Buche de Noel from scratch. Photo: CWI Pro Photo
One of the best parts of the holidays is indulging in the special recipes you likely try once a year. The decorated sugar cookies, Buche de Noel (Yule log), gingerbread cookies and houses, and, maybe even, fruitcake (remember those?)
Kick Off Holiday Baking with Classic Sugar Cookies
From sugar cookies and spritz to biscotti and shortbread, Christmas cookies are a collective holiday staple. Cookie exchanges, decorated cutouts, and family recipes make them one of the most universal and beloved holiday desserts.
At our house, we make scores of them for gift-giving, parties and entertaining. And, we try not to eat too many of them. Good luck with that!
Since 1991, I’ve been making the sugar cookie recipe from the cookbook Rose’s Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum. It’s my go-to recipe far beyond just Christmas, making an appearance at Easter, Thanksgiving and even Halloween.
Chocolatey Buche de Noel
Originating in France, the Buche de Noel or Yule Log is a rolled sponge cake filled with cream and decorated to resemble a log. It’s a staple Christmas dessert across Europe and has become a festive favorite in the U.S., admired for both flavor and presentation. I took a cooking class on how to make one this year … I think I’ll order it from a bakery next time to save a few hours!
Decorating a homemade gingerbread house at Grandma’s. Photo: CWI Pro Photo
Gingerbread House Project
Gingerbread desserts—especially cookies and gingerbread houses—are among the most recognizable holiday treats. Spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, gingerbread is deeply tied to Christmas traditions, family baking, and seasonal décor.
I was first introduced to gingerbread house making in my first job out of college, working at Sylvia Schur’s Creative Food Service, a food consulting agency known for developing products such as Clamato and Cran-Apple juice cocktails. Sylvia Schur was a pioneer in product development. While there, our team created the gingerbread house recipe and instructions for Grandma’s Molasses by Duffy-Mott.
What began as a professional project has since become an annual tradition—especially fun to share with grandchildren.
Recently, while researching online, I came across the original Building a Gingerbread House instructions by Susan Reid—the same recipe I’ve been using all these years. Mine may be a bit worse for wear after decades of use, and hers is certainly more artistic, but it’s reassuring to know the classic holds up.
Fruitcake, The Iconic Holiday Dessert — To Love or Distain
A centuries-old classic, fruitcake is one of the most iconic holiday desserts worldwide. Dense with dried fruits, nuts, and spices, it’s closely associated with Christmas and often passed down through generations. Love it or joke about it, fruitcake remains a symbol of the season. While at Sylvia Schur’s Creative Food Service, I was tasked with making hundreds of mini-fruitcakes that resembled tiny souffles for client gifts. Beautiful and delicious! But I probably won’t be making more soon!
Excerpted from In Edith’s Kitchen: Recipes from My Mostly Mexican-American Home to Yours. Copyright © 2025, Edith Galvez. Photography Copyright © 2025 by Ashleigh Amoroso. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Holiday Showstopper: Chocoflan Bundt Cake
If your holiday table calls for drama—in the very best sense—Chocoflan Bundt Cake delivers.
Often called “the impossible cake,” this dessert magically forms two distinct layers as it bakes: a silky caramel flan on top and a rich chocolate cake beneath. It looks like a bakery masterpiece, yet it’s surprisingly achievable at home.
Featured in In Edith’s Kitchen: Recipes from My Mostly Mexican-American Home to Yours, and our latest issue of Healthy Aging® Magazine, this dessert is perfect for celebrations where presentation matters just as much as flavor. Served with fresh berries or fruit, it becomes a memorable finale that invites conversation, admiration, and second helpings.
This is the kind of dessert that turns a holiday meal into an event—and proves that cooking for loved ones can be both creative and deeply satisfying.
Chai-Poached Pears. Recipe and photo used with permission from Ranch Malibu.
A Lighter Holiday Indulgence: Chai-Poached Pears
Okay, okay. These dessert ideas are all favorites, but for those of us this year who want a lighter dessert over the holidays, Chai-Poached Pears are a beautiful solution.
Warm, comforting, elegant and not overly heavy, this dessert is inspired by the wellness-focused cuisine at The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu which we covered in a previous Healthy Aging® Magazine article.
This dessert is built around whole fruit and fragrant spices rather than added sugars or heavy creams. Slow-poached in cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and peppercorns, pears absorb layers of flavor while maintaining their natural sweetness and structure. The result is a dessert that feels indulgent yet light, making it ideal after a big holiday meal—or even as a breakfast or afternoon treat.
Elegant enough for guests and simple enough for everyday enjoyment, these pears also highlight an important Healthy Aging® principle: sometimes less really is more.
Whatever route you take with dessert, decadent or lightly sweet, the best holiday choices are the ones shared, enjoyed, and remembered long after the last bite!
RECIPES
Chocoflan Bundt Cake
Makes 8 servings
Flan:
- Baking spray for the pan
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cake Batter:
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- A mix of berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries) or your favorite fruit, cut up, for serving
Make the flan:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 10-cup Bundt cake pan with melted butter or baking spray.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and cook, stirring constantly and scraping down the sides of the pan to prevent burning, until fully melted and dark gold in color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully and quickly pour the hot caramel into the prepared Bundt pan, tilting the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom before it sets (be careful, the pan and the caramel will be hot!).
Combine the condensed milk, cream cheese, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a blender, and blend on high until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan over the caramel. It should only come halfway up the side of the pan in order to leave room for the cake batter to be poured on top.
Place the Bundt pan in a large baking pan or roasting pan and place the nested pans on a pulled-out oven rack. Pour 2 inches of water into the roasting pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the flan is set on top but still jiggles when shaken.
Remove from the oven and set the Bundt pan on a wire rack while you make the cake batter. Keep the oven on and reserve the water bath.
Make the cake batter:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and use a spatula to fold until well incorporated. Pour the cake batter on top of the baked flan and return it to the water bath, adding more water if needed for a depth of 2 inches. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.
Flip the cooled cake out onto a serving plate. Refrigerate uncovered for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
- Slice the cake and top with a few spoonfuls of berries or assorted fruit of choice and serve.
Excerpted from In Edith’s Kitchen: Recipes from My Mostly Mexican-American Home to Yours. Copyright © 2025, Edith Galvez. Photography Copyright © 2025 by Ashleigh Amoroso. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Chai-Poached Pears
Makes 4 servings
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, crushed with a knife to crack the skin
- 20 cardamom pods, cracked
- 24 black peppercorns
- 4 firm but ripe medium-sized pears
In a pot large enough to hold the 4 pears, combine 10 cups water with the cinnamon sticks, ginger, cardamom, and peppercorns. Bring the water to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and continue simmering for 20 minutes to infuse the water with the spices.
Wash the pears and cut them in half, leaving the peels on and cores and stems intact. Add the pears to the spice-infused water, cover the pot, and simmer until they are poached. They should be tender enough that a knife easily pierces them but they still hold their shape; this can take from 45 minutes to 2 hours. The duration varies depending on the variety of the pears and the ripeness of the fruit. Let sit in the poaching liquid, with the lid on the pot, for about 30 minutes until the pears are cool enough to serve. As the pears steep, the chai-spiced liquid will continue to infuse the fruit.
To serve, plate two pear halves per person. Spoon some of the poaching liquid over the pears.
Recipe courtesy of Ranch Malibu.
