December may just be the most decadent month of the year. Would you agree? Not to be outdone by November with its Thanksgiving feast and never-ending dessert pies, December goes even further with the quantities of food. There are platters of latkes for Hanukkah, massive meals for Christmas, and every sweet treat you can imagine for every day in between. It’s a little slice of heaven - for 31 straight days!

Yes, I do think December is the sweetest, most decadent month of the year. So, let’s celebrate that fact! Today I’m sharing with you five (!) sweets to bake and share this holiday season. Of course, we may not be able to eat cookies together by a roaring fire this year, but there’s not much stopping you from sending baked goods to very-appreciative friends and family. Or better yet: drive by their home (if possible) and leave a platter of the good stuff on their doorstep. Now that’s a happy holiday.

Whether or not you choose to share these treats is up to you, but baking at least one of them is not up for debate: bake one, bake some, or bake them all for a really delicious holiday sweet. It is December after all…

Now, let’s get to the goodies!

Note: To make each of these recipes gluten free, I used Cup4Cup gluten free flour in place of regular AP (or spelt in the shortbread). Otherwise, I followed the recipes as written.

Oat and Spelt Shortbread

Recipe source: Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection

Baking notes: What a delicious and festive cookie! I love shortbread and this chocolate-dipped one was a total winner. I don’t think it mattered in terms of taste that I used GF flour instead of spelt; it may have had a different final flavor, but I will never know! Be sure to use gluten free oats (ones that are labeled properly) as well. I used Bob’s Red Mill certified GF oats.

This was an easy recipe to prepare and worked well as a two-day project since the dough does need to chill before baking. However, if you’d like to keep at as a one-day bake, then I’d recommend chilling the dough in the fridge for around two hours. I was thrilled that the cold dough didn’t spread much in the oven and my square-shaped cookies came out looking as square as I’d hoped.

Be sure to use high-quality chocolate for the dipping portion of the recipe. My go-to is Guittard bittersweet baking bars, but I think the semisweet would have been just as delicious. Since you won’t be tempering the chocolate, it does melt a bit on your fingers. Once the cookies have all been dipped they will need to firm up in the fridge again. However, once they are ready, the effort will be well-worth the wait.

These cookies are so good and so perfect for the holidays. A shortbread dipped in chocolate. Nothing better!

Salty Caramel Peanut Butter Cake

Recipe source: Snacking Cakes

Baking notes: For someone who doesn’t often love peanut butter in their desserts, I surprised myself with how much I loved baking, and eating, this cake. It was so delicious! It was rich and light and awesome all in one. I think the salty notes and the caramel-ish frosting really helped make it not be too much peanut butter flavor which helped immensely. It was the exact right balance of flavors and that’s probably why it was such a success.

As much as I love baking cookies, there’s something immensely easier about cake (at least the ones featured here). No mixer required, no multiple batches in the oven, and somewhat less clean-up. I was happy that once the cake fully cooled, all I had to do was make the frosting. Easy!

For this icing (frosting), it was actually a very warm mixture (also known as penuche) that cools/hardens quickly so it needed to be spread on the cake immediately. But don’t let that necessary speed scare you! It’s totally doable. And then you’ll have a ready-to-eat cake. Winning all around.

I baked this cake in a 9’’ round pan and sliced it into ten generous servings. If you made the slicers thinner (but would you?), then I’m sure it could serve closer to fifteen.

Powdered Donut Cake

That’s a lot of powdered sugar. Worth it.

Recipe source: Snacking Cakes

Baking notes: When I read about this cake, I knew it needed to be included in my holiday suite. A cake that’s similar to a powdered donut?! Yes, please. And I am pretty sure everyone I know loves donuts just as much as cake so it was a no-brainer. This cake was going to be made.

Much like the cake above, this one was also very easy to make and since the “frosting” was just a lot of powdered sugar, the total time involved was fairly low. Oh wait, before covering the cake in a thick layer of powdered sugar, you will brush the entire top of the cake with melted butter. OMG. So good. Decadent, but not in a sugar-rush sort of way. This light cake could definitely be eaten for breakfast (which I did) and dessert in the same day (I did that, too).

