key fruitcake components in a new dessert.

New Family Classics

Homecoming Special

Traditions with a Twist

In a holiday pantry raid, host Jesse Palmer throws open the cupboards and the Mason jars to ask the nine remaining bakers to create canned fruit desserts.

Attitude of Gratitude

Clash of the Grandmas (2015) star Norma Zager joins Bobby Deen to lend her expertise; for the pre-heat, the contestants must make two types of cookies; the bakers compete to create the best pie, without the use of appliances.

Grandma's Turkey Day Favorites

Three final bakers must create a beautiful edible holiday ornament display in the pre-heat; for the final main heat, the bakers must create a cake that is decorated like a gift on the outside and reveals a surprise inside when sliced.

Gifts of Greatness

Kwanzaa is right around the corner, so host Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with crafting desserts that feature fresh corn for a traditional Kwanzaa display. For the Main Heat, the competitors get their passports ready and put their personal stamp on international holiday desserts, like Filipino leche flan, Japanese Christmas cake and Puerto Rican guava rolls. In the end, judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall will send one baker flying home.

The World of Holidays

In the pre-heat, the remaining six bakers make desserts with toasted marshmallows; the bakers embellish traditional yule logs.

Hearth and Home

Jesse Palmer escapes the cold weather by challenging the bakers to create desert-inspired succulent tarts, and two competitors are sent skiing into a cookie cake showdown.

Happy Holiday Getaways

Host Jesse Palmer is climbing the Alps and heading towards the highest peak: the beautiful Mont Blanc! For the preheat, the bakers must make whimsical Mont Blanc desserts with colors, playful flavors and whatever else they can imagine! The whimsy doesn't stop there as unexpected upside-down cakes force the bakers to impress judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller with their inner Willy Wonka when they make a cake, flip it upside-down and suspend it in midair!

Holiday Whimsy

Seven bakers remain to compete in challenges revolving around classic holiday flavors, including having to create a swirled treat using eggnog; and get to play with varieties of sugar and spice.

Classic Holiday Flavors

The Christmas Museum is filled with beautiful holiday designs, and host Jesse Palmer tasks the bakers with turning them into mini-tart mosaics. Since this week is all about holiday beauty, the bakers must make merry and bright double-barrel wrapping paper cakes that feel like the perfect gift for judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller.

Holiday Beauty

Host Jesse Palmer kicks things off with a swanky Christmas open house for judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Carla Hall and asks the bakers to create dessert charcuterie boards. Then, the bottom two bakers face off in a sudden elimination challenge of dueling holiday pinata desserts. In the final main heat, the competitors take on holiday party theme cakes and incorporate lights into their designs. The most successful cake maker becomes the Holiday Baking Champion and walks away with $25,000!

Ultimate Holiday Party

In the semifinals, the six remaining bakers are surprised to learn from host Jesse Palmer that there are no more teams, and they will be competing individually as they face a gauntlet of three challenges. First, the bakers must create retro Christmas desserts and add holiday flair to the decorating. Then, in a second heat, the competitors are tasked with making desserts with old-school gelatin mold flavors like lime cream cheese, peach buttermilk, or orange marshmallow. In the main heat, bakers must turn things like canned apple pie filling, canned pineapple, or instant chocolate pudding into retro ingredient desserts that are impressive enough to land them in the finale. Guest judge Stephanie Boswell joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which bakers move on and which baker is eliminated.

Retro Christmas

Apple cider doughnuts are a sure sign of fall, so in the first round, Jesse Palmer asks the eight bakers to create a dozen kicked-up apple cider doughnuts decorated with seasonal themes. Then the bakers must transform a classic holiday yule log into a festive Thanksgiving roll cake, and judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale decide which competitor's cake falls short.

Filling Grateful

Season 1 comes to a close with the three remaining bakers taking on a gingerbread challenge, inspired by a favorite holiday memory. In the end, a winner is declared and awarded $50,000.

Gingerbread Worlds

For a Chrismukkah dessert platter challenge, host Jesse Palmer asks the remaining seven bakers to make decorated Christmas cookies, rugelach, and traditional Hanukkah sufganiyot. In an unexpected twist, judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown do a blind tasting to decide who should make it into the upcoming all-important semifinals and who is eliminated.

Jingle Mingle

It's the finale, and three challenges await the five remaining bakers! For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to create "naughty" elf desserts in flavors like black licorice, sauerkraut, or red curry. Then, in an elimination challenge, the competitors make "nice" hot cocoa desserts. For the final bake, the bakers must make a large-scale, over-the-top naughty vs. nice cake with both themes clearly represented in the decorating. Guest judge Zac Young joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which talented baker walks away with $25,000 and the title of Holiday Baking Champion!

Naughty & Nice Christmas

Host Jesse Palmer welcomes 12 amazing bakers to the gorgeous holiday village, where the bakers are divided into the Nice Team and the Naughty Team. In each bake, there will be a top dessert from each team, and the best overall dessert wins for their team. In elimination challenges, the winning team is safe from elimination, and the losing team loses a baker. For the first preheat challenge, the Nice Team makes warm and toasty desserts, while the Naughty Team makes chill and frosty treats. Then, Jesse asks each team to create an edible holiday village that includes a dessert from every baker. Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown decide which baker from the losing team will be eliminated.

Welcome to the Holiday Village

Host Jesse Palmer asks the teams to create over-the-top holiday wreath desserts, and they cannot repeat desserts within their team. Also, there's only one challenge this time, and the team who won the previous challenge gets to pick a naughty or nice advantage -- either take away the other team's stand mixers or get an exclusive basket of decorating items. In the end, judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown decide which baker goes home.

Crafting Holiday Magic

Host Jesse Palmer asks the Naughty Team to make holiday cocktail desserts and the Nice Team to make mocktail desserts using assigned libations like boozy Hot Buttered Rum or non-alcoholic Pumpkin Eggnog for inspiration. Then, the bakers must create meringue-based desserts that obviously appear as either cheerful vs. cheeky to impress judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown.

Holiday Cheer

Host Jesse Palmer asks the remaining eight bakers to make desserts representing snow-day activities like cutting out snowflakes, sledding, or snowshoeing. Plus, since the holidays are all about giving, Jesse offers the most recent winning team a difficult choice between two nice or naughty gifts -- a 15-minute head start or stealing a baker from the other team! Judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown decide which baker from the losing team is eliminated.

Snowed In Sweets

Host Jesse Palmer challenges the nine remaining bakers to make seasonal holiday pies with no repeated flavors among their own team. In a surprise bit of strategy, each team must select only their best two pies for tasting by judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown. To make the decision, the bakers taste their team's pies on their own. Feathers might get a little ruffled, but it's for the team! In the end, a baker from the losing team is eliminated.

Pies and Shine

Christmas In July

Christmas Day Delights

The search to find the greatest holiday baker begins as amateur bakers enter the kitchen, where they show off their family traditions and superb baking skills. To survive the challenges from week to week, they must prove their abilities in front of our tough-love judges.

All Episodes of Holiday Baking Championship

Season 1

It's Not the Holidays Without Pie

Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 11/23/2014

The Great Holiday Cake-Over

Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/30/2014

Holiday Cookie Madness

Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 11/9/2014

Great Holiday Traditions

Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 12/7/2014

Classic Holiday Flavors

Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 11/16/2014

Gingerbread Worlds

Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 12/14/2014