In every episode of our podcast Things Bakers Know, we answer baking questions from our listeners. In our recent episode all about holiday baking, one caller asked for advice on how to make sufganiyot for Hanukkah.

Bakers are generally an affable and generous group, but they have no shortage of opinions — especially when it comes to holiday cookies. How many cookies belong on a platter? What cookies are musts, and which are no-gos? Over 6,000 bakers, from (almost) every state in America, provided the answers to these questions and more in our 2025 Holiday Cookie Survey. Here’s what they had to say.

Sure, cookies get all the spotlight this time of year, but there’s a lot more baking to do. We’ve got holiday desserts to make for your festive parties, Hanukkah gatherings, Christmas Eve dinners, and New Year’s toasts. From brag-worthy showstoppers like Bûche de Noël to simple-but-stunning desserts like a one-bowl olive oil cake, all the holiday recipes you need are right here. 

For years, I made do with a mini food processor to make dressing, pesto, or blitz up whole nuts. I came to depend on the small-but-mighty machine; it became such a regular part of my kitchen rotation that, swayed by a good Black Friday deal four years ago, I decided to add a larger 14 cup food processor to my arsenal.

Baking inspiration can strike anywhere — whether you’re at the store picking up flour, commuting home, or standing in your kitchen with a mixing bowl in hand. That’s why we created the King Arthur Baking App — so you can have our trusted recipes and tips wherever you go, without juggling cookbooks or leaving a laptop on the counter.

Each year, as we near December, thousands of ovens light up around the country as bakers gear up for one of America’s favorite holiday pastimes: the cookie swap. Cookie swaps aren’t only festive — and one of the most delicious ways to build community — they are also enormously efficient, multiplying your baking efforts and leaving you with dozens of holiday classics to enjoy, gift, and serve all season long. 

Crafting the perfect holiday cookie platter can be as high stakes as gift giving. Luckily, we’ve come up with the perfect selection for your dessert table this year. This slate of six new holiday cookie recipes covers a range of flavors (from chocolate to pistachio to peppermint!) and techniques (easy drop cookies, simplified sandwich cookies, swirled shortbreads, and more) to keep things fresh, festive, and of course, delicious.  

When we first published this list of holiday and Christmas cookies a few years ago, our goal was to pull all of our top cookie recipes together in one place. We popped back in a few times to update the recipes, adding new favorites and trimming duplicates that didn’t feel like they added much. But we kept thinking about holiday cookies. (Hey, it’s our job!). And we realized: All holiday cookies are not the same. There are the classics, of course. The creative new takes. And the cookies that are popular year-round, but still find their way onto the holiday table.

Yes, Thanksgiving is a pie-centric holiday. But what if you don’t like pie? Or maybe you just don’t want it. Either way, we’ve got lots of other Thanksgiving desserts, from spiced pumpkin cupcakes to sugary apple cobblers, plus plenty of autumnal cakes. And if you want to make one of these desserts plus a pie, check out our best Thanksgiving pie recipes, too.

November is a big month for bakers as we prep for our Olympics — also known as Thanksgiving. But there’s still plenty to bake beyond the big day! Whether you’re hosting dinner for a smaller household, want to change up your pie routine, or just need the perfect fall dessert, we’ve got the recipes you need to bake this November.

On a recent episode of our podcast, Things Bakers Know, I mentioned how I lived off local sweet potatoes when I went to school in North Carolina. (I had a crate of them stashed in my closet, true story.) What I didn’t mention are all the things I baked with them.

In recent years, an interesting movement has been happening for some people who experience gluten sensitivity: They avoid wheat, except in the case of sourdough bread. 

You picked up a bag of bread flour to make fluffy Japanese Milk Bread or Do-Nothing Sourdough Bread. But now you may be wondering: What do I do with the rest of the bag? Can I use bread flour to bake anything else?

Yesterday, my 14-year-old son made his first quesadilla, starting with a homemade tortilla. A couple of weeks before that, his 12-year-old brother carefully piped frosting onto a giant layer cake bound for his grandfather’s 80th birthday. I texted my coworkers: It’s happening. My kids are becoming bakers.