A note regarding the baking time: I used a square ceramic baking dish that had thick walls, which meant I had to bake the cake for longer. It didn’t need the maximum time listed, but it did need several minutes past the minimum.

Remember: every oven is a bit different and baking in ceramic versus metal will always alter baking times. At the end of the day, however, you will get a really delicious cake.

Cheesecake Cookies

Recipe source: Sarah Kieffer, The Vanilla Bean Blog

Baking notes: A fantastic cookie that’s sure to delight its recipients! I had my eye on this recipe for some time, and I finally made it because there’s no reason to wait! Bake those cookies everyone; what are we waiting for? The time is now to make something delicious.

This cookie was a multi-step process. First, I made the cookie dough. Then I made the cheesecake filling. Then I very carefully scooped a medium-amount of filling into the center of each cookie dough ball before baking them in the oven. It’s important to note that I used my thumb to create the small well in the center of each cookie. A spoon wasn’t quite right for this task. Then, for the last step, I drizzled chocolate over each one in a very reckless way (reckless = as artsy as I could handle).

Once the cookies were all baked, I let them cool completely. During that time, I melted chocolate (a mix of bittersweet and semisweet this time) which would be used to drizzle a very “non-specific” design on each cookie. It’s time to get creative!

The recipe said to use a mix of white and dark chocolate for the drizzle (it looked great), but I opted out of the white this time around. I may include it next time if I can get some of higher-quality, but honestly no one will be bothered by only having dark chocolate drizzled on their cheesecake cookie. ;)

Prettier on the plate! No mess in sight. ;)

One last comment: I loved the flavor of this cookie overall, but I did think the cookie alone was a little bland. I’m not sure what I’d add it to next time, perhaps actual chocolate chips, but I think the star of the cookie was the cheesecake filling and the (dark) chocolate drizzle.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake

Recipe source: Snacking Cakes

Baking notes: My final sweet of this suite of treats is the cake that I loved the most. I’m a sucker for a divine, vanilla-birthday-style cake and this one really delivered. It was so freaking delicious and perhaps the one I will be baking over-and-over throughout the year.

Most birthday cake recipes are for multi-layer creations and I really appreciated that this was for one, single-layer cake. Perfect for giving away during the holidays or to leave on the kitchen counter as a sweet snack (hence the title of the cookbook) whenever you walk by.

The cake was easy to prepare, just be sure to buy buttermilk, and before I knew it the pan was in the oven baking away. The total time baked was approximately 32 minutes. Of course, oven temperatures vary, but the final bake time was closer to the high-end listed in the recipe. That’s OK! Just don’t expect it to be ready at the 25-minute mark. ;) This is a note for me more than you.

For the buttercream frosting, I cannot stress enough how important it is to let the butter get super-soft before making the frosting. I was a little impatient and ended up with a less-than-perfect frosting consistency. It still worked for the cake, but I know for next time: let the butter sit out at room temp. for far longer. It will allow the frosting to come together much more easily (and faster).

All in all, this vanilla buttermilk cake was a major success. It was incredibly delicious and I’m already excited to make it again. For this first one, we decorated it with sprinkles (just the white and yellow ones), but you could decorate it however you’d like. The adventure awaits!

Yes, I did feature three cake recipes from the same cookbook. Thank you for noticing. However, they were three different cakes with different flavors and could be made for any number of reasons outside of the holiday season (how handy). This book made cake-baking approachable and an any-day activity, which is something I had not considered previously. Silly me! It would also make an excellent gift. ;)

Perhaps it was my tunnel-vision for cookies, but I hadn’t really thought of cakes as very shareable (if it wasn’t at the dessert table of a party). I was wrong! People love cake and cookies together on the same plate. They are both incredibly shareable and no one will say no to a slice of cake. And if they do, then offer them a cookie. :)

Happy holidays and happy baking!

Enjoy!

Mollie Bakes: Cookies and Cakes for the Holidays